TRX has been a leader in the fitness industry the last several years. Its no wonder so many elite athletes turn to TRX for their in/off-season training. Each piece of equipment is very versatile and costs less than $300 ea.
Core muscles (hips, abdominals, pelvis, low back, and obliques) are what initiate every athletic move. In order to have a strong athletic core, you must be able to perform movements in many different directions, and if you want to get to the elite level, you have to do the movements very quickly and with power.
These exercises I am sharing will challenge every muscle in your body and get the heart rate pumping on all cylinders. You will need a TRX Suspension Trainer as well as a TRX Rip Trainer. The exercises train the body in 3-dimensions, so you will be moving in many different planes of motion.
You can do each combo for time or for a certain number of reps. I prefer to do them for time so that I don't need to worry about counting reps. Aim for 30-45 sec per combo with 15-30 sec of rest. You can do all as a stand-alone workout, or add one of these combos at the end of your regular strength workout.
Here are MyTop 5 TRX Combo Exercises for a strong athletic core:
I have been busy beating myself up lately with a great Kettlebell challenge. I love challenges because they are always difficult and make me push harder than I would otherwise. As I say to all of my athletes/clients, "getting outside of your comfort zone will only make you stronger" (both mentally and physically).
So three weeks ago I decided to try Dan John's 10,000 Kettlebell Challenge. Dan John if you don't know, is one of the premier strength coaches in the world, is a former athlete himself, and knows a thing or two about designing effective programs. No way around it, doing 10,000 Kettlebell Swings over the course of one month is going to hurt.
In the video, we are on Day 12 doing our 4th set of the KB Swings w/ Barbell O/H Presses
Here are the details of the challenge from the T-Nation website...
In four or five weeks, you're going to perform 10,000 proper
kettlebell swings. These will be split among 20 workouts. You'll do 500 swings
per workout.
Between sets of swings, you'll perform low-volume, basic
strength exercises. You will train 4-5 days per week. Train 2 days on, 1 day
off, and repeat. Men will use a 24kg kettlebell (53 pounds). Women will use
16kg (35 pounds).
Use an undulating rep scheme to reach 500 total reps per
workout:
Set 1: 10 reps
Set 2: 15 reps
Set 3: 25 reps
Set 4: 50 reps
You've now completed 100 reps or one cluster. Repeat the
cluster 4 more times for a total of 500 swings. Between sets, experienced
lifters will add a low-volume strength movement.
Here is a sample workout for one of the days
10 Swings
O/H Press 1 rep
15 Swings
O/H Press 2 reps
25 Swings
O/H Press 3 reps
50 Swings
Rest 30-60 seconds; repeat 4 more times.
I am doing the challenge with my friend Gordon, and I would highly recommend finding a friend to do this challenge with. Having someone else to suffer with will make it just a little easier than doing it by yourself.
We are performing the workouts 5 days a week; Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat, and Sun. The Fri workout is only the 500 KB Swings, no other strength exercise. It feels somewhat like a rest day, but not really.
The goal of this challenge is to start week 1 with a heavy but manageable strength exercise for each workout and have it become easy in week 4. The strength exercises we are doing are
Day 1 Barbell O/H Press (115 lbs)
Day 2 Dips (with a 45 lb weight)
Day 3 KB Swings only
Day 4 DB Goblet Squats
Day 5 Chinups (with a 25 lb weight vest)
The first week my hands and forearms got completely trashed. Since then, however, the Swings have become easier, I don't need much rest between clusters, and my grip strength is a heck of a lot stronger.
We are timing ourselves for each workout to measure progress. Our first couple workouts were in the low 40 min range. We are now on Day 12 and our time to complete the workout is in the low 30 min range. We also took body composition measurements before we started the challenge.
Here are the results of our body fat composition before the start:
Gordon Sloane
200 lb 185 lbs
14.7% body fat 6.9% body fat
170.5 lb of lean mass 173 lbs of lean mass
29.5 lbs of fat mass 12 lbs of fat mass
It will be interesting to see what changes we see after the 20 workouts.
Here are the results that Dan John and other coaches/athletes saw after the 20 workouts:
1. Everyone got leaner, dropping a waist size or two, in 20
workouts.
2. Every coach or athlete made visual muscular improvements in
their physiques, adding lean body mass.
3. Every lifter increased his grip strength and greatly
increased work capacity and athletic conditioning. They could all train longer
and harder when they went back to their normal training programs.
4. After the program, every lifter saw a noted improvement in
his core lifts. PR's fell like dominos. Full-body strength and power shot
through the roof.
