Make Your Body Your Machine

by Lynne Virant

Happy New Year to New Moms and all those not so new…

Congratulations! You’ve made it to another joyous year.  But maybe there are times when you don’t feel so joyous. 

After my daughter was born, I found myself struggling with the many challenges that came with being a mom.
She won’t sleep, won’t drink from a bottle, and has to nurse every hour…  A friend offered me advice that helped me get through many tough times -

"Nothing is permanent."

And she was right, well almost. My daughter is now sleeping through the night, eats her vegetables at each meal, and eats every 4 hours!  One thing however has remained permanent. Whether you’ve been a mom for 6 weeks or a mom for 15 years, making health and fitness a priority continues to pose the same type of challenges.

Among the many moms that I’ve talked to, the top three reasons that “I haven’t been able to exercise” are

1.  “I don’t have enough time.”  When you’re a mom dealing with hourly feedings or juggling kids’ activities with a full-time job, squeezing in an hour to workout just doesn’t seem feasible.  I too catch myself rationalizing that I just can’t find an hour to go for run or go to an exercise class.  
2.  “I’m too tired.” First, you’re not getting more than 3 hours of sleep in a row (on a good night or day). Then you’re up until midnight getting work done or cleaning up the house, because it’s the only time you can get by yourself.  Funny that when I do get a chance to workout, that’s when I decide to nap when the baby naps (So how is it that I don’t follow that advice at midnight?!)
3. “I don’t have childcare.” For some, the local gym doesn’t have day care.  For others, their spouse works from 6am-9pm.  Others don’t have neighbors, family or friends who can watch the kids for an hour or so.  With the loss of my income, we just couldn’t justify paying for a gym membership and the base child care was impossible to get into.  My husband tried coming home during lunch time for an hour so I could go workout-that lasted about 1 month.  
   

A fellow TRX enthusiast, Andi Talmedge, reassured me that new moms usually take a year to get into an exercise routine.  She was about right, for me it was 14 months. 
First and foremost, I needed a goal that motivated and inspired me. I decided to race in a triathlon and run in a half-marathon on my birthday.  It worked! 
Suddenly, I had time to do 3 to 9 mile runs twice a week, go on 10 mile bike rides, and swim twice a week.  Really what got me going was the desire to complete each race without feeling like hell afterwards.  Regardless of my motivation, I was exercising! 
Strangely enough, I also lost weight, improved my fitness level, and felt more energized (even though I was actually getting the same or less sleep!).  By the way, I finished my first triathlon and half-marathon feeling great. A little tired, but great nonetheless.  It’s been three months since my last race and well, let’s just say that life is cyclical.  Nineteen months after my daughter was born, the same reasons still manage to pop up (although more often than not they are better known as excuses!).   In other words, I need another goal.   

So I ask you to join me.  Set a goal for yourself.  It could be fitting into a great dress for a special occasion, walking in one of the upcoming *** Cancer Awareness walks this spring, finally learning a new sport, or competing (or completing) a local race.  Whatever you decide, just make sure it’s a goal that really matters to you. 
Then
1) Let me know what you are going to accomplish and
2) Stay tuned for more ways to get there! 

Until then, remember “Nothing is permanent”, well almost! 

Lynne Virant
TRX Course Instructor
Physiotherapist
Proud Mom!

Exploding off the line of scrimmage or “getting off the ball” is one of the key determinants of the outcome of each play. A faster or more powerful reaction to the snap can create a split second advantage that is often the difference between a play succeeding or failing. The Sprinter’s Start is an excellent movement to help effectively transfer the explosive power developed in the bilateral olympic lifts to a single-leg, body weight environment that more closely resembles the actual movement and speed in which it occurs on the field. Another advantage it offers is the ability to train the movement in quick succession, either in sets or as a reaction drill to help develop the endurance players must possess to maintain this explosiveness during long drives.

In case you need some inspiration for gifts, check out this article from the LA Times....of course we were happy to see the TRX as one of the options. 

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-gear15-2008dec15,0,357551.story

Often a play must be made from a less than optimal body position. Typically, an opponent has knocked a player out of ideal body position or the player must instantaneously respond to a poor pass or change in direction. A player’s ability to decelerate unusual forces from a poor body position can make the difference between a game-making catch and a failed pass. All too often, failure results in season-ending injury.

