Kendall Giles

OK --- summer's here and school's out --- time to get serious and get back into shape. My plan of attack is to use the TRX Force Kit, a suspension training system by Fitness Anywhere, and attempt their infamous 12-week training program.

I am assessing this system because I have a crazy travel and work schedule, which prevent me from typical gym usage. The TRX system is light and can be taken with you almost anywhere. I think this system will be a key part of the perfect mobile gym/program I am putting together --- thus the assessment.

What is a suspension system? The basic idea is that you attach a set of cables to any elevated anchor point --- door, tree, fence, bar, etc. --- and use your body weight to effect a large variety of exercises. Moreover, because the exercises do not occur in just one plane of motion, like traditional weight training, you develop core strength through functional training.

Will I make it through all 12 weeks? Or will I crumple into a ball of sweat and agony?

Stay tuned...Day 1 starts today.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program. Today was Day 1.

The TRX system is nice in that by changing the angle of your body and center of gravity, you have a continuous distribution of resistance difficulties --- you can make the exercise easier or more difficult by just changing your feet. However, that said, I found the first day to be challenging, but mainly because I am evidently lacking in a lot of the stabilizing muscles needed for functional fitness.

The first week of the infamous TRX 12-week program is mainly meant to get you introduced to the different exercises, with cardio and strength components. On the strength component for Day 1, I worked some lunges, pistols, and other leg exercises, along with some upper body and core exercises. However, since this was my first exposure to them, I found I spent some time figuring out the cable adjustments for each exercise --- I am sure this will get easier the second time around.

More amusing was how little balance I seemed to have --- I am not used to doing a one-legged squat with the other leg suspended from a cable! And so by the time I got to the side planks, I was really a leaf blowing in the wind. To make matters worse, the new mat I was using had some sort of coating on it which, when wet with sweat, became very slippery.

Since the first week is just an introduction, I only did one set per exercise. By the end I wasn't quite satisfied, so I finished the workout off with a 5x3 ladder of kettlebell clean and presses with the 24KG bell, and 10 sets of 15:15 snatches with the 24KG bell, with 3 snatches per set. The cardio component was just active recovery.

So, hopefully my next workout will be more stable!

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program. Today was Day 2.

Day 2 was very similar to Day 1, except there were more upper body exercises, in addition to more core work. In all, there were 12 new exercises to learn, so like in Day 1, a lot of my time was spent figuring out how to do the exercises (and not break anything as a result). The suspended incline press was particularly tricky for me --- luckily neither humans nor furniture were destroyed as a result of me doing this exercise.

Day 2 also had a cardio component, classified as an "intensity run". Since one of my goals of the TRX program is to help prepare me for more intense kettlebell work, I substituted an "intense" kettlebell routine for the "intense" run. In particular, I did two sets of 15:15 snatches, 7 snatches per interval, resting an active 5 minutes between sets. For me, this was plenty intense --- the low calorie/minute rate for the strength portion of the workout was more than compensated for by the high calorie/minute rate during the snatches.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program. Today was Day 3.

Thankfully, Day 3 was a rest day for the strength component and active recovery for the cardio component. So I did some yoga stretches, a few Turkish getups, and some heavy bag kicks.

In retrospect, it was kind of a light workout --- I assume my body needs this down time to recover, but it felt weird having my peak heart rate for this workout be below the average heart rate for my kettlebell workouts!

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program. Today was Day 4.

Today was very similar to Day 1 --- the strength component was a concentration of exercises more on legs and core. However, even though I was sore, I enjoyed this workout more than on Day 1 since I was more familiar with the exercises and I seemed more stable. Perhaps it was just that I wasn't freaking out over the idea of doing a lunge with the other leg suspended from a cable behind me. I was also much more stable in the side plank, which was, for the most part, a big disaster of cables, arms, and legs going everywhere on Day 1. My favorite exercise, so far, seems to be the suspended crunch.

Today was also the first day I tried the Door Anchor. This device, which comes with the Force Kit, allows you to anchor the TRX cables to a household door --- convenient when you want to train inside, such as when on travel, there's bad weather outside, etc. Just attach the Door Anchor to the cables, place the anchor on top of a door, and close the door --- no problem!

For the cardio component of Day 4, it was another intensity run, which I substituted with an intensity kettlebell workout of two 5-minute intervals of 15:15 snatches, 7 snatches per interval.

