The TRX System (Your Own Body Is Your Own Strength and Support)

Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. In our daily lives, physical activity plays an important role in maintaining and improving health, provided it is based on rules aimed at both the content, and the intensity and frequency of the required physical effort as Physical Exercise. It is performed for various reasons, including increasing growth and development, preventing aging, strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system, athelitic skills, weight loss or maintenance, and also enjoyment.

As a result of such concerns, we can list specialized fields such as physiotherapy, that promotes physical activity for the prevention and treatment of many diseases, specialists, who are optimizing the endurance capacity of individuals in order to improve their quality of life, and who recommend exercises according to the professional effort of their Patients / clients.

The TRX System, also known as Total Resistance eXercise, refers to a specialized form of suspension training that utilizes equipment developed by former U.S. Navy SEAL, Randy Hetrick. TRX is a form of suspension training that uses body weight exercises to develop strength, balance, flexibility and core stability simultaneously. It requires the use of the TRX Suspension Trainer kit, a performance training tool that leverages gravity and the user’s body weight to complete the exercises.

TRX Training claim that it can improve mobility and stability, increase metabolic results, build lean muscle, and develop functional strength but, some analysts worry that the instability of suspension straps could possibly result in injury, especially for those with a history of joint or back injuries, or inadequate core strength. Fabio Comana, a research scientist at the nonprofit American Council on Exercise, states that suspension training may work for well-conditioned athletes and gym-goers who regularly train their core, however, it is potentially dangerous for those who haven’t built up their core.

In Suspension Training, the individual places their hands or feet into the Suspension Trainer that is connected by a single anchor point while the opposite end of the body is in contact with the ground. “All Core-All the Time” is the principle concept of the TRX. This is based on the assertion that training on the TRX will engage and increase core muscle activity. In addition, exercising on the TRX utilizes gravity and body movement to generate neuromuscular responses to changes in body position. Other benefits of Suspension Training include core muscle activation during closed chain therapeutic exercises and can be completed in multiple planes and angles. By the versatile exercises, not only power, but also coordination, stability and mobility can work effectively. They also bend sport typical injuries such as ligament and cruciate ligament still useful. Also for the comprehensive and effective strengthening the core muscles, that Sling training is ideally suited.

Traditional core stability exercises on a stable surface were found to be less effective in inducing high core muscle activity when compared with core stability exercises performed with an instability device such as the TRX suspension straps. Although the core muscle activity was higher when exercising with the labile suspension straps, the spine compressive load was not high. Therefore, TRX suspension training might be particularly suitable for rehabilitating patients.

An up-and-coming form of functional resistance training that improves functional mobility, strength and balance ability is sling exercise training. For younger adults, upper-body strength improvements (1 – repetition maximum [1 RM] test at chest press), ranging from 4% to 11%, were shown (Dannelly et al., 2011; Maté-Muñoz, Monroy, Jodra Jiménez, Garnacho-Castaño, 2014; Prokopy et al., 2008). Furthermore, leg strength (1 RM at leg press or back squat at a Smith machine) increased between 13% and 66% (Dannelly et al., 2011; Maté-Muñoz et al., 2014). With regard to balance ability, single-leg stance of young female softball players significantly increased by about 57% and 65% (Prokopy et al., 2008). In a study by Stray-Pedersen, Magnussen, Kuffel, Seiler, Katch (2006), single-leg stance on the non-dominant leg improved significantly by about 45%. On the other hand, the observed single-leg stance improvements of the dominant leg of elite soccer players of 18% were not significant (Stray-Pedersen et al., 2006). Younger low back pain patients enhanced static (normal stance) and dynamic (normal stance after an 180° rotation) balance by about 23% and 50% (measured as sway speed of the centre of pressure), respectively (Kim, Kim, Bae, Kim, 2013). In another study, patients with hemiplegia achieved a comparable improvement of 30% for the normal stance sway length of the centre of pressure after eight weeks of sling training (Park, Hwangbo, 2014) However, data have only been collected using younger subjects and patients. Studies targeting older adults have been predominantly conducted with older patients (Bae, Jung, Lee, Cho, 2014; Lee, Lee, 2014; Schroeder, Knauerhase, Kundt, Schober, 2012; Schroeder, Knauerhase, Kundt, Schober, 2014; Tsauo, Cheng, Yang, 2008), rather than healthy older adults. For older adults with total knee replacement, a six-week sling training led to significant quadriceps and hamstring strength improvements of 77% and 56%, respectively (Bae et al., 2014). Furthermore, functional mobility (Timed Up and Go test [TUG]) improved significantly by about 5% after four weeks of sling training for older hemiplegic patients (Lee, Lee, 2014). Older osteoporosis patients significantly enhanced TUG performance by around 25% after three-months of sling training (Schroeder et al., 2014).

References:

MOHAMED, Tarek Sadek. "EFFECT OF TRX SUSPENSION TRAINING AS A PREVENTION PROGRAM TO AVOID THE SHOULDER PAIN FOR SWIMMERS." Ovidius University Annals, Series Physical Education & Sport/Science, Movement & Health 16.2 (2016).

Heltne, Taylor, et al. "Effects of Trx versus Traditional Resistance Training Programs on Measures of Muscular Performance in Adults: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 46.5S (2014): 253-254.

Gaedtke, Angus, and Tobias Morat. "Effects of Two 12-week Strengthening Programmes on Functional Mobility, Strength and Balance of Older Adults: Comparison between TRX Suspension Training versus an Elastic Band Resistance Training." Central European Journal of Sport Sciences and Medicine 13.1 (2016): 49-64.

Cugliari, Giovanni, and Gennaro Boccia. "Core Muscle Activation in Suspension Training Exercises." Journal of human kinetics 56.1 (2017): 61-71.

Yu, Kyung-Hun, Min-Hwa Suk, and Shin-Woo Kang. "Effects of Combined Resistance Training with TRX On Physical Fitness and Competition Times in Fin Swimmers." Age (yr) 16.1.12 (2015): 15-29.

Dr. Srinivas. P.T (Reg No. L-39682)

Head Of Department (Kaggadasapura branch)

Spectrum Physio Pvt Ltd

Bangalore.