Gravity Fx Fitness

Yesterday’s Super Bowl victory was a comeback for both the franchise and the city of New Orleans. Not too many years ago Drew Brees was facing his own comeback after a shoulder injury threatened his career.

One of the training tools that made a big impact on his shoulder health and his performance on the field is the TRX suspension trainer.

This piece of equipment can help strengthen your shoulders, upper and mid back, and your core all at the same time.  Even when “isolating” different muscles your low back and abs are working to some degree to provide stability.  This efficiency is one reason that athletes love this tool and its also why it is a great way for the average person to exercise, as well.

If you are looking for home exercise equipment that is inexpensive, portable, versatile and most important, effective, its hard to go wrong with the TRX.  It can be used by most anyone to increase their fitness levels without taking a lot of time.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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You can have great abs without doing hundreds and hundreds of crunches!  I’m not big on marathon sessions of crunches and situps - partly, because it just takes too much time and I’m too busy to do something inefficient.

They take so much time because there isn’t much tension on your stomach and tension is key to training  your muscles, including your midsection.

So how do you get six pack abs without doing crunches?  Simple, you first burn off the fat covering your stomach with multi-joint exercises that use the large muscles in your body and get rid of the “junk” in your diet, otherwise noone can see your flat stomach, anyway!

When doing specific ab exercises, train them with tension – increase the intensity, not the amount of time you train them.  Start off with exercises like planks and bridges to strengthen your stomach and low back.

Then progress to exercises like “rollouts” on an ab wheel or do various pushups and pikes on a suspension trainer like the Bandit’s Loops or TRX.  This trains your stomach and low back to provide stability and coordination while your upper or lower body is moving.

Besides adding to your total body coordination and athletic ability, this also is more time-efficient than spending 15-30 minutes on the floor doing a separate ab workout and I’m all about doing efficient workouts.

I also like using sandbags and kettlebells to hit this area with some intensity.  Sandbags in particular are great for hitting your obliques – adding in a measure of back prevention while giving you a more athletic body.

Many of the “gimmicks” you see on TV use professional fitness models to promote their product.  Most of the time, they have never used that product before and got in great shape with other methods – then they might have even had some liposuction done just before shooting the commercial, to look even better.

Besides getting a flatter stomach, you will probably have better posture and possibly prevent back injury at the same time.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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If you are looking for a new challenge for your abs training, doing “ab rollouts” on a suspension trainer may be just what the doctor ordered.

Many people have been doing planks and different variations for their basic ab work and need something more advanced.  The abs wheel is a good choice, as it requires you to stabilize with your upper body, at the same time.

The old models have been largely replaced with one’s that have a bigger wheel.  Most people have to start on their knees to complete these exercises.

If you have a suspension trainer such as a TRX or bandit’s loops, you can use it to do ab rollouts, similar to the wheel.  Start with the straps in a higher position and then you can gradually lower them for more resistance.

In the low position, they will give you a great core training effect, besides the upper body stability work.  There is a reason gymnasts have great upper body development, even though they usually only train with their own bodyweight.

Don’t let your stomach sag as you go through the motion.  Of course, that should go without saying, as there is plenty of tension placed on your stomach.

You can also do pushups in the low position to work all the muscles above your waist at the same time.  If that’s not enough tension, pick one leg off the ground as you do your pushups – or wear a weight vest.

Obviously, this isn’t a beginner exercise, but this is one of the many ways you can train your midsection while using a suspension trainer.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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Suspension training is one of the hot, new exercise trends.  In fact, the TRX trainer was voted Best Total-Body Tool in Men’s Health article on best new fitness gear.

I tried it out at a fitness trade show in Chicago and its a good tool.  I recently purchased the Bandit’s Loops suspension trainer from Art of Strength, and I love it.

There are plenty of different exercises that can be done with these, all of which are great for core stability.  Instead of doing endless crunches, I prefer to train my abs and low back to work with my upper or lower body.

Besides being a more time efficient way to train, this really hits your abs with lots of intensity.  It also increases your total body coordination, making all your movements more efficient and making you more athletic.

I’ve had plenty of shoulder problems, in part because of poor posture.  Suspension trainers can help with your posture and build core stability, so you minimize the risk of back pain.  The rowing exercises are great for your upper and mid back.

Besides being important for your posture, strength in this area is extremely important to help prevent rotator cuff injuries.  I’m speaking from experience here, as I’ve done some damage to both of my shoulders in the past.

You can work on shoulder stability from the pushup position as well.  With the Bandit’s Loops you can add some spice to your pushups by working from different positions – either with your hands holding the loops or your feet in them, doing a “suspended” pushup.

These movements are similar to gymnastics training and will build decent strength just by doing bodyweight training.  Gymnasts have a very impressive amount of upper body strength compared to what they weigh.

The large loops make it easy to slip your feet into and you can adjust the straps quickly for the amount of resistance you want.  This makes it possible for those with minimal strength to exercise, as well as those who are already in decent shape.

A pretty versatile tool if you ask me.  I like the creative movements that are possible, besides the fact that I don’t have to spend extra time to work my abs.

If you train at home or outdoors, the loops are a great tool to use for bodyweight exercises.  Add some dumbbells, sandbags, or kettlebells for a fast, efficient workout.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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