TRX 101

Please note the new blog name.  I quickly realized this was a new challenge for me so the blog is now www.mytrxbootcampchallenge.blogspot.com

So today was the day.  I completed (barely) my first TRX Boot Camp session.  Wow.  Wow is the only word that I can use to describe that.  I thought I was a strong athlete.  And why not, I run all the time.  I do crunches and planks and the basic ab work.  This TRX Boot Camp is a whole new animal!

Lauren is our instructor and she approached me before the class and we chatted a bit to get to know each other better.  She asked why I signed up for the class, what my goals were, and if I had any injuries.  Luckily I don't, however, the "vet" next to me had some injuries that Lauren remembered from last month.  I watched and listened as Lauren explained to the vet  a move that we would be doing in the class.  She said to the vet, "I know this will be painful for you with your back and shoulder injury, so you can adapt it like this ________.  You should be feeling your muscles work here, but no pain."

Talk about some personal service!  Lauren took the time to listen, acknoweldge the current situation, make adaptions, and give this vet the personal attention she needed to get a good workout, prevent further injury, and work toward healing the current problem.  You can't even get that from a personal trainer and we had about 10-15 people in class tonight.

So we started the class with a warm up and while Lauren directed us through warm up she also introduced us to the parts of the TRX.  She explained all the parts and how we use them from top to bottom.  And then the fun started.  We dove right in to this scary and intimadating sea that is called TRX Boot Camp.  We went through an entire full body work out.  We worked our biceps, tricepts, chest, quads, abs, back.... everything.  It was all jello when I left.

Here's a little map of the TRX.  We used the yellow and black ones on the right side.

Some of the exercises were beginner-basic level, but Lauren quickly gave us "progression" options.  She explained how we can use the TRX and our own bodies to make each exercise more difficult.  That's a no brainer.  I'm up for the challenge and ready to push myself.  I liked all the options to increase difficulty.

When running, I've often say to myself "You can do anything for 5 more minutes."  Well, today, in TRX Boot Camp, I learned that's a lot harder for just 2 minutes of TRX exercises.  We went through each exercise for about 2 minutes.  That sure doesn't sound like much, but when I was doing rows, tricep extensions, push ups, etc. on the TRX, I was lucky to get 30 seconds of work before I needed a break.

Oh wait, did I tell you that stopping was one of the TRX Deadly Sins.  Yep, there's no stopping here.  And surprisingly, that's ok.  It's ok because there are also "regressions" to go with the progressions.  So just like the opposite of what we learned before, when you get fatigued you can regress your exercise and keep going.  There's no need to quit.  You can just keep going and pushing as much as you can. 

Regressions also help protect form.  There was a lot of focus on correct form tonight.  This helps prevent injuries.  I'm a big fan of that.  I have a half marathon coming up this fall and I can't get hurt now.  Luckily, I don't see that happening anytime soon!