Fitness Anywhere Online Community

Staff Sergeant Ken Weichert Talks TRX - Hooah!

Nathan McGee — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:03:00 GMT

Staff Sergeant Ken Weichert (a.k.a. “SGT Ken”) is a six-time Soldier of the Year, Master Fitness Trainer and veteran of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Desert Storm. Ken and his wife Stephanie, a Certified Personal Trainer, founded START Fitness, a group exercise and hiking business that has delivered military-style workouts to soldiers and civilians since 1998. Ken and Stephanie have led thousands of soldiers to better health through Operation Fit to Fight, a tactical fitness instructor training program designed to prepare soldiers for Basic Combat Training (“Boot Camp”), deployments, leadership schools and post-deployment reintegration. Operation Fit to Fight creates tactical athletes who lead by example and are ready to perform duties in response to natural disasters or in defense of our country. Ken and Stephanie currently produce health and fitness programs for GX magazine and for the National Guard website.

How did you first hear about the TRX?

I have known the creator of TRX, Randy Hetrick, for several years. I have always admired his ingenuity and ability to see the needs of combat fitness or functional fitness training.

What excited you most about the TRX?

What I like the most about TRX is that I can take it with me wherever I go, while deployed or when vacationing abroad. It takes very little space or weight, and it allows me the opportunity to achieve total body resistance strength and balance training in a short period of time.

How have you incorporated the TRX into your workout routine/lifestyle?

As the fitness and health columnist for the National Guard magazine (GX) and for www.NATIONALGUARD.com/fitness, I am responsible for developing fitness programs to help soldiers prepare for the rigors of combat or Basic Combat Training (BCT). TRX is a product I have used to show soldiers how to increase strength and balance, with or without a gym membership. I love the product so much that I have added it to our civilian boot camp program in San Francisco (www.STARTfitness.com).

Where do you typically workout using your TRX?

I travel a great deal training soldiers prior to deployments or before new soldiers go to Basic Combat Training. TRX is always a part of my travel bag.

What are your current health/business goals?

As a National Guard Soldier, the majority of my fitness training is for the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). I have noticed that my core strength has increased a great deal through the use of TRX and has helped me to achieve greater APFT scores.

How do you stay motivated?

The results of my fitness efforts motivate me to continue rigorous training.

What does it mean to you to be fit, and why do you think it is important?

I was a high school football all-star, hoping to use the sport to go to college. While a senior in high school, my college football dreams came to a sudden stop when I was illegally tackled and seriously injured. My back was fractured. My football career was over. A few weeks after the injury, by the grace of God, I regained feeling and mobility in my lower back. After a year of physical rehabilitation and recovery, I enlisted in the US Army. The intense muscular strength and aerobic conditioning techniques in BCT made me physically ready for the rigors of combat and confident for everyday life. Shortly after BCT, I vowed to do my absolute best to train soldiers and civilians in Physical Readiness Training (PRT) in an effort to fight global obesity. Joined with my wife Stephanie, our goal is to provide the type of training that will help our clients live long and productive lives.

We featured a workout in the National Guard magazine (GX) called Operation Hang Time that included several exercises using the TRX suspension system. Many soldiers loved the workout! It is now featured on military.com (http://military-fitness.military.com/ssg_ken_weichert/) and here on fitnessanywhere.com.

You can watch Staff Sergeant Ken Weichert and his Start Fitness Team in action at the following locations:

Youtube videos - http://www.youtube.com/user/startfitness#p/a/2/X72LtRcXR6g

Operation Fit to Fight Part 1 - http://video.iostudio.com/previews/watch.php?f=fittofight/fit_fittofight.mov&w=720&h=405

Operation Fit to Fight Part 2 - http://video.iostudio.com/previews/watch.php?f=NGB/fit_fittofight2V4.mp4&w=720&h=405

Alcohol is Bad for Your Workout!

Nathan McGee — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:19:00 GMT

I know this probably falls under the "duh" category, but it goes beyond the dangers of combining TRX Incline Presses with keg stands. Alcohol has a profound effect on your body, more than just making you feel a little tipsy (or all out sloshed drunk). Now I'm not advocating an all out beer strike, but if you are going for optimal physical conditioning or trying to trim that waistline, it is good to know the effect one drink has so you can determine if you are willing to make that sacrifice.

In this article, Joe Kita of Core Performance highlights 6 effects even moderate consumption of alcohol (one to two 12 ounce beers a day) can cause.

* * *

Sometimes we want to believe that something is good for us even when we know it’s really not. Take alcohol, for instance. All the press about how a daily nip can prevent heart disease has convinced many people that it’s beneficial overall. But as I’m learning during this month’s One Small Change experiment in which I’ve significantly reduced my alcohol intake, there’s a lot more to consider than just heart health. Athletes need to weigh the effects of alcohol on fitness and performance. And here, I’m sorry to say, the evidence is almost entirely negative.