By the way, if you want to see what a kettlebell snatch looks like, check out this short video by RKC Sandy Sommer:

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program. Today was Day 5.

Intense work and travel schedules, and neglected sleep schedules are fighting for attention, but today saw Day 5, which was composed of a strength component the same as in Day 2.

This time the Suspended Incline Press, which has you move your hands backwards as your ankle is strung up behind you as you move, was not so wobbly. In fact, this time I did not have an unfortunate crash landing, evoking David Lynch. The Single Leg Chest Press remains a little strange, but I like the Suspended Oblique Crunches in this workout set.

The cardio component was an alternative cario workout, so I did 100 swings with the 24KG kettlebell.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program. Today was Day 6.

Today was a rest day for the strength component, and an intense run day for the cardio component. I had intended to substitute a 50 x 15:15 snatch set for the intense run, but a phone call in the middle of my workout turned this into a 16 x 15:15 snatch set, 7 reps per set, a 2-minute break, then a 32 x 15:15 snatch set, 7 reps per set workout.

But even with the phone call break, I still averaged 150 BPM heart rate for the 30 minute workout. This confirms that the KB is one of the most efficient workout tools there are, especially considering that for part of the time I was chatting on the phone, and that with a 15:15 protocol you spend half your time resting!

Oh, and one more thing I forgot to mention from yesterday's workout: when using the Door Anchor, I've found it best to position the Door Anchor nearer to the side of the door with the hinges --- this provides a much more secure anchoring position.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program. Today was Day 7.

Finally, one week completed!

Today wasn't a tough workout day, actually. It was a rest day for strength and instead of a light run, as called for by the cardio component, I did some jump rope, Turkish getups, and two sets of light one-handed swings.

But one thing I am noticing is that, especially when doing a strength and/or cardio workout each day, every day, getting enough rest is really important. So far this week my work and travel schedules have kept me busy, and so in order to also get in the TRX workouts each day, the only way to make the time was to cut into my sleep schedule. After 7 days, I am no longer really feeling sore, but just really tired. The lesson my body is trying to tell me is that I need to do better at being sure I give my body enough time to repair itself after these workouts.

So, in lieu of more discussion, here's the TRX being used in The Biggest Loser show --- the TRX allows those who might be hesitant about going to the gym actually to have the gym be brought to them:

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program. Today was Day 8.

Today was the start of a new TRX week, and for the strength component was a repeat of Day 1. Stability felt improved, and I was able to enjoy the workout more.

The really interesting observation came on the cardio component. Instead of an intense run, I substituted a 5x3 pyramid of clean and presses with the 24KG kettlebell. Previously on the clean and press I would tend to get "stuck" after the clean on one arm --- I had to do a clean and push press on my left arm. However, after one week of doing the TRX, on today's ladders I was able to do the regular clean and presses --- my left shoulder was much stronger and I didn't get "stuck" after the clean! This confirms that for me the TRX is a great kettlebell support system.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program. Today was Day 9.

Wow, not much gas left in the tank today. After a long work-week, and getting home rather late, I wasn't really feeling like working out. However, I think (hope) I am over the hump of wanting to quit doing it, though hearing about Laura's experiences on Phase 4 of the TRX workout makes me think I may soon need to reassess the TRX love thing that is going on.

Today's strength workout was a repeat of Day 2 in terms of the exercises, but again I felt more stable than before. Each time I do the Suspended Incline Press I feel very awkward --- kind of like you might feel if doing a handstand on a railing above a cliff --- but that feeling wasn't as strong as on the first day. In fact, this time I remained upside down the entire time and was able to make all suspended presses.

There was alternative cardio called for, so I did a few Turkish getups, and called it a night.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program. Today was Day 10.

Today was a "rest" strength day and an "alternate" cardio day. Last time this happened I did yoga, which gave me a good stretch, but this time I wanted something a little more active. So I opted for the lower body workout of The Pit Workout.

This DVD contains three workouts by John Hackleman, trainer of MMA fighter Chuck Liddell---upper body, lower body, and full body. Note that this is not Tae Bo. In fact, my legs were smoked after just the warmup, and I ended up not being able to complete the entire workout, at least at John Hackleman's pace. But I made it through as best I could.