As we look at the game photo we see a catch where the body is airborne and the hips are rotating to the right. As this player lands on his left leg he must decelerate all of these rotational forces or suffer the imminent knee injury, all while his opponent bears down on him. In short, if he does not possess a high level of single-leg reactivity, he is likely to drop the pass and runs the risk of a major injury. Suspension training techniques provide a unique means to train this single-leg neuromuscular ability coupled with strength and power.

To the right of the game photo we see a Suspended Lunge with a lateral medicine ball throw.Comparing the body positions in the game photo and the training photo, we witness nearly identical forces being transferred through the body from the same position. The player who utilizes functionally-tasked suspension training will be much better prepared to manage the forces necessary to perform at the elite levels, avoid injury and complete these game-making plays.

The same comparison can be made in the next set of images. The ability for a player to make a hard cut requires an inordinate level of eccentric single-leg strength and power. The Suspended Lunge variation shown here is an excellent way to train the ability to suddenly decelerate a tremendous amount of momentum in one direction and explode in another. It’s another fundamental for developing strong, powerful players who are physically capable of highlight plays.

Be one of the first 20 people to post a review on Amazon.com and get a new TRX Dri Fit workout shirt. Post a photo and get a TRX DVD of your choice.

We need your help spreading the word about the TRX Suspension Trainer. We really appreciate all the great feedback we get from our customers and now we need to let people outside our community know why the TRX rocks (show the guy that never even tried the TRX and wrote a review why he needs to get on the program). So if you have ever shopped on www.amazon.com post a review and better yet a photo of you using it and we’ll hook you up. 

 Here's Tyler modeling the shirt for you (it is not available in our store).

Heavy lifting is an integral part of any football strength and conditioning program. Suspension training can be used as an incredibly effective technique to help with neuromuscular activation, or warming up, prior to heavy lifts. This approach can significantly increase performance of the key heavy lifts and help athletes to break through plateaus and achieve new levels of strength. Simply integrate suspension training as a component of a general warm-up routine or as a series of warm up sets for a range of key heavy lifts.

Using suspension training for this purpose is highly effective for a number of reasons. If you’re a trainer or strength and conditioning coach, the ability to adjust resistance simply by adapting body position allows for a fast and efficient method to prepare a number of players simultaneously with individually appropriate resistances. If you’re training on your own, these same attributes will let you rapidly transition from exercise to exercis.

Using functional, integrated movements that task balance and attack subtle instabilities heightens neuromuscular activation and prepares the appropriate motor pattern for the exercise, all without causing any lasting local muscular fatigue.

Many exercises can be used to achieve this effect. Below are photos of a few primary movements for enhancing key lifts.

The TRX Postural Squat, reinforces the squat pattern while activating the posterior chain to prepare for overhead lifts like clean & press

The TRX Single Leg Squat activates single-leg squat motor pattern, teaches mechanics & is excellent for hip complex

The TRX Chest Press uses tremendous upper body activation due to the subtle instability in suspension training

In this way suspension training is an ideal technique to support the Olympic lifts and other ground-based training that modern football teams must utilize to be as functionally strong and powerful as possible.

The development of single-leg strength and power is key to athletic success in football. Sudden decelerations, hard cuts and explosive accelerations are the tools necessary to create game-making plays. An athlete’s single-leg strength and power determines the intensity at which these movements can be successfully performed. A direct comparison of the movements such as the TRX Suspended Lunge with Hop below shows just how closely a number of suspension-based exercises resemble some of the key movements in football rooted in single-leg strength and power.

Upper body strength and stability play central roles in winning at football. Players must be able to ward off defenders, battle for position or take down opponents. Therefore, the ability to functionally train the upper body with high loads in a way that integrates the entire body in the movement as a complete unit has tremendous transferability to the demands of the game.

Exercises like the TRX Deep Single Arm Row require extremely high strength coupled with full body muscular integration. These movements offer considerable advantages in training that map directly to the demands of football.

You never know what you are going to find on Youtube. Check out this challenging TRX move from Brian Lawson of Body Architecture.

Suspension training can lead to a quantum leap in functional core strength. Demanding exercises like the Suspended Body Saw and the Suspended Pendulum develop exceptional core stability, strength and rotational control. Standing movements like the Standing Rotation and Hip Drop provide more functional rotational strength and power along with side pillar strength and reactivity from a standing position. These characteristics directly apply to the battling and impact resistance necessary for successful football.

One of the unique properties of these movements is their scalability. They become increasingly challenging with heavier body weight. Suspension training provides commensurate challenges and training benefits for bigger, stronger players and lighter players alike.