Danielle LaFata, M.A., R.D., C.S.S.D., a performance nutritionist with Athletes’ Performance in Phoenix, Arizona, recently prepared a report listing some ways in which alcohol can thwart training and competition. Keep in mind as you read this that she’s not talking about alcoholics. Just one or two 12-ounce beers, 5 to 10 ounces of wine or 1 to 2 shots of hard liquor (mixed drinks) nightly can cause these effects, as can regularly binging on weekends. Here’s the bar menu:

1. Interferes with deep, restorative REM sleep.

While alcohol can make you sleepy initially, it should never be used as a sedative because it disrupts your sleep cycles, especially REM. This stage is particularly important to athletes because it’s when you consolidate and commit to long-term memory what you learned during the day. So if you’ve taken a golf lesson, for instance, getting good REM sleep will help ensure that your mind and muscles assimilate the new technique.

2. Wrings the body of water and nutrients.

You already know that alcohol is a potent diuretic and that without adequate fluid your system is like an engine without oil. But what you may not realize is that in all that pee are lots of water-soluble vitamins and minerals that your muscles need for balance and performance. For athletes, the dehydrating effects of alcohol carry a double punch.

3. Disrupts the muscle-building process.

Reaching for a beer to reward yourself after a hard workout is one of the dumbest things you can do if your goal is to add lean mass. Alcohol is a bully in the body. It pushes aside protein, carbohydrate and other nutrients, which muscles need for recovery and growth, as it demands to be metabolized first. It always takes precedence. This deprives your post-exercise body of what it needs most and, thereby, sabotages improvement.

4. Spikes the production of cortisol.

This is the body’s stress hormone. Think of it as the alarm that triggers a gazillion little firemen to take off through your system. The longer these guys are on the scene, the more havoc they wreak, namely impairing thinking, raising blood pressure, decreasing bone density and muscle tissue, and increasing abdominal fat.

5. Depresses the immune system.

Alcohol and, subsequently, cortisol also handcuffs our body’s T-cells, which are activated when germs, a virus or another invader enters the body. This means you’re not only more likely to get sick and lose training time if you drink, but injuries will also take longer to heal.

6. Impairs reaction time long after consumption.

It takes roughly one hour for each drink to be metabolized and leave your system. But since you’re also becoming dehydrated, losing nutrients, interfering with muscle-protein synthesis, disrupting sleep and doing everything else we mentioned, your body will be hung over long after the buzz fades and the cobwebs in your head clear. One study out of New Zealand detected negative performance effects up to 60 hours post-binge.

So what does all this mean? Have we quaffed our last Coors? As LaFata points out, it really comes down to how serious you are about seeing results from your training. If you have a big race coming up, then it’s probably smart to avoid drinking 48 hours prior. If your goal is to lose weight, pack on muscle and finally put an end to people offering you part-time Santa jobs, then it’s probably wise to stop rewarding yourself with hi-balls post-exercise. Instead, rehydrate and refuel first. Then, later that night, if you want to toast your progress, do so in moderation, if at all.

Joe Kita is a noted writer, editor, motivational speaker and teacher. He authors the blog "One Small Change" for CorePerformance.com.

It's Called "Work"-Out for a Reason

FitnessAnywhere — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:32:00 GMT

By Fraser Quelch

Do you want to see results from your training? Of course you do, or you wouldn’t be training. You probably have specific goals in mind that you’d like to achieve, whether it’s staying fit for duty, fit for sport, fit for life, or just looking good. But if you want to achieve the results you have in mind, whatever they are, you need to ask yourself whether you’re training hard enough to achieve those goals.

If you couldn’t make it through more than three runs when you were skiing or snowboarding last season and you want to develop the fitness to last all day, then you’re going to have to train smarter and harder then you did last year to achieve your goal. If you find yourself doubled over at the end of your weekly pickup basketball game and you want to be chomping at the bit until the final buzzer rings, you need to dial up the intensity when you’re training. Whatever your goal, your training needs to meet-or preferably exceed- the demands of your goal.

It's Only Natural

In nature, animals stay just as fit as they need to be in order to stay alive. If they did anything extra, they’d be wasting energy and resources on something that didn’t pay any dividends. The human body is no different. It will only become as fit as it needs to be in order to meet the demands you place upon it. ‘Training’ programs the body to be able to respond to higher and higher physical demands and levels of bodily stress. But if you don’t push yourself hard enough while training, your body won’t have the stimuli it needs to adapt and push you to the higher level of fitness you’d like to have in order to achieve your goals.

