WORK IT OUT

These TRX Straps Bring the Gym Home to You, Which Is Good Because You’re Probably Staying Home Right Now

Just about anyone can get in a full-body strength-building workout, and you can do it anywhere, including your living room or garage.

When I first got my TRX Suspension Training straps a few years back, my first thought was something along the lines of: “Great, now I can get in a solid workout anytime, anywhere!” The whole TRX system consists of two long straps with grips and a pair of anchors that allow you to affix those straps to a door, a tree trunk or limb, or of course to a fixed anchor point. You can tuck the lot of it into a box about the size of a six-pack, you can bring your straps anywhere.

Then the coronavirus cancelled leaving the house for the next months, so now my tune has changed to: “Great, I can get in a solid workout without exposing myself or my family to a deadly and horrifying virus causing an unprecedented pandemic!”

And I do mean a solid workout. Before all the isolation set in, I was using TRX straps as part of a professional guided workout at Orange Theory Fitness more than I was using them at home, in fact. When you properly execute an exercise designed around these straps, you can perfectly target muscle groups from your legs to your shoulder and strengthen your core, and you minimize the chance of injury that can come with free weights.

When I use my TRX straps at home, I usually set up in the garage. Hooking them into the large hook I screwed into a stud takes about five seconds, and once in place I’m all set to everything from standing chest raises or pushups, single-leg lunges, shoulder rotations, and many other exercises. Many of the moves you can do with TRX straps simulate exercises you usually complete with other hardware – they can stand in for everything from a pull-up bar to dumbbells to a rower and beyond. Others are unique to working out with straps, such as a suspended plank that greatly ups the intensity.

Beyond the fact that TRX straps are, ironically, ideal for both on-the-road and home use, perhaps their greatest quality is how one-size-fits all they can be. A 50-pound weight is a 50-pound weight and that’s that. I might be able to use a pair of those for chest presses, but the guy on my left might use 35-pounders while the guy on my right needs 60s. With TRX straps, you control the level of difficulty. Need more challenge on a low row? Move your feet closer to the wall (or tree) so you’re nearer to horizontal with the ground. Need things a bit easier? Back up so the angle is less acute.

With a set of TRX straps, just about anyone can get in a fully body strength-building workout, and you can do it anywhere, including your living room or my garage. But meaning your garage – I’d appreciate it if you keep your social distance.

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Steven John

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