Hang on for a second! Let's talk Suspension Training

How's your workout going lately? Bored with the weights? Need to change it up a little? Need to challenge yourself in a new way?

There's a good chance that you have seen a few people working out with a contraption that looks to be two handles attached by an elevated bar. This piece of machinery, known as the TRX© (Total Resistance eXercise), is a 2 lb. piece of equipment in which you have the option to push your limits using your own body weight as resistance. Developed by Fitness Anywhere, it is a type of training intended to promote strength, balance, stability and athleticism. Think this is just a new fad? Think again.

Suspension training has been around for over 150 years, says Fraser Quelch, Director of Programming and Education at Fitness Anywhere. "Generations of acrobats and gymnasts have used their own body weight and gravity as resistance - suspended by rings, ropes, and trapeze bars - to generate tremendous strength and the astonishing physiques that are a hallmark of these athletes." However, during the 60's and 70's when training shifted its focus to the more traditional bodybuilding approach, suspension training became a rare sight in the workout community. People were no longer so much concerned with how they moved and felt, as opposed to how they looked from an aesthetic viewpoint.

The truth is: life doesn't happen sitting down. We as humans move sideways, forward, backward and diagonally. How would the use of linear machines help us improve our way of life? While they may strengthen certain aspects of our muscles and help our them grow from a purely aesthetic standpoint, these machines simply do not mimic everyday movements. How is an ab curl going to strengthen your entire core? It won't (and many people who do use it, don't do it properly).

Lets take a moment and define what the "core" really is. The "core" is essentially your abdominal muscles as well as your back muscles working in unison to stabilize your spine in everyday movements. Having a strong core is the only way to ensure the prevention of injuries, improve one's posture and promote overall strength. How suspension training works is that it creates an element of instability that calls on these muscles to provide balance and coordination. With the variety of exercises the TRX allows you to perform, you'll have the ability to bring a total muscular balance to your body, increasing performance and reducing injuries.

This past Tuesday, a friend and I headed over to Central Park on a gorgeous day to go through our workout. Aside from having the ability to go through a total body strength workout in less than 45 minutes (and still getting a good sweat on), training outdoors proved to be a wonderful change from the sometimes over-populated gym (you've been around at 5 pm on a Monday...you know what I'm talking about). Our workout consisted of single leg lunges, single leg squats, hamstring curls and glute raises, suspended chest press and elevated rows, a shoulder circuit, an arm circuit and a massive ab circuit that had us begging for air. To see our workout in it's entirety, click here.

Now I know that this may seem like something intended for elite athletes, but the truth of the matter is, the TRX can be adjusted to suit your level of fitness. Wherever you are at this point in your training, the incorporation of suspension training with your routine will absolutely increase your strength, balance and most importantly, improve total core strength. I repeat this again: this will prevent injuries, improve your posture and build up a massive foundation of strength. In other words, it will make every day life easier.

I've already implemented the use of suspension training in some of my clients workout regimens.

E. strengthens her back and arms via suspended row.


T. works on his hamstrings with an elevated hamstring curl.

The bottom line is, suspension training is a highly effective functional workout, which will strengthen you from head to toe, right through your entire core. For more information, click here to read an article by Fraser Quelch on the effectiveness of the TRX on strength, balance, stability and athleticism.

Interested in trying out the TRX? Email me at adam.kania@goodlifemakesiteasy.com, leave your information at the desk, or come up and ask me for an absolutely free trial workout. You (and your body) won't regret it.

In the meantime, consider the way you've been approaching training prior to reading this article. Is it helping you prepare for the rigors of everyday life, or are we just concerned with the way we look? If looks is all you're going for, all the power to you. As long as you are happy, confident and working to improve yourself everyday, that is what's most important. The old saying goes "To each their own." My preference to train myself and my clients in a functional manner is simply to help promote overall improvement in everyday life. The results speak for themselves.

As for suspension training, I think this new "fad" will be hanging around for quite some time.

Working on my back and core with an elevated row against a soccer goal post.