The body adapts to do what you do and the intensities you do it at. The same rule applies to weight loss. Many people falsely believe that the best way to lose weight is to train in the ‘fat burning zone,’ a pace at which you can easily carry on a conversation while exercising. Wrong. While the human body most efficiently burns fat as a percentage of overall caloric expenditure at this level of intensity, working out at high intensity level actually burns far more fat calories. Want to say adios to love handles? Then dial up the heat.

Achieving your fitness goals requires dedication, discipline, mental toughness, a willingness to reach beyond what’s comfortable - and a willingness to suffer. Embrace the idea of working very, very hard when it’s time to ignite the afterburners, and you’ll see great results!

TRX Rocks the ACE Symposium

FitnessAnywhere — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:26:00 GMT

The American Council on Exercise held a 3 day continuing education symposium for personal trainers in sunny San Diego. Over 500 attendees came together from all over the United States to learn, network, swap ideas and attend exercise classes.

Our very own Fraser Quelch flew in to teach a course on TRX Sports Performance as well as Metabolic Circuit Training. The turnout was fantastic! TRX Sport Performance had nearly 120 attendees, filling the room and crowding the doorways.

Metabolic Circuit Training was a chance to see some of the fittest personal trainers in the country, give their all! They walked away not only enlightened to our product opportunities but sweating and laughing.

Fraser rotated attendees on and off the TRX. One fun exercise circuit was the Spider Crawl and Single Leg Squat.

The Single Leg Lunge gave onlookers a chance to catch their breath and study their classmate’s form before they jumped on the TRX themselves.

When all was said and done, our lucky ‘Free TRX Drawing Winner’ was Brenda Warren! Congratulations Brenda, your TRX is being mailed out today.

A big thank you to the staff at ACE for all of their help and effort to make this show a huge success!

SGT's Workout: Getting Military Strong!

Fitness Anywhere — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:48:00 GMT

Staff SGT Ken Weichert and his wife Stephanie of STARTFitness.com, teamed up with TRX Professor, Chris Frankel, to provide the National Guard with a TRX workout for last year's holiday issue of GX magazine.

A six-time Soldier of the year and Veteran of both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Desert Storm, SSG Ken Weichert knows what it takes to get a body in prime condition. He and Stephanie have been fans of the TRX and have incorporated it into their START Fitness progam; military-inspired, boot-camp style workouts for Soldiers and civilians.

Now stop reading this, download the workout and get busy! This isn't a tea party! Move it, move it, move it!

Hooah!

Brandon “The Truth” Vera Amps Training Regimen with TRX As He Prepares to Face Randy “The Natural” Couture at UFC 105>>

Fitness Anywhere — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:13:00 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Erin Lopez
(714) 742-8316
elopez@leaderenterprises.com

UFC Veteran Brandon Vera utilizes TRX® Suspension Training® to prepare for his
upcoming light heavyweight main event with UFC Legend Randy Couture

SAN FRANCISCO, November 12, 2009– UFC veteran and muay thai & jiu jitsu specialist
Brandon “The Truth” Vera (11-3-0) is tapping into the functional training powers of TRX
Suspension Training in preparation for the fight of his career at UFC 105 against MMA legend
Randy “The Natural” Couture, the only five-time champion in UFC history.

Vera enters the bout coming off consecutive victories at UFC 102 and UFC 96. However,
despite the recent success, there’s little doubt that this fight will be a defining moment for Vera
as he faces arguably MMA’s most historic champion in Couture at the UFC 105 main event on
November 14 in Manchester, England.

Vera has been training fiercely for this fight and once again is taking his functional training
regimen to another level, utilizing the increasingly popular TRX® Suspension Trainer™. Vera is
no stranger to the TRX having utilized and officially endorsed the TRX equipment since 2007 –
a contract he recently renewed with TRX creators Fitness Anywhere for another six fights.

“I have yet to find a training tool that is as versatile and effective for functional and performance
training as the TRX,” said Vera. “It is incredibly effective for targeting the muscle groups critical
to specific MMA movements related to all facets of MMA from striking and grappling, to take
downs and take down defense. There is no other single product that can achieve so much, so
efficiently.”

As a long-time martial artist and fan of MMA, TRX developer and former Navy SEAL Randy
Hetrick has long known the unique benefits that his creation offers for the unique physical
demands of MMA. This is why so many training facilities and elite coaches like Greg Jackson,
Jonathon Chaimberg, Bas Rutten, Erik Paulson and many others utilize the TRX as a key piece
of their fighters’ conditioning programs. In addition to Vera, the list of marquee fighters who
train on TRX has exploded over the past two years and now includes world class fighters like
Georges St-Pierre, Kenny Florian, Joe Stephenson, Rashad Evans, David Loiseau, Roger
Huerta and dozens of other headliners across the UFC and WEC ranks.

