Monday Workout: TRX

By special request, the TRX is back this week!  Hooray!  I love the TRX because it is both supportive and challenging.  If a particular exercise seems too scary or challenging with the addition of the TRX, adapt and do it on the ground instead (say, mountain climbers, planks, or clock press).  Please note that anybody who did last week’s workout can take the pushup option instead of TRX burpees because there is a rule about not having to do burpees two weeks in a row.  It is hard to say how many rounds to do with TRX because some people find it so much more difficult than others.  Do one to three rounds depending on time, energy level, and enthusiasm.

TRX
1 min cardio
squat row (mid)	20
mountain climber (mid calf)	20
clock press (long)	20
overhead squat (long)	20
crossing balance lunge (mid)	20
plank (mid calf)	30 sec
crunch	10
hamstring curl	10
low row (mid)	20
burpee or pushup (mid calf)	10

Ab-solutely

Every single workout I plan involves at least one abdominal exercise.  Here are five reasons why:

• Strong abdominals help prevent lower back pain.  When our abs aren’t doing their job, the lower back has to take up the slack.

• Abdominal work improves posture.  Good posture makes us look and feel better.

• Strong abs help us balance.  Balance keeps us from falls.  Falls are at best embarrassing and at worst dangerous, so the fewer falls the better!

• Abdominal control improves our breathing.  Do I need to explain why breathing is important?

• Lovely abdominals make us look good, which may be petty, but hey, we get all those other good things, too.

Kiss kiss!

We all have our favorite pieces of fitness equipment—everyone wants a spin bike as a decorative element in their living room, right?  Or not.  Despite what the Fitness Industrial Complex says, we don’t really need a lot of stuff to get fit.  In fact, plenty of fitness happens with just a body!

I am a big fan of the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Silly).  I don’t like to go through a lot of rigmarole before I even get to start working out.  However, what simple looks like can in fact vary from person to person.  For me, it is, in fact, simple to have a spin bike in the living room.  Other people might find it dreadfully inconvenient.

We want to figure out what we really need to make our workouts fun and effective and easy to get started.  For some of us, that means a gym membership and some exercise clothes, or a pool and swimsuit.  Others of us live for running and can’t do without our running shoes.  Still others are happiest with a yoga mat.

Sometimes we have to be a little more complicated.  As I’ve said before, I need to wear my elbow and wrist supports when I bike or spin nowadays, but I make it as easy as possible to do it by leaving them on the handlebars between workouts.  Maybe someone else’s thing is a really good pair of shoes or goggles, or a knee brace, or headphones that make the difference between happiness and mind-numbing boredom.

We all need to find our right balance between simple and elaborate to stay happy and healthy.