Today's entry comes from my buddy Maarburg, from A Vicious Cycle, who purchased the TRX Force Training Kit a couple of weeks before I bought my Home Bundle.
I purchased the TRX Military Bundle for the 12 week program. My first thoughts on the program were that the workload to rest ratio didn't seem maximized, but being willing to try new things and ideas, I dove in. The abdominal workout was far in excess of anything I'd ever done when I was previously involved in body building/strength training. A few weeks of screaming obliques, and the inability to laugh pain free was discouraging. This is less the fault of the program and more my over-zealousness. Additionally, there are a number of leg movements that were counter productive to my cycling training.
I've since fallen back on a workout program that has proven successful for me, but swapping out the clunky, cumbersome free weight movements for the much more challenging TRX movements. For many years I've been a fan of High Intensity Training. The Military program as provided by TRX will, undoubtedly, yield tremendous gains in balance, strength, and stability. That being said, the shorter more intense workout that I'm familiar with is something that I feel more comfortable with and makes for a better historical comparison. Since switching over to a HIT style program, I've seen immediate results. I wish I'd had the foresight to take measurements when I first got the system.
There is a tremendous advantage to the TRX system, both in the range of motion, and the inherent mobility. You are no longer stuck on a bench pressing a weight straight up with your hands in a fixed position on the bar, and limited to a 90degree to horizontal motion. The TRX system actually allows you to vary the horizontal and vertical motion on something as basic as a Pectoralis Major Press. (Can't very well call it a "Bench" press anymore, now can I?) Using this exercise as an example, the motion I've adopted is more like a Pec Fly. This system allows the flexability to switch from Flye to narrow grip, to wide grip, to decline, to incline presses, all at whim. Very very useful. The adaptability of the TRX system is without compare. When I'm done with an exercise, I can feel the results of my efforts from the point of insertion to the origin. That means that I'm working the entire muscle, something that can be a bit of a challenge with free weights.
Probably the only negative things I can say about the TRX are that exercise from is even more crucial, and a bit harder to obtain, and the range of motion might provide a challenge for those not used to muscular development exercises. The "Tee-ing" of the feet helps to alleviate a bit of the later. These, potential, negatives are easily offset by the systems abilty to provide a workout that follows the bodies natural motion and engages stabilizing muscles that machines and even free weights do not. Did I mention that the entire system (including the manual and DVD) take up less room than a pair of shoes.
The TRX system, in my opinion, is more suited to Strength and Stability as opposed to Bodybuilding. The nature of the system makes it more difficult to isolate one muscle, a common goal in Bodybuilding. For my purposes, and I'm assuming a majority of the people that do strength training, this lack of isolation is actually a benefit. The TRX encourages a more balanced and functional strength.
When you come across something that is correct, and works, you just know it. The TRX System is one of those things.
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