Mind Body Train : TRX®

Tips for TRX® training in a mind-body setting:

Movement, Cueing, & Alignment:

• Refer to your TRX Manual for the proper names of each part of the TRX Suspension Trainer.
• Use the “NAPSMR” order of cueing as taught in your TRX Training.
• Cue the feet consistently to create the sense of being grounded and connected.
• Cue “holding your weight in your core instead of your hands (or feet).”
• Athletic—inspired focus and deep muscle activation create energy and power.

• Think of the movements as movements rather than exercises.
• Use a patient, focused, tone. TRX is a GREAT opportunity to improve alignment and balance.
  • Take the time to prep for each new movement as you would in Pilates.
    • Establish proper alignment, posture, and bracing.
    • Control creates steadiness and confidence.
    • Cue the breath properly. Without the breath, you cannot have good movement throughout the skeleton, and support for the spine is lost.
    • Your steady voice will influence the students’ sense of balance.
  • To create more muscle activation (and therefore faster fatigue), use an isometric hold prior to beginning a set of dynamic movements. Or, pause for isometric hold within the set, and then resume movement.   When cueing isometric movements, cue “deeply.” Corseted core, posture/height, reach/length, tension. Build heat in isometrics with deep, audible breaths.
  • When cueing dynamic movements, such as lunges, cue the foot for landing (placement, articulation, deceleration) and propulsion, the core for deceleration and control, and the spine/skeleton for length. Teach alignment of foot-knee-hip.
  • Maintain the same speed in the first inch, the “middle inch” and the last inch (Pilates). Students should work through each move fluidly and continuously rather than each rep having a “beginning and end.”
  • Pulses should be more “throbbing” (like a heartbeat) than bouncing. “Flow with tension.”
  • Encourage movement quality and confidence as the reps continue. The last rep should be the highest quality and fullest expression (as opposed to losing form with fatigue).
  • Teach people to “create their own resistance.” “Wrap the muscles to the bones.” “Move like you are pushing through water.” Technically, they should not even need weights. But the dumbbells often serve as a source for proprioceptive feedback for the arms.
  • Give sensory cues and use metaphors to explain how the move should feel and say out loud what you feel when you are moving.
  • Be confident in correcting students’ alignment and form. Use your eyes and body language to teach. Cue the students to use the mirror to check themselves for aligned feet, good posture, etc.
  • Be self-deprecating and acknowledge when you “let go” of your own form, to show that you, too, need to reconnect when you lose focus, etc. Correcting yourself aloud will encourage the students to take control of their own workout.
  • Learn and teach about the spiral lines and “slings” of the musculature. TRX is perfect for improving the health of the fascia. To teach about it, you must understand it.
    • Emphasize LENGTH and TENSION, combined, they are known as “tensegrity.” This is the optimal position for working the health of the musculature and the fascia. To fully understand this, refer to “Anatomy Trains,” by Thomas Myers.
  • Emphasize “stability before mobility” (Biscontini): Almost every movement is based upon achieving stillness in the body against the moving part. The portion of the body standing still is as important as the moving part. This is safer AND more effective training.
  • When observing students, use “X-ray” vision. Look through their body at their skeleton. Watch for the ribcage popping out, the sway back, and the shoulders rounding or leaning forward. Don’t be misled by the flesh! A student who looks like they are arching their back may just have a rounded rear end! Not a bad thing. Teach with sensitivity and safety at the same time.

mind.body.train.