So it looks like the TRX'ers are still lovin' their TRX's. I have a birthday coming up this month, and one of these may be my birthday present. But I wanted to check in and see whether you guys were still into these or whether they were something people used for a few weeks and then blew off.
D: Suspended Side Plank 15 seconds hold per side (only done once)-This one was a bit tricky so I didn't hold quite as long. My hips kept sagging.
Notes: This is a great workout. But, I found it to be a bit less challenging than I expected. I even kept increasing the angles to make it more challenging. I think the 6-Minute circuits have greatly improved my conditioning. I find them to be extremely challenging. In fact, I would love it if someone else (Jill, Roland....anyone?) would try this one and let me know what you think. They kick my butt every time.
Finisher:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mahler
Mahler's Long Stair Climb 12 steps up from the basement. 1 step up, 1 step backward and down. 2 steps up, 2 steps backward and down. and so on until 12 steps up and 12 steps backward and down.
Notes: I modified Mahler's stair climb slightly as I only have 10 steps before the staircase turns. So, I did them up to 10 and then did the last full set again just for good measure! Thanks, Mahler!
__________________ -Tracy (forumite formerly known as 'Victoria')
On Krista mistressing the chin-up, "It's amazing", said one gym source, "considering that for months she just hung there like a dead fish."
Um, not as challenenging in either way. But, I did have some slight DOMS today, so it obviously did something. Maybe I just wasn't inspired yesterday. I've been feeling rather flatline lately, so that could be it. I'll be working my way through the rest of them so I look forward to some progressively nastier a$$ kicking!
That's a crazy workout that guy did. Yeah, I'll be ready for that one soon...
__________________ -Tracy (forumite formerly known as 'Victoria')
On Krista mistressing the chin-up, "It's amazing", said one gym source, "considering that for months she just hung there like a dead fish."
To see if you're progressing, you have to revisit some exercises at similar set/rep schemes, right? It's been over a month of TRXing in this log, so I figured I should check things out.
I went back to Workout #2, just to see...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lost Dog
TRX Workout #2
three sets of each superset, with no rest between exercises and 0-60
seconds between supersets.
C1: Suspended Lunge (with absolutely no hop) 8 reps per leg
C2: Tricep Press 8 reps
D: Suspended Plank - 1 minute hold, once
Took me about 35 minutes
I did it in the sand. Got a little dirty with the pikes and plank. Good thing I didn't fall down on them lunges... But, almost...
All in all, this was pretty tough. Not undo-able, but it felt like a very good workout that kept me challenged the whole time.
3 sets of each superset. I only rested if I needed it, and kept it under 30s. It's hard to know what angle I used last time, but I aimed for similar conditions.
C1: Suspended Lunge (only hopped during sets 1 and 2) 8 reps per leg
C2: Tricep Press 12 (I did them differently, so the numbers don't jive)
D: Suspended Plank - 2 minute hold (twice the time. very hard)
Took me about 30 minutes. A little less time. Less rest, I think. Plus, I don't have to think about setup as much. I just make strap adjustments quickly and get back into it.
I'm glad I went with this one. I didn't have the high energy for some of the mixed bodyweight or KB workouts. This was tough enough.
I'd encourage those who've done a few to revisit an early one to see how far you've come.
To see if you're progressing, you have to revisit some exercises at similar set/rep schemes, right? It's been over a month of TRXing in this log, so I figured I should check things out.
That's pretty interesting, LD. I know there was a huge difference from when I first tried it to my last workout. I have a funny feeling "Julie's Revenge" will still kick butt, though!
__________________ -Tracy (forumite formerly known as 'Victoria')
On Krista mistressing the chin-up, "It's amazing", said one gym source, "considering that for months she just hung there like a dead fish."
Damn! That was a pretty intense workout! Made my shoulders scream just watching it, but I did get some great ideas for my clients.
__________________ Jean-Paul Francoeur www.jpfitness.com http://forums.jpfitness.com
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
-Mark Twain
So it looks like the TRX'ers are still lovin' their TRX's. I have a birthday coming up this month, and one of these may be my birthday present. But I wanted to check in and see whether you guys were still into these or whether they were something people used for a few weeks and then blew off.
Dave, I'm probably not the best one here to answer this. I just started using my TRX in early August, so the novelty hasn't really worn off yet. My guess at this point is that it will remain a frequently used option..
A1: Suspended Incline Press, hands on blocks, 5x4-5 (not one crash landing, but it was close!)
A2: Assisted Pistols, 4x6-7 (pretty wobbly in round four)
B1: Rows (feet on chair), 3x8-10
B2: Back Extensions, 3x15
C1: Curls, 3x8
C2: Balance Lunges, 3x8-10
D: Wide Pushups, hands on blocks for extra depth, 12/11/10/10
With the kids around again, I'm planning to work with the TRX as part two of my hypertrophy routine each weekend. This was the start. It was an excellent workout.
Here's my issue, before I talk more about the article...
With weights, you know the weight you're dealing with. BBs, DBs, KBs, even a sandbag, has a set weight that you can use to do the math. Each week, you can decide to up the weight, shorten the rest period, add sets, add reps, etc. each to make sure that you are progressing and also to make sure that you hit the set/rep combination that will give you the desired effect.
Not so with the TRX. You can try to make it slightly harder than last week's workout. But can you be sure that it's harder? Is the angle the same? steeper? shallower? Who knows? You can't. All you can really do is try for the closest possible, then go until you're close to failure. Arbitrary, and maybe not all that important, when the TRX is but one workout in many. But, the more you rely on it for a training effect, the more you want to be sure that you're getting the effect you are after.
In the article, Chad describes the methodology for finding the optimum number of reps for a given weight (in his opinion). You pick your weight, taking a shot at matching the weight to a specific max of yours. ie., you're shooting for a weight that's your 8RM, for instance. It doesn't really matter if you picked the right weight. That's the beauty of this methodology. You lift until you see your lift speed slow. Rep 1 is fast. Keep going until your speed drops. If it drops after rep 5, that's where you stop. Rest up, do your other exercise in the superset, if needed, then come back and lift again. Rep 1 is fast, but maybe you only get to rep 4 before you notice the drop in speed. That's fine. Stop at 4, then. Repeat. Repeat until you've done 25 reps.
I don't think there's much magic to 25 reps. It's the number that Chad plays with. Many of his routines feature a total set/rep combination that comes to 24-25 reps. At least for strength and hypertrophy. There are good reasons to go with more or less sometimes, but for general strength and hypertrophy, 25 seems good to me.
If you're a good judge of your lifting speed, you might find this method useful. I tried it yesterday, and found it something of a relief. I tried to setup 4x6 on my first exercise and failed. I got 4, then 5. After superset 1, I regrouped and decided to try the 25 method that CW talks about. Worked well. Takes the pressure to guess exactly right off.
The article doesn't talk about progression. With weights, you have a choice of adding weight, reducing rest time, adding more sets, or adding more reps. With the 25 method, I think, despite the name, that a good choice is to increase the reps, from week to week. 25 to 27, 27 to 29, then make a purposeful attempt at making the exercise angle harder. The other options don't seem worth the effort.
Anyhow, I'm going to keep playing with this for my weekend workouts and see how it goes.
I have a birthday coming up this month, and one of these may be my birthday present. But I wanted to check in and see whether you guys were still into these or whether they were something people used for a few weeks and then blew off.