5. Abs were more visible. Glute strength was tremendously
better. The abs and glutes "discovered" how to work again, leading to
athletic improvements in sport and in the weight room.
For the Holiday I want to share a smoothie recipe that will provide lots of antioxidants as well as make for a perfect colorful drink.
This is a favorite of mine and one I personally created. I have become addicted to eating beets, whether roasting them or putting them in smoothies. I use my NutriBullet to make this, but any smoothie blender should work fine.
Ingredients:
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup red beets (cut into cube size pieces)
1/2 banana
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup berries (black and blue)
1-2 scoops of protein powder
3/4-1 cup water
3-4 ice cubes
1 tbsp flaxseed
Directions:
Put spinach in blender (or NutriBullet) first, then add the remaining ingredients in any order you want. You may have to adjust the water depending on how thick you prefer to have it. I used 3/4 cup and it came out moderately runny. Any protein powder will work, it helps to thicken it up a little and provides adequate protein for a nutritious snack.
Since Christmas is right
around the corner and everyone is now in the holiday spirit, it’s time to have some
fun with your workouts. If you've been participating in my December Holiday Challenge, koodos to you and keep it up. This is one of
my favorite workouts to do this time of year and it reminds me when I was a kid
counting the days to Christmas (who am I kidding, I still count the days). I have
used this workout with several of my athletes (Option 2) and it is as much physically challenging as it is mentally challenging.
Because most of us will be
traveling this time of year, it can be difficult to make it to the gym, so this
workout requires nothing but your body weight. The
“12 Days to Christmas Workout” consists of 12 exercises performed in a
descending ladder format. This can make
for a fun and challenging workout, and of course it’s always best if you can
rally up some teammates, friends or family members and do it as a group. You can also find this article in the December Issue of BendOr Magazine that just recently hit the streets.
Here are the rules for the workout:
You can do this workout one
of two ways, depending on how difficult you want to make it for yourself. Option 1: On December 13th, you will begin
with the first exercise (prisoner squats) and perform 12 reps. Then each day until Christmas Day you will
perform the previous exercise as well as adding the new days’ exercise. Below is a detailed format
of what is looks like…650 total reps. 12
12,11
12,11,10
12,11,10,9
12,11,10,9,8
12,11,10,9,8,7
12,11,10,9,8,7,6
12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5
12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4
12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3
12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2
12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 Option 2: Beginning on
December 13th, you’ll perform the entire workout (same format as
above but all 650 reps) each day for 12 straight days. If you can manage to do this you will have
completed a total of 7,800 reps by Christmas Day (650 x 12). This is much harder than it may seem. Just completing the workout for 12 straight
days can be the biggest challenge for some.Of course you can always
change the order or type of exercises to make it harder or easier. The exercises challenge you to work in all
three planes of movement (frontal, sagital, and transverse planes) and are challenging
yet attainable for most. Rest only as long as needed
between exercises, and allow 15-30 sec of rest in between each new round. Make it your goal to beat your time to
complete the workout each week.
For the month
of December (holiday season), I have put together 3 exercises that will target lots of muscles, and will emphasize "triple extension" of the lower body. Triple extension involves locking of the ankles, knees, and hips and is important for all athletes. If you want to get faster or jump higher, triple extension is the key. If you can stick with this routine (either as a stand alone workout or incorporated into your regular workout) for the full 30
days (Christmas Day excluded) and are good with your nutrition, you will go into the New Year
looking leaner than ever. These
exercises will focus on strength, endurance and power and will shed a ton of calories.
RULES:
5 days a week, perform these three exercises and allow two days off. So you can do M-F and take Sat and Sun off,
or three days in a row, take a day off, then another two days of the workout in
a row, and then another day off.
Whatever you choose for your format, stick with the same for each week.
30 BURPEES
30 KB SWINGS 30 BOX JUMPS
In order to
make this fun and effective, your goal is to push yourself during each workout
an each lift/movement. Choose a weight
for the KB Swings that is challenging but allows you to get all 30 reps without
stopping to rest. Men should aim for a 24kg weight and women a 18kg weight.
Have a timer (or your smart phone) with you for the first workout of each week and record how
long the workout takes you to complete. Each week see if you can beat the previous
weeks’ time. By week 4 you should smash
your time from week 1. This is a simple yet very effective workout for working on triple extension as well as developing the aerobic and anaerobic systems. If you don't have access to kettlebells, you can always substitute a dumbbell instead. And if you don't have plyo boxes, you can use step boxes or a bench, or simply just do squat jumps. Post your time to complete the workout down in the comments below Enjoy!