“We are excited to support Brandon not only through our sponsorship, but also by providing him
a great training tool that fundamentally improves his performance in the Octagon and helps
increase his durability over time,” said Hetrick, Founder and President of Fitness Anywhere, Inc.
“We look forward to supporting him for this highly anticipated fight against Couture and
throughout his career in the UFC. He is a true warrior.”

TRX Suspension Training has grown rapidly in popularity amongst Mixed Martial Arts athletes.
Vera’s MMA Alliance Training Center in San Diego, California is fully outfitted with Suspension
Training equipment—which is ideal for developing MMA-specific functional strength and
endurance. The TRX also increases fighter’s durability against injury by building joint stability,
core strength, balance and flexibility. The TRX Suspension Trainer will be a training staple
within the UFC Gyms, the first of which opens in Concord, California later his month.

About TRX® Suspension Training®

Developed by Fitness Anywhere, Suspension Training is a proprietary exercise modality that
simultaneously builds strength, balance, flexibility and core stability. It requires the use of the
TRX Suspension Trainer, a highly portable performance training tool that leverages gravity and
the user’s body weight to enable hundreds of exercises for every fitness goal.
Since its introduction to the marketplace in 2005, the TRX Suspension Trainer has been rolled
out in top gyms and training centers across the country. It is used and trusted by trainers,
athletes, physical therapists, and all branches of the military. Its popularity with professional
athletes and team training rooms is exploding across the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, UFC and
NCAA.

The complete line of TRX products, training programs, education and accessories can be
purchased directly from Fitness Anywhere, Inc. online at www.fitnessanywhere.com. For more
information on TRX® Suspension Training® programming call the company at (888) 878-5348
or email info@fitnessanywhere.com.

Download PDF Release

Train Like a Fighter: Brandon Vera Workout

Fitness Anywhere — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:28:00 GMT

Mixed Martial Arts is the epitome of basic, raw competition. One man against one man. No ball, no net, just strength and skill against strength and skill. MMA fighters require discipline of both the mind and body if they want to be competitive. This Saturday, November 14, 2009, top MMA fighters Brandon Vera and Randy Couture will be fighting in UFC 105 held in, Manchester, England.

Vera has been using the TRX in his training for this upcoming fight and Randy Hetrick was able to work with him to create TRX exercises specific for people training for MMA. This routine is specifically formulated to provide the strength, agility, and movement needed to quickly gain the advantage over the opponent. We are excited to see the outcome of UFC 105. Good luck Brandon!

Brandon Vera TRX prep for UFC 105 against Randy Couture.

View official Fitness Anywhere Press Release.

Ryan Job, the Ultimate Fighter

Fitness Anywhere — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:45:00 GMT

On September 24, 2009, Ryan Job, Navy SEAL veteran and a close friend of mine and the Fitness Anywhere family, passed away following surgery to address injuries he sustained him while operating in Iraq. As a Navy SEAL Team 3 operator and then as a veteran, Ryan never asked for recognition or praise from his fellow Americans. Yet those who had the privilege of knowing Ryan couldn’t help but walk away from any interaction with him without being inspired by his optimism, his determination, his unstoppable drive, and his unwavering commitment and dedication to family and country.

On this Veteran’s day, we celebrate all of our active service members and veterans. And we remember Ryan—a loving husband and son, a true patriot, a dedicated friend who was always quick with a laugh in the most dire of circumstances, a game warrior who never let the magnitude of the challenges he faced dampen his burning ambitions or dim his courageous approach to everything he set his mind to achieving. In his life, as a man and as a service member, Ryan set an example that we should all try to follow. Modest, hard working and blessed with an indomitable spirit, Ryan embodied all of the best qualities of America’s service members.

Ryan's time with us has ended, but what he achieved in his short life inspires us each day and reminds us to give our all in the pursuit of excellence. Before Ryan passed away, I had the privilege of working with him to develop a TRX training protocol to help him recapture the physical fitness he lost while recovering from his injuries--so that he could continue to pursue the lofty goals in fitness and life that he set for himself--blindness be damned. In allowing me to help him, Ryan gave me an enormous gift that I have only come to recognize over time. Even as his eyes were permanently closed, he opened mine to the reality that we at this company have an enormous capacity to help our wounded troops and others who struggle daily with staggering challenges of injury and permanent disability. This gift touched me deeply and will, I hope, continue to touch others for many years to come.

