Make Your Body Your Machine

We have taken two traditional tests for agility and aerobic fitness and added unique TRX based challenges with the Fitness Anywhere flavor you have come to know and love/hate. These five tests can be performed anywhere with minimal equipment; your TRX, a stop watch and three cones (or anything to mark of short distances).

The idea is to take this test early in the month, train and eat healthy, consistently during the month, then take the test again to see your improvement.

Where you are at: The Tests

Pro Agility Test 

The pro agility test for time measures acceleration, deceleration and change of direction, agility in short. This is a more advanced version of the shuttle run used in the President’s Challenge. It is best if you have someone to time you. The pro agility test, also known as the 20 yard (18.3 m) shuttle run is performed on a football or any marked field. You can also use cones placed 5 yards apart as shown below.

To perform the test you straddle the line of the middle cone and on the command “go” you sprint five yards to the cone to your right, change direction sprint ten yards to the far cone, change direction again and sprint five yards to the middle cone. The clock starts on the command “go” and stops when you reach the middle cone at the end. Record your time and compare it to the table below to see how you rank against different college athletes.

 1.5 Mile (2.41 km) Run

The 1.5 mile (2.41 km) run for time to measure aerobic fitness. Use a running track or flat course with a measured distance of 1.5 miles. After a warm up, set your watch and run the distance as fast as you can. Record your time and compare it to the table below to see how you rank for your age and gender.

1.5 Mile Run Gauge

TRX Burpee + Atomic Push-up Test

Here is the FUN one! The TRX Burpee +Atomic Push-up Challenge will test your work capacity on the TRX Suspension Trainer. It uses two exercises you have seen before if you have been a TRX user and member of our community. If you are new to TRX training you will want to practice the moves before testing yourself. This is proving to be a great way to train and test your progress at the same time.

Here is how this part of the test works.

• Set yourself up to do a suspended burpee by placing one foot into both foot cradles, as you would for a suspended lunge and keep that foot suspended.

• Start from a standing position and do one suspended burpee, rest 10 seconds standing

• Do two suspended burpees, rest 10 seconds standing

• Do three suspended burpees, rest 10 seconds standing

• Do four suspended burpees….

Get the idea? Continue adding one rep to each successive set. Complete as many progressions as you can with the 10 second rest. The last set you successfully complete, with good form and no resting, is your score. For example, if you can perform 8 suspended burpees with your left leg suspended but fail before completing the next set to nine – your score is 8, for the right leg. Once you have finished with one leg, rest two (2) minutes and then perform the same thing with the other leg suspended. The leg that is not suspended is the leg you are scoring.

Once you finish both legs, rest two (2) minutes and then perform the same test using the atomic push-up!

• Set yourself up to do atomic push-ups by placing both feet in the foot cradles, toes down.

• Do one atomic push-up, rest 10 seconds on your hands and knees

• Do two atomic push-ups, rest 10 seconds on your hands and knees…

• And so on until you cannot complete the next progression in the sequence

You score for the atomic push-ups is the last successful set you are able to perform.

When you are done your score sheet will look something like this;

Testing Protocol

This is a new testing protocol and we are going to use the Fitness Anywhere Community to establish some baselines and norms.

Rules to follow;

• Perform the pro agility test first then rest 10 to 15 minutes and perform the 1.5 mile run.

• Perform the TRX burpees + Atomic push-up challenge after you have completely recovered from the run, but no more than 3 hours later.

• For the suspended burpees to count you drop down and perform a push-up on the ground then get up on one leg, hop up, extend and reach overhead with both arms.

• The atomic push-ups requires you to start in a good suspended plank position on hands, lower your chest to at least two inches from the ground and return to a full push up. Placing a sponge on the ground under your chest is a good way to ensure full range. The crunch component requires bringing your knees as close to your chest as you can and lifting your hips 6 six to 8 inches up.

Feel free to post the results from all your tests to the community or send them to cfrankel@fitnessanywhere.com. All personal information will be kept confidential, we will just use your results not your names. Be sure to include the following information; date of testing, age, gender, height and weight.

Next month we will show you how the community did as a group and you will be able to see how you compare to your fellow community members.

The Challenge: Improve Your Fitness

Because fitness is a continuing pursuit, once you have tested yourself, stay on a program and improve your fitness. The TRX offers an almost limitless variety of exercises and programs. You can use a workout you develop and share with the community, the Train Like the Pros, Team Sports, Ropes and Straps: Bootcamp are also good training programs. You can also string together some of the moves Fraser has done an excellent job of explaining and demonstrating in his blogs.

Below is a suggested program to improve your strength, stamina and your performance on the Fitness Anywhere Challenge. You can always practice the TRX Suspended Burpees and TRX Atomic Push-ups to improve your score. That is what we call “teaching to the test,” which has its benefits and drawbacks. The beauty of TRX Suspension Training is the crossover benefits to sports and activities it provides as a fantastic functional training tool.

Always perform an appropriate warm up before starting the high intensity part of the workouts.

Perform each exercise for 45 seconds with no more than 30 seconds rest in-between, shorten your rest if you can handle it.

Round 1:

• TRX single leg squats (each leg no rest in-between)

• TRX low row – as deep as you can go

• TRX atomic push-up with pike

• TRX suspended side plank (each side – drop and rest briefly when needed)

• 2 minute rest

Round 2:

• TRX crossing balance lunge (each leg no rest in-between)

• TRX high torso rotation, alternating sides

• TRX suspended mountain climbers

• TRX suspended push-ups

• 2 minute rest

Round 3:

• TRX suspended lunge w/ a hop

• TRX powerpull (each side no rest in-between)

• TRX Single leg chest press, as low as you can go

• TRX suspended pendulum

For variety you can perform the workout in reverse order of rounds, perform 3 to 4 sets of each round as its own workout for the day or even add 30 to 90 second high intensity jump rope or running intervals between rounds. The important thing is to keep good form and push yourself to improve each workout.

I look forward to getting your results and compiling our statistics for next month!

To enter the TRX President’s Challenge:

Step 1: Take the test
Step 2: Find your ranking on the ‘grader’ provided and post it in the ‘Results’ forum
Step 3: Follow the program to improve your ranking
Step 4: Take the test again and post your progress in the ‘Results’ forum

Rules & Conditions:
1. The contest will begin May 7th 2009, and will run through June 7th 2009. You can begin the contest at anytime during this time.
2. Post your results (ideally with a video testimonial) in the forum by June 8th 2009.
3. The winner(s) will be chosen and contacted via email by June 15th 2009.
4. The TRX President’s Challenge is open to anyone that will accept the challenge.

The Prizes:

Anyone that increases their percentile ranking will win our exciting, unreleased workout program, which will be available this summer.

Disclaimer:

1. Please consult your physician before beginning this or any exercise competition. The instructions given in this or any other forum are not intended to be a substitute for medical counseling. This or any other exercise competition may result in injury. Any participant of these competitions assumes the risk of injury resulting from any use of equipment or performing any of the exercises shown or discussed.
2. There were many ways to select the challenge format, as there is not one standardized way. Each exercise in the test maps to a fundamental and integrated movement. If you have any ideas about how we can improve this in the future, please let us know.
3. Have fun.