“We weren’t sure what we were getting ourselves into the first time we walked in here,” Laura Sharp said, smiling.
But one class using the TRX Suspension Trainer, and the Centerville woman couldn’t wait to come back for more. Sharp now participates in as many as five TRX classes a week.
TRX Suspension Training bodyweight exercise, which was invented by a former Navy SEAL, simultaneously develops strength, balance, flexibility and core stability. The equipment leverages gravity and the user’s body weight to enable hundreds of exercises for every fitness goal. The TRX system has been utilized by the military and professional athletes, but even an exercise novice will benefit from TRX training.
“TRX is extremely popular, and the best thing about it is that everyone can do it,” said Deb Miller, a TRX instructor at Zero Gravity, a fitness training and sports performance facility in Centerville. “You can make minor modifications to make it easier or more challenging. Change the way your feet are positioned and you can change your load.”
A TOTAL WORKOUT
Jim Engelhardt, Kettering Recreation Complex division manager of fitness programs, thought installing the TRX system would be a good investment. It far exceeded his expectations.
“The response has been unbelievable,” Engelhardt said. “Participation continues to surpass our goals, and we’re planning to install more sets so we can accommodate more people in our classes.”
Engelhardt is the first to admit that the TRX equipment looked a bit ominous to staff and patrons alike when it was first installed.
“People have to overcome their initial reservations, and once they do that they discover what an adaptable system this is,” he said. “You get a full-body workout from head to toe.”
From strengthening the core to providing full-body stretching, TRX classes can provide benefits to people of all fitness levels and all ages.
“We have kids who use it and we have people in their 70s in our TRX classes,” Miller said. “It takes a little while to get used to how it works but after a few times, you’re good to go.”
PERSONALIZED PROGRAM
Beth Schultz had some initial doubts about TRX.
“I wasn’t sure how they would fill an hour class,” the Beavercreek woman said. “But the instructors are so creative and the classes have been great. It has really strengthened my core.”
Schultz, 47, like Sharp, is now a TRX regular at the Kettering Recreation Complex.
Music echoes through the room as participants grab hold of the straps and push, pull and lunge using their own body weight as resistance. Arms quiver, legs shake and abs begin to ache as the exercise routine shifts to the floor for push-ups with the participants’ feet hooked into the straps.
“Depending on how you stand or how you position yourself, it makes it more or less difficult,” Schultz said. “The instructors do a good job explaining the modifications.”
BIG PAYOFF
To see the benefits of TRX, look no further than Sharp. Just two years ago, the 49-year-old could barely get out of bed because of intense fibromyalgia pain.
“When I went to the store, I’d have to use a wheelchair,” she said.
She started walking, worked up to Pilates and added some weight training before she discovered TRX in June 2011.
“I am amazed how much of a difference it has made,” Sharp said. “For me, being so sore and stiff, I knew the two things I needed were better nutrition and increased movement. This class has been great. It started out pretty easy and has gotten a bit more strenuous, but, because you are exercising against your own body weight, you can adapt the moves to meet your needs.”
TRX veterans such as Sharp and Schultz can exercise side-by-side with first timers in the drop-in classes and no one gets left behind as the instructor puts them through their paces.
GETTING STARTED
The TRX Suspension Trainer has been in the exercise marketplace since 2005 and is utilized in fitness facilities across the country. Portable systems can also be purchased for home use.
“The fitness game is very cyclical,” Engelhardt said. “Part of it is that people get bored with the same old thing, but the other part is that variety is essential to get the results that people want.”
The Kettering Recreation Complex, Zero Gravity, Personally Fit and Club 51 Fitness are just a few of the ever-growing number of Miami Valley fitness facilities that offer TRX classes or training. Some facilities offer drop-in classes, while others require advance registration. Consult the individual facilities for schedules and details.
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