The workout is ideal if you have a heavy bag handy, but the neat thing is that they show how to do the drills when you do not have a heavy bag. But even without the heavy bag, this was (for me at the moment) a tough workout. And trying to do one-legged jump rope at the end of the workout was quite humorous. In terms of the quality of the workout, by calories/minute, this workout ranks in the top 10 of my workouts in the past five months (i.e., since I've been recording workout statistics). You are collecting your workout statistics, aren't you?

Anyway, for the price, this workout DVD is a no-brainer for getting in an alternate cardio workout that is actually useful in real life. I'll be coming back to these workouts for a very long time.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program. Today was Day 11.

The strength component was a repeat of Day 1. I know I'll regret saying this, but by now I am ready for something a little different. The minute rest between exercises seems plenty now and by the time I finished all 11 exercises of the strength portion, I basically felt just warmed up, despite the intensity of yesterday's punch and kick fest, which left me sore and humbled. So for the cardio component I did a set of 20 15:15 kettlebell snatch intervals --> I think that qualified as a substitute for the "intense run"!

Really, I am continuously surprised at how versatile and effective something as simple as a cannonball with a handle (i.e., the kettlebell) can be.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 12.

So the strength component of the FORCE workout was a repeat of the exercises in Day 9. Nothing really to report except that I am happy I feel more stable as I repeat these exercises. Something is happening!

For the cardio component I did 5x3 clean and press ladders with the 24KG kettlebell. Made it through to the end, though by the 5th set my heart rate was pretty high.

Sandy Sommer, RKC, had an interesting post today about sea wave training --- the idea that you train hard, but also allow for lighter training intervals. I am noting that in the FORCE 12-week training program, there is no day out of 84 days where you do not have a strength and/or cardio training component. I wonder how this meshes with the sea wave?

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 13.

Today was a rest day for the strength component, which I needed, and an intense cardio run. I substituted 30 sets of kettlebell swings instead of the run, though I probably should have chosen a heavier kettlebell. I did manage to break the 10 calorie/minute burn rate that seems to qualify a workout as a "decent" workout, but I hope to do better. Nevertheless, this is an improvement over where I was a month ago.

In any case, some of you might have been put off by all my discussions of kettlebell ---- after all, that's a guy thing, right? Viking Warrior stuff, right? Well, increasingly, women are becoming interested in kettlebells too.

In fact, I'll let the belles behind the bells speak for themselves:

Have you got what it takes?

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 14.

Today was the end of the TRX Force program week, and was a rest day for the strength component and a light run for the cardio component. So I substituted some jump rope, kettlebell goblet squats, kettlebell Turkish getups, and kettlebell windmills.

Sometimes the body needs a rest, and it seems that Days 7 and 14, at least for the first 2 weeks of the TRX Force program, are the lightest days of any so far.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 15.

OK, the intro two weeks are over. Today, the start of week 3 of the TRX FORCE program, saw the intensity of the workouts change in three ways: the transition time between exercises was reduced, the number of repetitions per set increased, and for some exercises (core exercises) the number of sets increased from one to two.

As a result, I noticed that my average heart rate during the strength component was about ten beats/minute higher than on weeks one-two.

I am also now appreciating why the exercise booklet is made of heavy card stock that is also *laminated*!

For the cardio component, I goofed --- I was so distracted by the change in intensity of the strength workout that I did an intense cardio workout rather than the proscribed active recovery. Oops. I did a set of kettlebell snatches and, in the spirit of the increase in intensity of the strength component, I increased the weight of my cardio snatch kettlebell from 30 pounds to 40 pounds. Unfortunately I was only able to get in ten snatches at the 15:15 rate, with seven snatches/set (immediately after completing the strength workout). I think I also came up a little short on the cardio because I've not been getting in the necessary sleep due to increased work demands. Alas.

But speaking of kettlebells, here is a short video of an interview with John Du Cane, of DragonDoor.com, who discusses the origins of the modern kettlebell movement in the U.S.

I particularly enjoyed his comments about being married to a Goddess!

So I took my kettlebell in to work today to show some folks, and someone installed the following End-User License Agreement on my kettlebell:

BY ACCEPTING THIS KETTLEBELL THROUGH YOUR WINDOW, YOU ACCEPT IT AS IS AND AGREE TO MY DISCLAIMER OF ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS WELL AS DISCLAIMERS OF ALL LIABILITY, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL, THAT MAY ARISE FROM THE INSTALLATION OF THIS KETTLEBELL INTO YOUR BUILDING.