I am so thankful to have known Ryan during the years following his injury. Based upon the experience with his own injury, he was keen to help support the mission of our TRX Warrior Fund--our initiative to fund and deliver a range of support to wounded soldiers and challenged athletes. Before Ryan passed away, my editorial team had the great fortune to interview him for an article to promote the initiative. He spoke extensively with our staff writer, Andrew Vontz, and gave extensive details on his experience. I always envisioned celebrating with Ryan when this story got picked up and began to do good. Instead, on this Veterans Day, we remember Ryan by sharing his story with you. It inspires us, and we hope it will inspire you.

On this day, the Fitness Anywhere Team and I salute Ryan Job and all of the other veterans and their families who sacrifice so much on behalf of our country.

Sincerely,
Randy Hetrick

To commemorate this Veteran’s day and to honor our good friend, Ryan Job, we offer the TRX "Summit" Workout, a downloadable pdf workout, with all the proceeds going to benefit the TRX Warrior Fund.

Read Ryan's Story

Why You're Not Losing Weight!

Fitness Anywhere — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:39:00 GMT

Want to know how to lose that extra padding you have around the middle? Eat right and exercise... right? So that's what you do, you plan out your meals, you hit the gym (with your TRX in tow), you work on increasing your score for the 30 Day Thanksgiving Challenge. You're score increases, but that extra padding doesn't decrease. WTFreak! You've worked so hard, what could be wrong?

"Despite what you might hear, fat loss is NOT just about diet and exercise. Physiology plays a very important role. And today, our physiologies are more out of whack than ever in human history." says Dr. Walsh in a post entitled, "Four Reasons You’re Not Losing Fat" on Precision Nutrition's blog. He points out that losing weight is much more complex than just dieting and exercising.

The body is a complex machine with many different systems interacting to make sure you stay alive. When one of these systems is out of whack, your body doen't function at optimum level. Dr. Walsh explains how four particular systems, the oxygen delivery system, the blood sugar management system, the adrenal system and the digestive system, could be the culprit of why those pounds aren't melting away.

If you feel your workouts are in vain(which they never are since, aside from weight loss, there are so many other benefits) and you are not seeing the results you would like to see, it might be time to take a deeper look into your overall health.

For more information, read Dr. Walsh's, Four Reasons You’re Not Losing Fat.

Get the Abs of a God[dess]!

Fitness Anywhere — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:20:00 GMT

If you've ever seen a statue of a powerful Greek or Roman God or Goddess, you've probably noticed their finely chiseled abs (after you've probably noticed how anatomically correct they are). A goal that few of us mere mortals are able to obtain.

Of course every exercise on the TRX works your core just by the shear nature of suspension training. Here is a work out specifically designed to give your core that extra challenge. Soon you'll have those Gods envious of you!

Exercise Reps

TRX Overhead Back Extension 12

TRX Kneeling Roll-Out 12

TRX Leg Raise 12

TRX Reverse Oblique Crunch (left and right) 8

TRX Side Plank w/ tap (left and right) 8

Crazy Intense TRX Exercises

Fitness Anywhere — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:25:00 GMT

When Cem Eren, of Fitt Quest, approached Randy Hetrick and told him, "I have some stuff you've probably never seen done with the TRX", Randy was skeptical as he had heard this before. When he took a look at the videos that Cem had shot, his reply, "This guy's crazy."

Now these exercises fall under the category of "Don't try this at home kids." Cem trains professional boxers and fighters and is always looking for innovative and unique training methods to push his athletes to the next level. He instantly saw the potential of the TRX and incorporated it into his training sessions, adding his own Cemconditioning methodology.

CemCondition Video

He has trained:

Erick Vega, as seen on thre TV show The Contender

George Garcia USA Olympic Finalist

Rafael Valenzuela WBO NABO Featherweight title holder

Raymundo "Sugar" Beltran WBC Continental American Featherweight title

Rico Hoye winner of the Bronze in the TV Show The Contender and former 3-time Champion

Danny Batchelder former 3-time World Champion Heavyweight Contender

Cem's goal is, " to teach, show and educate people how to take it to the next level with the trx."

You can check out Cem online at Fitt Quest

TRX & Ropes Circuit Workout

FitnessAnywhere — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:37:00 GMT

Robert dos Remedios or "Coach Dos" shares a couple of great TRX circuit workouts on his blog, Obervations from a Strength Coach.

Circuit #1:

TRX wheelbarrel walks - 2 times across 3 aerobic steps + 5 plyo push-ups
"Monkeying around" - pull-up and hang climbing variations two times across the bars
TRX push complex - Push-up, T's, and superman's 5 times each
Rope battle - 50 reps any style you choose

Circuit #2:

TRX feet elevated rows (with hinging hips) - 10 times
Hang leg raises - 10 reps of any variation of leg raise
TRX plank position pike + saw - 10 reps
Rope battle - 50 reps any style you choose.

