Hi guys, Kris from Custom Fitness here, your Amarillo personal trainer. Today we’re going to be talking about the many faces of the TRX row. This is going to be the first part in a two part series, so be on the lookout for part two coming soon. And if you have any questions about today’s blog, then please give us a call at (806)-322-3188
Today I was wanting to give you some pointers and tips on the TRX row. There are so many different ways to perform this exercise. So first of all, you want to make sure that you’re doing it right, and that you are choosing the right one for your current fitness level and your current needs. Also it’s important to know what’s going to be the best challenge for you.
So, you can use any suspension trainer that you have. And if you are using one at home, then definitely use the door anchor, put it on the right side of the door, make sure it’s secured and locked, and make sure that no one is going to be trying to open that door anytime soon. That would not end well.
What I use is a ceiling anchor. I like that a little bit better. I have some more versititly with it, and I have the option as a personal trainer in Amarillo to use it at my studio. But if you are at home, you would probably just use a door anchor and that will work fine. However, if you have the opportunity to use a ceiling anchor, you now have 360 degrees that your body is being pulled in. It wants to rotate, so you’re having to fight against that.
That’s antirotation, it causes a lot of muscles to work against that rotation to keep you stabilized, and so that actually empowers your workout just a little bit more. It kind of fuels up some “bonus” contractions, and helps you body to get a better workout.
So we are going to go over some basic, to more advanced, and I’ll give you a few extra options with those as well.
So you would want your suspension trainer placed to where you are comfortable with, but first you have to know what to do with your feet.
So if you haven’t been doing suspension training long, then you have about three different foot positions that you can be in.
The first is that you can have your feet hip width apart. That will give you the most security and stabilization throughout the movement. So if you’re new to suspension training, then you want to be sure to have that there.
If you want to challenge yourself, then you want to bring the feet together. Now that rotation ability, even if you’re attached to your door, your body is going to be more likely to want to rotate. So you’re going to have to be working on that antirotation even more.
From that one, if you are really, really wanting to challenge yourself, then you would lift one leg out in front of you. You could do the same thing to the side, to the back, it’s just the idea of lifting the leg off of the floor. Just make sure that your focus stays on that stabilization.
Alright, so for your row, the most important thing to remember when you are rowing in any position is to engage that core. Whenever you don’t have your stomach in nice and tight, you’re not engaging your core stabilizers all around –back and front–so you are more likely to get injured.
Your core acts like a brick wall against your spine to hold it into place. Without that there, the spine starts to sway, and you end up with a back injury. You don’t want to do that, especially if you are not used to doing this exercise, or you are pushing yourself to a new level. So make sure that the core is in tight to maintain a strong, straight line.
Now I want you to remember that the whole purpose of this row, even though it originates through the arms, is to end by squeezing those shoulder blades. So you will actually start by squeezing your shoulder blades just to remind you what the focus is: shoulders back and then use the arms.
So the way to set up the first exercise is to start out with straight arms. Walk back with the straps in hand to where you have tension. You always want to make sure that you have tension on the straps. And then from there, you want to walk forward to about a 45 degree angle.
So this would be the easiest version because we are starting out extended, and then from there you pull up to the strap without losing tension. So if you come up and you lose that tension, then you aren’t far enough down. Then you would walk your feet further down.
So after pulling up, you would come back down, squeeze those shoulder blades together, and pull up. And when you take it back down, you want to try and not lose the squeeze in those shoulder blades and core. You want to keep a nice straight line. You don’t want to be lifting with your hips or scrunching your back.
So i’m going to end part one here. In part two we’re going to be talking more about what you can do with the TRX row.
If can’t wait for part two, or you want to know more about Custom Fitness and what we do here, then please give us a call. If you’re wanting the accountability and help with creating an action plan to see results, or are wanting to someone to help create a workout plan to push you to your greatest potential, then that’s what we’re here for. Our trainers are here to look out for you and make sure that you are meeting your goals in a safe way. At Custom Fitness, we customize a plan for you. We sit down with you and find out what your needs are and then build a health and fitness plan around that. We have an entire team of dedicated professionals to help you with your health and fitness goals. To get your consultation set up, give us a call at 806-322-3188 or email us at info@customfitness.biz At Custom Fitness, we are YOUR personal trainers in Amarillo, Texas. Have a great day.