Courtesy of TRX Training, my daughters and I are going to climb Long’s Peak this summer. I couldn’t be more excited and I know they feel the same. I’ve always loved the mountains. Rachael is too young to remember her trip to Alaska when she was 2 and Sara’s never been to the mountains. Neither have ever been above 5000 feet except for a few trips in an airplane. Winning the contest was the easy part and now comes the preparation, planning, and training.

In addition to my other fitness related articles, I am planning to document the trip and our preparation for the climb on this blog. Before you begin thinking that this doesn’t apply to fitness, let me explain.

One of the most important parts of your fitness journey is setting a goal. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it. If you don’t have a goal, what are you doing and why are you doing it? Second, reaching your fitness goals involves more than just working out. It involves a personal commitment beyond the weight room or cardio machines. It involves you and those around you supporting your goal. It requires planning and preparation of your mind to visualize reaching the goal. It involves asking yourself regularly, “is what I’m doing today right now, helping me reach my goals”. Our goal is going to be completed one step at a time, literaly, and so is yours.

With that in mind, our goal is to be standing on the summit of Long’s Peak this summer. I look foward to sharing our progress with you!

The current testing involves a push up, sit up, and two-mile run test. While all three are great exercises, none simulates a situation that a soldier would find themselves in on the battlefield. They’re not lacing up the Nikes and going for a two mile jog. Instead, they’re wearing 60 pounds of body armor and other gear while carrying a rifle, ready to fire no less, while running through uneven and hostile terrain. That scenario requires you to be able to do more than a sit up.

In addition to adding agility tests to the “fitness readiness” portion of testing, a “combat readiness” test will also include a 400 meter run carrying a rifle through an obstacle course in full combat gear, and crawling and leaping over obstacles while aiming their rifle. Soldiers also run on a balance beam while carrying a 30-pound ammo box and do an agility sprint around a course of cones. Soldiers must drag a sled weighted with 180 pounds of sandbags to test pulling a fallen team member from the battlefield.

The US military has also been getting pretty progressive with the equipment they’re using the train soldiers. The military recently announced a purchase of 24,000 TRX Suspension Trainers for deployment to all branches of the service. Now each deploying brigade or battallion will have access to a TRX unit.

Functional fitness finally makes it to the US military! Is it time to look at what you’re doing as well? Think about what you do during the day and what you’d like to do from a recreation or sports standpoint. Are the exercises you do in any way supporting functional movement?

For example:

• A flight attendant might find exercises that simulate picking up a suitcase and lifting it overhead to place it into an overhead compartment more beneficial than another 25 reps on the leg adduction machine at their local gym.
• A scuba diver would benefit from exercise to help them lift loaded tanks more than 15 additional minutes of steady state work on the treadmill.
• A basketball player would benefit more from plyometric box jumps than a fifth set of bicep curls.

When it comes down to it, we exercise for a reason. For some it’s purely aesthetic and that’s OK. For most it’s about function. It’s about being able to do things with your body that you either can’t do today, or continue doing what you’re already able to do many years from now.

My friend Ken Hansen (he’s a great handyman.  If you’ve got a to do list, he’ll make it his get it done list) gave me an idea.  He said that he’s set his home page as our video so each time he opens a web browser the video gets another view.  Great idea!

Here are the simple steps to changing your home page:

1. Click the following link to visit our TRX Get With The Movement video on You Tube:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zyHkBH2rPU

 2. If you’re using Internet Explorer, click the toolbar picture of the house at the top right of your screen (see below).

 3. Choose Add or Change Home Page

 4. From the Add or Change Home Page dialog box, choose “Use this webpage as your only home page.

 After we win the TRX Get With The Movement contest (don’t worry, I’ll announce it on this blog), you’re welcome to leave our video as your home page so you can see us every day.  But, if you’d like to change it back to your original home page we’ll understand.  Just follow the same steps above but be sure to change the link in step 1 to your preferred home page.

Vote for our video and help us get to Long's Peak

My daughters and I have entered a contest through Fitness Anywhere, the makers of the TRX Suspension Trainer, and we need your help.  We’ve created a video and all we’re asking is that you watch the video and share it with all of your friends.  Each view counts as a vote and will help us get to our goal.

If we get enough votes, TRX will sponsor us on a climb of Long’s Peak and give us a video camera to document the whole thing.  Please help us make the dream happen!

Copy the link below and share it through Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, every method you can think of:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zyHkBH2rPU

 In addition to sharing the link, click below to watch the video right here!

I’ve got a HUGE deal for you!  Buy your TRX through the link below and you’ll get 25% off PLUS free shipping..  Make sure you use the code TRXMAS at checkout to get the deal!   

Get your TRX deal right here >>> http://bit.ly/9qwfk6  

This deal has never been offered before and the 25% off offer is only good through Monday, November 29.  Heck, I paid more for my own TRX, but it’s worth it.  

Please forward this link to all your friends too!   

Get your TRX deal right here >>> http://bit.ly/9qwfk6

TRX - Get With The Movement!