This was a humorous take on that incident a few years ago with outrage and frustration against SONY BMG for putting spyware on their music CDs --- back then someone had posted about installing an EULA on a brick and sending it to Sony through their window.

So now my wife can't get mad at me if the kettlebell slips from my hands during training and breaks anything --- I'm covered!

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 16.

Much like yesterday, today saw a similar increase in number of repetitions per exercise, a reduction in rest between exercises, and for some exercises, an increase to two sets per exercise.

In this workout, the suspended incline press is probably my favorite.

The cardio component called for a recovery day, so I did!

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 17.

There was a much needed rest day for the TRX strength component and the cardio component called for a rest/optional cardio program. So this gave me a chance to do more kettlebells, using my EULA'd kettlebell.

After a little jump rope, I did a 5x4 clean and press ladder, followed by kettlebell swings. I managed to do 160 in 10 minutes (using a 15:15 protocol). By the end I was really sucking wind, but it's progress towards my 200 goal.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 18.

Today for the strength component we did a repeat of Day 15, which concentrates on lower body. The single-leg squats went well, though I really need to use the ropes less if I want to do kettlebell pistols. The side planks, with ground taps are bothersome, but the suspended crunches are probably my favorite exercise in this set.

For cardio, as a running alternate I went kayaking about 6-7 miles. This was my first time and, amazingly, did not flip over, though I did swallow a bit of river water by accident (not the highlight of the day). Really beautiful scenery along the Severn River --- even saw some ospreys in nests with their chicks.

Since kayaking is an upper body workout, even as poorly as I do it, it was good that the strength component was lower body.

Sherlock Holmes.

Remember him?

If you will recall, he was quite skilled at thinking his way through problems. But he was also no couch potato --- in fact, he was quite skilled in the martial arts, and these skills aided him in his adventures. In specific, he was skilled at the art called Bartitsu, and this was mentioned in The Adventure of the Empty House.

Developed by Edward William Barton-Wright in England in the late 1800's, Bartitsu is what might be considered to be the first MMA, or mixed martial art, as it combined elements from Western wrestling, jujutsu, British boxing, French savate, Western stick fighting (la canne), and a strong physical culture foundation. Some techniques were published in a self-defence article from 1901 --- "Self-defence with a Walking-stick: The Different Methods of Defending Oneself with a Walking-Stick or Umbrella when Attacked under Unequal Conditions".

Although the art fell out of style, it has lately seen a resurgence of interest. The Bartitsu Society has thoroughly researched the history of the art, publishing two books on its history, and Tony Wolf prepared a short documentary:

Bartitsu is also discussed in the book Absinthe & Flamethrowers: Projects and Ruminations on the Art of Living Dangerously, and fighting techniques from that art are said to be featured in the upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie by Guy Ritchie.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 19.

Today was a very busy day at work. So I did a long day at the office, came home to do TRX and eat, and then went back to work.

The TRX workout itself went well --- today was an upper body workout with an extra set for some of the core exercises, though I am getting used to the added reps and sets, and reduced rest time. After next week I should be ready to ramp up again. Still, I think the hardest exercise in this set is the inverted row.

But now, back to work.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 20.

Also, today was a little unusual.

Not from a TRX standpoint --- today is actually a rest day for strength. Which is fine by me, because I went in to work yesterday at 7:30am, worked until about 8:30pm, came home for a few hours (exercised, showered, ate), then went back in to work (around midnight), worked through the night and day today, then left work today at about 5PM. I am not used to having to pull all-nighters!

So for this reason I am delaying the intense cardio component until tomorrow. Hopefully I will at least be a little more lively than my current zombie shuffle and moan.

Life sometimes does get in the way, and you will sometimes have to re-arrange schedules, but it helps to try to get back in the swing of things (that's a funny, if you do kettlebells as soon as you can so that you don't lose any forward momentum and progress you might have been developing.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 21.

Three weeks completed! That's three weeks further into my fitness goals than I was, well, three weeks ago. So, onwards for the remaining nine weeks.

But really, I can see and feel improvements, so I think the TRX FORCE program is definitely working. I was skeptical at first, but results trump skepticism any day.

