Working out on the road: The TRX

I have written before about my love affair with the TRX. It’s such a simple product--just a couple of straps, belts and handles--and it is one of the most versatile pieces of equipment I have ever used. My eighty-two year-old mother could use it. My 14 year-old son could use it, and Drew Brees does use it (and he stars in how-to workout videos about it on YouTube).

I only wish I had invented it, so I could be a millionaire right now. But I can’t even be upset about that, because it was invented by a former Navy SEAL, and I think he deserves to be sitting on my imaginary beach sipping margaritas.

The TRX weighs just about 2 lbs, packs up in a mesh bag that takes up as much space in your bag as one pair of shoes. 

You can use this piece of equipment anywhere. You can even tie it to a tree and use it in the hotel parking lot. But that is not something I would ever do. I think that would encourage a flood of people to come ask questions. And by a flood, I mean more than zero people.

I usually hook the TRX over the hotel door in my room. It’s pretty quiet, so I was able to get a nice workout in 20 minutes without waking up my husband or kids when we were all sharing a room before visiting Busch Gardens this summer.

The compact size, light weight, time efficiency and silence make it a perfect travel workout tool.

Following is an example of a travel TRX workout that should take about 20 minutes and totally kick your butt. If this workout is too easy for you, increase the challenge by changing your position relative to the anchor point, or doing the moves one-armed or one legged. 

I have also provided video so that you can see what I’m talking about.

Set 1. Complete two full sets.

            Rows from seated to standing         Sit, pull up, 3 rows. Rest 5 seconds.

                                                                    Sit, pull up, 4 rows. Rest 5 seconds.

                                                                    Sit, pull up, 5 rows. Rest 5 seconds.

            Triceps pulls                                    Repeat 8-10 times.

            To increase the challenge, stand further away from the anchor point.

Set 2. Complete two full sets.

            One-legged lunges                            Lunge 8 times on each leg = 1 set

            Bicep curls                                        8-10 reps.

            To increase the challenge, make it a single-hand curl.

Set 3. Complete two full sets of 4-10 reps.

            Squats with raised arms                  Keep arms up, out of your field of view

            W, Y, Ts                                         Shape these letters with your arms.

Set 4. Complete two full sets. One set = continue the move for one minute, taking breaks as needed.

            Plank, body saw OR atomic pushup.                       

            Side plank, rotating plank, or with a hip dip on each 3rd

What I’ve learned from my TRX

 I bought a TRX trainer about six weeks ago. If you aren’t familiar with this piece of gym equipment, it is basically a bunch of straps that allow you to use your own body weight to perform exercises from basic to extremely advanced in a limited space. To set it up, you tie it to a tree, a pole, or hook it over a sturdy door.

What I love about this piece of equipment is that absolutely anyone at any fitness level can use it. The only thing you have to change is the type of exercise you do and the angle of your body. For example, you can loop your feet in the handles, hands on the floor, and do a TRX pushup.  A beginning exerciser would to this activity on their knees. A more intermediate person would do it with legs extended, as a full pushup, and a very advanced athlete would do it with power (either pushing themselves off the floor or adding a clap at the peak of the upward phase of the pushup).

Of course, you can do these same exercises without the TRX, but putting your feet in the straps makes you instantly unstable. In order hold form, your core, arms and even your legs have to work much harder to do the same movement. You activate more muscles with every exercise you perform. That makes your workout more efficient, so that you can get better results and burn more calories in less time.

The TRX is also fun—when you change up a simple movement like pushups, it becomes a new exercise, and you engage your brain. You get to learn a new skill, which means you’re building new neural pathways.

I knew about all these benefits when I first bought the TRX, but what I did not know was the way it would clearly display my muscular imbalances—in other words, before I had the TRX, I did not know how much weaker my right hip was than my left. I do lunges all the time. Lunges with weights, side lunges, walking lunges, but I had never performed a one-legged lunge with the free foot in a TRX handle.

On my left foot, I could easily do eight reps the first time I tried it, with no balance issues. On the right foot, I was so wobbly that I had to grab on to the wall or furniture nearby each time. I could manage to do eight reps, but I had to gut it out. And I definitely felt it the next day.

This experience solved a big question I’ve been having. For the past year or so, my right knee has been bothering me from time to time. It’s not horrible or disruptive pain, but it is uncomfortable.

From working with the TRX, I have also noticed that my right leg always wants to rotate outward when I do a squat—which all indicates a muscle imbalance: my right glute is overly tight, sapping its strength and rotating my right leg outward, which in turn, is misaligning my foot and knee so that I don’t roll through the knee joint properly, causing the hip and knee discomfort.

Long story short: because of my work with the TRX, I am beginning to correct the weakness in my right glute. My hips and knees feel so much better, and every day, I am decreasing my risk of long-term joint damage—all stuff I never would have known if I hadn’t bought the TRX!

For more information:

The Official TRX Training YouTube Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TRXtraining?feature=watch

ACE Fit

TRX Suspension Training Workout

http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/fitness_programs_core_workout.aspx?workoutid=1