Check out his post, TRX, Ropes & Bodyweight Circuit, to view video examples of each exercise.

COMPASS GROUP PART 2: FA HELPS WOUNDED WARRIORS SUSPEND LIMITS, TRANSITION INTO PRIVATE SECTOR

FitnessAnywhere — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:49:00 GMT

When Alex Roodhouse served in Iraq as part of a Navy combat riverine team, he risked his life every time he went on patrol, often facing a hail of enemy fire. Danger comes hand in hand with active duty. But it’s a reality that Roodhouse has become even more acutely aware of since he completed his service and joined the Fitness Anywhere military sales team. “When I visit the VA hospitals for FA, I often discover that I served in some of the exact same places with the wounded vets that I meet.”

Roodhouse and Dr. Joe ‘Doc’ Martin, D.C., a SEAL team veteran and FA’s director of military education, recently participated in their third Compass Group for combat wounded Marine vets on behalf of FA. As more and more active duty service people use the TRX to stay mission fit on base and while deployed, the TRX has become a familiar tool. “Half of the seminar participants had used the TRX before,” says Roodhouse. “They like the TRX because it’s the same equipment that active duty service people use and because it’s easy to adjust workouts and movements to work with their specific injuries.

Vets have a way to train even with injuries, and the FA team gets something great out of the experience, too. “I got into the health care field for a reason,” says Doc Martin. “I spent my time in the SEAL team learning how to blow things up and I’m spending the rest of my life fixing things.”

LEARN MORE:

At: www.vetfoundation.org

GET INVOLVED:

Buy a TRX FORCE DVD and Guide, $5 of your purchase goes directly into the Fitness Anywhere Warrior Fund to help us support efforts like the Compass Group.

THE TRX ARRIVES AT THE NATIONAL NAVAL MEDICAL CENTER: WOUNDED WARRIORS FIND NEW BEGINNINGS WITH THE TRX

FitnessAnywhere — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:48:00 GMT

Servicemen and women who end up as patients at the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, MD have gone to war for America and paid a toll for freedom that can’t be erased. Some patients suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries while others have lost limbs, suffered burns, or have otherwise lost the capacity to think and move the way they did before they went to war.

That’s why SEAL Team veteran Dr. Joe Martin, D.C., an FA team member and chiropractor who specializes in rehabilitation from injuries, journeyed to the NNMC where he gave an educational seminar, worked directly with wounded warriors and provided TRX trainers to the facility. “A lot of the wounded warriors here can’t use free weights or the Nautilus equipment we have. Guys in wheelchairs—whoever—can use the TRX. Anyone can,” says Joe Liptok, Deputy Director of the Marine Liaison Office of Wounded Warriors at the NMMC. “I think it’s for everybody, not just wounded warriors. You can hit everything with it. It’s adaptable to every individual. I just wish I’d had the TRX years ago.”

GET INVOLVED:

Buy a TRX FORCE DVD and Guide, $5 of your purchase goes directly into the Fitness Anywhere Warrior Fund to help support providing education and equipment for wounded warriors like those at the NNMC.

COMPASS GROUP: HELPING WOUNDED WARRIORS GET THEIR BEARINGS AND FIND MEANINGFUL DIRECTION IN THE CIVILIAN WORLD

FitnessAnywhere — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:41:00 GMT

Sometimes the toughest battles soldiers face come once they have left the theater of war. That’s why the Veteran Employment Transition (VET) Foundation created the Compass Group, a nonprofit that has helped more than 200 combat-wounded Marines with 5-day life and business skills seminars. Earlier this year, FA became part of Compass Group’s effort through the FA Warrior Fund, providing equipment and education at Compass Group seminars.

“A lot of the guys have injuries where they don’t feel comfortable going into the gym. This allows them to get back into shape in the comfort of their own homes,” says Chris Hadsall, the VET Foundation’s founder and executive director. “Whether a guy has a lower leg or upper extremity issue, it works. And with the TRX, they are always getting a great core workout no matter what exercise they’re doing.”

Major General T.S. Jones (Ret, U.S. Marine Corps) serves on the VET Foundation board of directors and hosts the Compass Group retreats at his Outdoor Odyssey facility, which he created for a youth leadership nonprofit he also runs. General Jones has made the TRX and Fitness Anywhere educational products an integral part of his everyday PT routine. “I’ve done a lot of testing with the TRX and I haven’t even hit what’s possible with this. There are a lot of extreme situations in the Marines Corps—on a ship, on a site where you can’t carve out PT time. But you can carve out 30 or 40 minutes to do TRX exercises and that time is connected to rapid decision-making and what you can do.”