The TRX has also improved my kettlebell work, and so today, to celebrate the end of TRX week three --- which was a rest day for strength and a long run for the cardio component --- I did an "intense" cardio workout that I was not able to do yesterday.

So today I did 270 swings with the 15:15 protocol --- I think that qualifies as intense cardio! In fact, I don't know a better cardio exercise than the kettlebell swing.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 22.

Today was another brutal day at work, but I managed to get through TRX Day 22. Today's strength component was a repeat of Day 15. So far, the TRX FORCE program has you work on the same sets of exercises, rest intervals, and numbers of sets, for two weeks each time before changing things up. So this week will be a repeat of last week, for the most part. But the fact that this week seemed almost "normal" means that my body much be growing and adapting to the new stresses, which resulted in concern and struggle last week.

Yesterday I commented that I could see and feel improvements after three weeks on the FORCE TRX program. But am I unusual in that respect? I mean, would most anyone who trained with the TRX see any benefits? Well, an informal experiment was conducted by John Berardi, Alwyn Cosgrove, and Fitness Anywhere's Fraser Quelch, to compare three strength and conditioning programs. Basically, they compared a strength program that also included steady state cardio (like a treadmill), a strength program and interval training (like high intensity interval training), and a strength program with suspension training (the TRX). So each fitness program had the same strength component --- what varied was the cardio component.

While I haven't gone through the results in detail, they report no statistical difference between the three programs. Assuming they set up and conducted their experiment correctly, this shows that the TRX is no worse than more traditional cardio methods. And, they report an anecdote that the more traditional cardio methods (steady state and HIT) had higher percentages of drop-outs than did the TRX. The suggestion is that you are more likely to quit a program that involves you running on a hamster wheel / treadmill-type device, whereas the suspension system is more likely to keep your interest, and therefore be a better exercise option.

In any case, After three weeks I see the usefulness and benefits to a suspension system, so I plan on keeping the TRX in my long-term fitness program.

But in the short term, I need to finish FORCE!

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 23.

I started out strong, plowing through the first set of suspended inclined presses, but mis-read the instructions and did two sets instead of one. Not usually too much of a big deal, but this stress on my shoulders had implications later on. I do like the suspended inclined presses, but like the atomic pushups more.

I did kettlebells after the strength component, and could not make it through five sets --- I only made three. I blame this being a rough work week and lack of sleep. On kettlebells, I did three sets of 4 pyramid clean and presses. Wish I could have made five sets, but maybe after some rest.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 24.

It really boggles the mind sometimes --- I often feel guilty on days like today when I don't workout. TRX Day 24 calls for a rest day in the strength component and a stretching/alternate cardio day for the cardio component. But really, the body needs these rest days in order to recover from heavy stress days. When the body is broken down, it needs time to recover in order to come back even stronger than before. Keeping up the intensity day after day leads to injury and poor progress, since the body never has a chance to heal.

So today was a healing day. We live to kettlebell and TRX another day.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 25.

I decided to try something new today. Previously I had been doing the TRX strength component, then followed by the cardio component. But today I first did ten sets of ten kettlebell swings. Then I followed this by the TRX strength component (which is a repeat of Day 15, then five sets of ten goblet squats with the kettlebell.

It was interesting because the swings, of course, rocket your heart rate. But my heart rate was also higher during the TRX strength component --- more than my average heart rate during that component if I lead off with it. Thus, I think I am getting a better workout by doing kettlebells first, then the TRX. The final kettlebell set was just to squeeze out whatever I had left in me.

So I'll continue this experiment of bracketing my TRX strength component with kettlebell workouts.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 26.

With the same idea in mind as yesterday's workout, today I started out with the cardio component of 140 snatches in almost 15 minutes, which got my heart rate going (ave > 160 bpm for 15 minutes). Then I launched into the same strength program as in Day 16.

Overall, however, I was pretty fatigued --- I think I am paying for working so hard last week, and the reduction in sleep and excess of stress is catching up to me. So after the TRX workout, I decided I should call it an evening, rather than launch into another kettlebell exercise set and risk getting hurt. Kettlebells, like the TRX suspended inclined press, demand your full mental and physical attention. And I think it is better to know when to stop than to keep pushing the envelope and risk getting hurt.