Fixing Your Weak Links (Part 2)
In this article I am going to discuss the benefits of the TRX Suspension trainer and the TRX RIP Trainer especially for firefighters.
TRX stands for Total Body Exercise- it’s basically a suspension trainer where you can do over 200 exercises on it using your body weight as resistance. It was created by a Navy Seal who initially created the TRX from parachute webbing and he started to do exercises on it and the rest of the platoon caught on. He knew he was on to something so when he got out of the military, he went to business school and started TRX with just himself – now he has over 200 people working for him!
The beauty about the TRX is you can literally take it to the fire station or anywhere for that matter as long as you have somewhere to hang it up. The best thing about the TRX is no matter what exercise you do whether it’s a back row or a chest press, besides working those muscle groups you are also working on your core (lower back, hips, stomach) and to have your core strong is essential for firefighters to perform their duties.
In the fitness world there is a saying called proximal stability and distal mobility meaning you need to work on your core first and once your core is strong then you can focus on your chest, shoulders, arms, legs, etc.
So in the last article I talked about how I rehabbed my back on my own and now I’m going to discuss other exercises that you can do with the TRX and the RIP trainer to make your back as resilient as ever.
Don’t get me wrong there isn’t anything wrong with the normal routine (bench press, deadlifts, squats etc.) I love doing them they are just not good to do if you have lower back issues or a weak core.
There is no sense in doing barbell deadlifts when you have a weak link somewhere, that’s why it’s vital to work on your core and mobility first and then and only then if you want you can start doing the normal routines. Like my last article I mentioned how everything is a step by step process, if you can’t touch your toes then I wouldn’t recommend doing deadlifts, focus on these exercises that I’m about to show you and stretch your hips, hamstrings, shoulders and low back.
Don’t be surprised after you try these exercises out that they become a permanent fixture to your routines, because this could quite literally save you from having another back episode or prevent you from ever having a back problem.
So in the last article I discussed how to do a plank, now try doing it on a TRX- have the TRX at mid calf height put your feet in and get in that plank position. Hold for 12 to 15 seconds.
If you can do that four times without breaking a sweat I would recommend doing the suspended crunch as shown here
If you can do this exercise with no difficulty try the Atomic Push-up: this is the holy grail exercise
The next exercise, is on the TRX RIP Trainer- What the TRX is,(working on stability and mobility) the TRX RIP Trainer is the opposite (working on power and asymmetrical loading-where the weight is harder on one side then the other and this is what really makes your core super strong because you are trying not to compensate) So these next two exercises are called the Stack Hold and the Flag Pole Squat
HOMEWORK- Give this workout a try. TRX Plank 3 sets x 10 to 12 seconds, superset with the TRX RIP Stack hold- 3 sets x 10 to 12 seconds, then TRX Flag Pole Squat 4 sets x 8 reps(on each side) followed by TRX Atomic Pushups 4 sets x 10 reps
The next article I’m going to go over the last piece of the equation… kettlebells