LEARN MORE:

At: www.vetfoundation.org

GET INVOLVED:

Buy a TRX FORCE DVD and Guide, $5 of your purchase goes directly into the Fitness Anywhere Warrior Fund to help us support efforts like the Compass Group.

Drew Brees Core Workout

Fitness Anywhere — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:57:00 GMT

Drew Brees continues to impress as he leads the New Orleans Saints through win after win. We are especially excited as he has been a big advocate of the TRX and used it to regain strength after his shoulder injury. He continues to use it in his training with his trainer, Todd Durkin. In Drew Brees Core Workout, he shares his favorite TRX workout moves that he uses to strengthen his core and get ready for the field.

Fitness Anywhere Introduces the 2nd Installment of TRX Boot Camp: Ropes and Straps Round 2

Nathan McGee — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:25:00 GMT

You asked for more challenge, now we are bringing it! This second installment to the TRX Boot Camp series take is one step, or jump as the case may be, past TRX Boot Camp: Ropes and Straps. The original Boot Camp: Ropes & Straps was a circuit-style workout with a pyramid design where all the exercises performed in the first half of the workout were repeated in reverse order in the second half. For TRX Boot Camp: Ropes & Straps Round 2, we deliver yet another intense full-body workout, delivering total-body strength and cardiovascular endurance while using staggered block progressions—which means the movements gradually become more challenging as you progress and are incorporated with advanced jump rope intervals. The higher intensity, Round 2, is more technical with more rotational exercises that engage the core, something the TRX does better than any other single piece of fitness equipment available today.

“This is a one-of-a-kind workout that delivers overall strength as well as cardio training, which is why we are so excited to continue the Boot Camp series. Round 2 was designed to be more challenging than the original, to continue to build your strength and improve your performance,” said Randy Hetrick, inventor of the TRX and President of Fitness Anywhere, Inc. “Not very often do you get a workout created by a Navy SEAL and an Olympian, it is the epitome of an elite workout that will push your body to the limits.”

TRX Boot Camp: Ropes & Straps Round 2 will definitely get your heart pumping and your muscles moving!

Healthy Thanksgiving: Oxymoron or Opportunity?

Jennie Beyer — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:00:00 GMT

November is here. That's means in most parts of the country there's a slight chill in the air, the leaves have changed color, football season is well under way and yep...Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

What is there not to like about Thanksgiving? Family, friends, parades, football and the food. Oh yes, the food.

I come from a large extended family where the tradition was to all gather at my Aunt's house for a huge Thanksgiving dinner. My Aunt would cook us this amazing meal with all the fixins...turkey, mashed potataoes and gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce and...well let's just leave it at that. To top it off, my Uncle is a professional baker and would bring home about 6 different pies for dessert. I've always had a sweet tooth and almost every year I would try as many of the pies as my already full stomach would allow. (Lemon meringue was my favorite).

As a child, I could afford this behavior. I was an active kid and this was not a normal meal...my body would bounce back as long as I didn't keep up this sort of eating.

But as I entered adulthood and tried to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Everything about Thanksgiving goes against what I try to practice everyday. Besides making fitness a important part of my life, I've learned to cook and eat in a way that nourishes but doesn't punish my body. I substitute lean proteins for the fatty ones, I cut the oil or butter, add extra veggies and more.

I work hard all year to be healthy. How can I let all that hard work go for just one day? Then I got an idea...how hard would it be to make Thanksgiving a healthy meal for once? I grabbed my Gourmet Nutrition Cookbook and starting thumbing through the recipes.

Below is the menu I came up with. I was surprised how easily I came up with a meal that would scream Thanksgiving but would still be healthy and good for my body. And there's even dessert!

So maybe you're looking to just stick to your usual Thanksgiving indulgences this year...that's okay. It's a holiday and if you're healthy all year round, one day won't kill you. But there is an opportunity here for all of us. Maybe you'll be just wrapping up your 30-day Fitness Challenge, or maybe you've just finished training for a marathon. This might be your year for a healthy Thanksgiving as well.

To explore all these recipes and make your very own 'Healthy Thanksgiving,' pick up a copy of the Gourmet Nutrition Cookbook in our online store.

Soup Course:

Butternut Squash Soup (p 138)

Main Course:

Roast Chicken Breast (Substitute Turkey Breast) (p 118)

Stuffed Zucchini (p186)

Cauliflower Mash (p196)

Sauteed Spinach with Roasted Garlic (p194)

Dessert:

Pumpkin Pie Bars (p 220)

by Jennie Beyer

Fitness Anywhere Introduces the Second Installment of TRX® Boot Camp™

Fitness Anywhere — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:47:00 GMT

Fitness Anywhere Introduces the Second Installment of TRX^® Boot Camp™.