If you’ve never tried TRX Suspension Training, you’ve been missing out on a great full body workout. I’ve written about the benefits of full body exercise. I’ve talked about the advantages of standing up to exercise. I’ve talked about teaching your body to work together as a system vs. isolating specific muscles. I hope you’re listening.

The TRX gives you an opportunity to do all of those things with only one piece of equipment that can be used almost anywhere. The result: you get a great workout in a shorter period of time.

If you would like to experience TRX from a TRX Certified Trainer, and get one of the best workouts you’ve ever had, give me a call.

6 TRX exercises to improve your volleyball game

A strong core is required in every action you perform during the game. A player with a weak core won’t be able to block a strong opponent’s hit, dig up a killer serve, or serve a wicked ball.

Hitting, blocking, and jump serving require powerful legs and the ability to move unilaterally. Strengthening the legs independently through single leg exercises will push your performance through the roof.

Getting the most power from your serves and hits requires strong shoulder, back, and chest muscles. Even more important is the ability to rely on the rotational ability of your core. Imagine a baseball player swinging a bat without rotating the body. It’s the same thing with volleyball. Your power comes from the rest of the body and your arms are just the means to contact the ball. If all the action comes from the arms alone, you’ll destroy your arm while making a disappointing strike.

In this video, we’ll show you a series of 6 exercises to help your game.

The workout consists of 6 different exercises designed to target various muscle groups. The exercises and the muscle groups targeted are:

• TRX Power Pull – Back, shoulders, biceps, transversus abdominis
• TRX Chest Press – Chest, shoulders, triceps
• TRX High Rotation – Abdominals, shoulders, latissimus dorsi
• TRX Balance Lunge – Quadriceps
• TRX Suspended Pike – Abdominals, hip flexors
• TRX Suspended Hip Press – Hamstrings, glutes, back extensors

If you don’t have a TRX yet, get your own TRX Suspension Trainer!

Try the TRX Core 500

There are misconceptions about the core, so let’s take a minute to straighten that out first. Many people hear “core” and immediately think of their abs. While the abs are part of the core, there’s more. The core is defined as the lumbo-pelvic hip complex and the muscles that attach to it. It’s the rectus and transversus abdominis, obliques, hip flexors, hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors, and latissimus dorsi. It’s basically the torso with exception of the extremities. Get a strong core and you’ll be able to do more.

There are many ways to train the core, but few are as efficient, as fun, as unique, and as portable as the TRX Suspension Trainer. Fitness Anywhere is always issuing new challenges to their followers, so I thought I’d put together my own challenge. I’m calling it the Core 500.

The workout is simple in terms of the number of exercises and the complexity of those exercises. There are just five exercises in this complex designed to challenge your anterior and posterior chain and engage your core throughout the workout. You’ll do all of the reps for each exercise before moving on to the next exercise. Your goal is to do the prescribed number of reps in as few sets as possible.

Here goes:

• 100 Atomic Push Ups
• 100 Low Rows (deep angle with feet under the anchor point)
• 100 TRX Chest Presses (feet under the anchor point)
• 100 TRX Power Pulls (50 per side)
• 100 TRX Rollouts

Here’s a video demonstrating the exercises in this TRX workout.

Time yourself and leave a comment below to let me know how much time it takes you to complete the workout. If you don’t have a TRX of your own yet, get one here.

TRX 40/40 Challenge

The TRX 40/40 challenge involves doing 40 Atomic Push Ups, followed by a 1 minute rest period, and then doing 40 Low Rows. It’s a great test of upper body strength and stability. The Atomic push ups were tough, but I really had my hands full with the Low Rows. I had to rest a few times on the rows, but I never compromised my form and never touched the ground.

I’ve written about the TRX before and this won’t be the last time. It’s a phenomenla functional training tool and one that you can take anywhere. If you’d like to get your own TRX, check it out right here!

While you’re doing that, I’ll be recovering.

John Demos the TRX Suspension Trainer

Why?

Because your body works as a system, not in isolation. There’s a place for isolation exercises like bicep curls and calf raises, but when it comes down to it, are you trying to develop ripped calves or are you trying to develop an explosive jump. Most people work out because they want to do something with their bodies, like out-jump, out-run, or out-last the competition. If you’re trying to develop your body to work effectively as a system, functional training is the answer. Even if your goal isn’t athletic performance and you just want to move more effectively, functional training is important.

My hands down favorite tool for functional training is the TRX Suspension Trainer. You can use it for literaly hundreds of different exercises and get an amazing workout using just your own bodyweight. With every exercise, you’re training your core to stabilize your body as well as working the prime mover muscles to perform the exercise. As an added bonus, you can get that workout done in a shorter time because you don’t have to wander all over the gym switching weight plates, machines, etc.

I use it with grandmothers and I use it with athletes. Just a few small adjustments with your body position and each both the grandmother and the athlete get an equally effective workout.

Click here to get your TRX today!

Here’s a video with just a few examples of exercises you can do with the TRX Suspension Trainer.

Click this video to see the TRX Suspension Trainer in action!