TRX: Suspension Training

Saturday I attended an all day certification course for TRX. For those of you who are unfamiliar with TRX, let me tell you a little bit about it. It was designed by a gentleman in the Navy named Randy Hetrick, who wanted to keep himself and his SEAL teammates  in peak condition while they were  out on missions. The first TRX strap was indeed rather crude and nothing like the straps you can purchase today. The company has seen exponential growth in  the  short seven year period  they have been in operation. I have been teaching TRX classes for the last two years and absolutely love the improvement in not only strength, but stability, joint stability and flexibility that I have  seen personally. I’m a big believer in what suspension training can do for each and every one of us.

Suspension training has gained international recognition as a form of training people of all fitness levels and abilities. Suspension training  allows you to utilize your own bodyweight as the resistance for each exercise. By combining the pendulum principle and the vector principle, you can make each exercise easier or harder depending on  the individual and their current level of strength, stability, joint stability and flexibility.

Because of the unstable nature  of the straps,  you must engage your various muscle groups, especially your core, to create stability if there is to be any (I can tell you from watching this happen over and over in the classes I’ve taught, if there isn’t any stability you’ll  fall flat on your face, so engage your core!). The benefits of suspension training are incredible! Because of the amount of muscle fibers being activated, you see change and you see it fast! Some of the benefits of suspension training include:

• Total body strength
• Superior core conditioning
• Outperforms bands, balls, weights  and weight machines    
• There are literally hundreds of exercises to work the entire body
• Adjusts quickly and easily  for all fitness levels
• Easily setup and extremely portable, which makes it great for travelling
• Helps you build functional strength for every day life and/or any sport
• Quickly increases strength and balance beginning at any level

My first experience with  suspension training taught me a little bit about myself that I wasn’t aware of. At the time, I had been working out for a while (2 1/2 years) and had lost 120 pounds so far. Compared to where I had begun, I felt like a new  woman. I felt strong and somewhat confident in my way around the gym. I had only been working at the Fitness Center for a few  weeks when I took my first class.  

I went into it fairly confident in my level of strength and flexibility. What I learned that day is exactly what I heard the instructor say to us on Saturday at  the training. There are two kinds of strong. There is gym strength and there is functional strength, and trust me, they are very different. It doesn’t matter how much you can bench press, curl or dead-lift when it comes to suspension training!  

As can be seen in the pictures below, a traditional chest press is  done lying  in a supinated position (face up) on a bench where there is really no engagement of the body’s core. With suspension training, a chest press is done in a prone position (face down) creating the necessity for core engagement. Big difference!

 Overall, I think suspension training is awesome and can help anyone achieve the results they desire. It helps crank up your metabolism, incinerate fat and calories while helping build lean muscle mass and sculpt your body. From couch potatoes to elite athletes, everyone can benefit from suspension training! If you’re interested in joining a class, feel free to contact me for further information on the class schedule. Happy training! 🙂