Fitness Anywhere Introduces the Second Installment of TRX® Boot CampTM: Ropes and Straps DVD Series.
Read full press release »

Club Industry

Fitness Anywhere — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:20:00 GMT

TRX Suspension Training Returns to its Military Roots.

TRX Suspension Trainer Systems by Fitness Anywhere, Inc. San Francisco, are being used by many branches of the U.S. military to keep troops in shape while they are deployed in the field. This marks a return to the company's roots, since the systems were originally developed by former U.S. Navy SEAL and company founder Randy Hetrick, in conjunction with his Navy SEAL teammates, as they improvised ways to say fit on covert missions.
Read Full Article »

SELF Magazine

Fitness Anywhere — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:09:00 GMT

Tone Up Anywhere

Trim on the go with TRX, the packable strap-and-handle suspension system. You lift your lower body sculpting curves from every angle. The expert Greg Miele, a trainer in Beverly Hills, California, who uses TRX to firm up Mary J. Blige and Gisele Bundchen, created this plan. Get Greg's plan now »

Fort Knox Turret News

Fitness Anywhere — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:18:00 GMT

Maxin’ out the TRX

“We’re taking instructors and (higher-ranking Soldiers) and teaching them how to use the TRX themselves and giving them some coaching points on how to do unit PT with it,” explained Chris Frankel, the TRX director of programming.

3 ways to win a FREE TRX!

Nathan McGee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:33:00 GMT

Are you always using the TRX in the gym, with a trainer or having to borrow a friend’s. Maybe you want to surprise someone with a TRX package for the holidays. Well currently there are 3 ways to win a FREE TRX Package.

You can enter to win a TRX Home Bundle through Self Magazine.
If you are in the military or know someone who is, you can participate in the Military Photo Contest and win a TRX FORCE Bundle.
Participate in the 30 Day Thanksgiving Challenge for a chance to win a TRX Package.

Join in the fun and possibly win a FREE TRX!

The Challenged Athletes Foundation: Going Beyond all Boundaries

Nathan McGee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:26:00 GMT

The prospect of putting in the months of training necessary just to arrive at the starting line for a triathlon is enough to make most people crack a beer and sit down on the couch to catch the latest ‘House’ rerun. But you’ll never find the brave wounded warriors supported by the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) taking the easy way out.

The nonprofit group Operation Rebound launched CAF in 1994 to help wounded warriors with permanent physical disabilities continue to live an active lifestyle and compete in the sports they enjoyed prior to sustaining their injuries. Fitness Anywhere first connected with CAF two years ago when the FA team demonstrated the TRX and its capabilities to a group of CAF triathletes at the Oceanside triathlon.

An Inside Edition segment aired focusing on the TRX and the CAF athletes who use it including Evan Morgan, a former Marine who was struck by an IED and lost both legs during his second tour in Iraq. “You can make it as hard or not hard as you want. Evan is a bilateral amputee and he’s finding a lot of benefits from using it,” says Nico Marcolongo, Operation Rebound Program Manager. To help more CAF athletes, FA deployed Dr. Joe Martin, D.C., back to the Oceanside triathlon this spring where he provided instruction and equipment. “When they know there’s an entire network supporting them, then they start to think they can do this,” says Marcolongo

Yes, they can. And they do.

LEARN MORE:

At: www.challengedathletes.org

GET INVOLVED:

Buy a TRX FORCE DVD and Guide, $5 of your purchase goes directly into the Fitness Anywhere Warrior Fund to help us support efforts like the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

Win your photo on the TRX FORCE Kit!

FitnessAnywhere — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:58:00 GMT

You may never be on the front of a Wheaties box, but you have a chance to be on our new TRX FORCE Kit package.

Entering is easy. Winning takes work. All you have to do is submit pictures of you using your TRX®. But your form better be perfect, because only the best of the best will be considered to be on our new TRX FORCE Kit package, featured online and win prizes. You could join the ranks of other elite athletes and U.S. Troops who have been featured in our videos, brochures, on our website and more.

Are you ready for this mission? Then show us what you've got.

PRIZES:

Grand Prize Winner will receive their picture on our new TRX FORCE Kit packaging, a $150 Fitness Anywhere Gift Certificate, 5 TRX FORCE Kits and a feature on our online military page and community.
Second Place Winner will receive a $100 Fitness Anywhere Gift Certificate, a TRX FORCE Kit and their picture featured on the online military page and community.
Third Place winner will receive a $50 Fitness Anywhere Gift Certificate and their picture on our online military page and community.

HOW TO ENTER:

Read and Agree to the Contest Rules
Read and Follow Contest Instructions and Photo Guidelines
Email us your pictures (see instructions)
Keep checking in to the community for updates!

Contest Ends December 1, 2009

Your Competition Examples!