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TRX Training Along with being a TRX Master Instructor, TRX Training Club Yoga Instructor, and owner of SWEAT Power Yoga, Krystal Say is one of the passionate creators of TRX for Yoga. She is here to explain how the Suspension Trainer can be the ultimate support tool for some of those more challenging yoga poses.    TRX Yoga is a style of vinyasa yoga.  In its basic form, the idea is to leverage the TRX Suspension Trainer pressing your hands or feet into the cradles to receive feedback.  It’s almost like receiving constant assists in yoga class, and who doesn’t love an assist?! The Suspension Trainer both challenges and creates accessibility in one’s yoga practice.  It sounds contradictory, I know, and this is when I say, you’ve got to try it to feel it for yourself! The nature of using the straps as an outside stimulus gives you the opportunity to slow things down and truly feel the alignment of the pose.  Let’s take a look at a few of what might be considered complex yoga poses and explore how the straps can assist you in building a strong foundation and accessing the pose.    TRX CROW Crow packs a punch.  By definition, it is an inversion and arm balance all packed into one fiery yoga pose.  Any time I teach someone to get upside down the first thing we work on is total body integration to brace the muscles of the core, maintain a long neutral spine all while breathing deep and rhythmically.  As an arm balance we want to assure stability and strength in the upper body as one transitions into the pose.  This is most important along the journey of trusting yourself.  Once in crow, your center of gravity is just right so that you truly are balancing on your hands and minimal strength is necessary.  HOW TO Adjustment: Mid Calf  Position: Ground facing away from the anchor point Start:  Begin on your hands and knees, with your feet in cradles directly under the anchor point.  Shoulders stack over hands, hips over knees.   Movement: Press into a plank position.  Simultaneously, bend your knees to connect with the back of your arms above the elbow and you bend the elbows making a shield for your knees to rest on.  Rock the weight of your body toward your fingers and continue to press the top of your feet into the cradles to help brace the core.  RETURN: Set the knees back on the ground and release the feet from the cradles.    TRX HEADSTAND Traditional headstand, as shown here is an incredible feat of the human body, with so many health boosting benefits.  When first starting this inversion practice, I remember having so much trouble finding my balance upside down, not knowing if my hips were stacked over my shoulders or what to do with my flailing legs.  The TRX Suspension Trainer changed everything!  The nature of pressing the lower leg into the nylon strap allowed me to create the same sensation in my upper leg creating a confidence and sense of assurance when being upside down.  The position of the TRX Suspension Trainer during headstand practice is also key as it helps minimize the fear of falling over.  You can slow down and feel the alignment of the pose.  You will expose where there needs to be stability and flexibility in order to get into position. HOW TO Adjustment: Mid Calf  Position: Ground facing away from the anchor point Start: On hands and knees, place your right foot into both of the cradles. Place elbows shoulder width apart on mat and interlace hands. Movement: Place the back of the crown of your head in the palms of your hands. Root down into elbows to minimize pressure on head.  Press right foot into foot cradles and bring knees off mat (legs straight) to plank position. Press right foot into straps and hop left foot toward body stacking hips over shoulders (think pike). Float left foot to ceiling, keep pressing right foot into the cradles. Work to stack your joints.  Return: Bring upper leg to the floor and return to hands and knees.   TRX FLYING SPLIT Flying split is one of those poses I used to look at and say ‘yeah right’.  It is true, full core integration and a fair amount of flexibility is required.  The good news, these are all things TRX Yoga supports you with during your practice.  During the TRX Yoga Signature Flow (taught in the TRX Yoga Flow Course) we constantly move in and out of poses that target the development of stability, mobility and flexibility required to explore your flying split practice.  HOW TO Adjustment: Mid Calf  Position: Ground facing away from the anchor point Start:  In a plank position, with your left foot in both cradles MOVEMENT: Lift your right leg off the ground and bring your right knee to the right shoulder, bending the elbows as you do. Set the knee on the back of the arm and hold. Continue to press the left foot into the cradles. If your flexibility and the strap length allows, you can extend through the right leg.   Return: Return to plank position, release the knees to the ground and carefully remove the foot from the foot cradles.    I can’t wait to see you on your mat, -Krystal   The key is to break down the complex movement into foundational movements.  Explore where mobility, stability and flexibility may be lacking and work on the different elements.  Have fun enhancing these different qualities through the different TRX Yoga poses to feel the difference on the straps, off the straps and in your life!  TRX offers an array of opportunities to build your yoga practice and use the Suspension Trainer to support you in that journey. Jump into a TRX Training Club workout with Krystal where she teaches both LIVE and On Demand Yoga sessions. Not a member yet? If you add a free 30 day TRX Training Club trial to your cart you can also unlock 10% off any product purchase including all Suspension Trainers, Yoga Blocks, and Mats.  Are you a fitness professional looking to expand your client offering? Krystal also teaches multiple TRX for Yoga Education Courses where you can earn CECs in digital, virtual, or in-person courses.  

With your TRX Suspension Trainer™ and just 15 minutes, you can crank out an effective, full-body workout—even on-the-go! 

If you want the power of Rafael Nadal or the athletic conditioning of Serena Williams, grab your TRX Suspension Trainer and start with these 5 TRX Training tennis tips.

These three TRX-exclusive moves are just a few more reasons to appreciate the most versatile fitness tool in the world.

Tennis players must constantly change the speed, direction, and height of their bodies—sometimes with every shot. If you want the power of Rafael Nadal or the athletic conditioning of Serena Williams, grab your TRX Suspension Trainer and start with these 5 TRX Training tennis tips from TRX Training Senior Master Trainer Matt Gleed. Gleed has even included common faults and fixes for each move.

FIT DOESN'T CARE ABOUT THE RULES. IT ONLY CARES THAT YOU SHOW UP. LET'S MOVE

“I'd always dance up and down the grocery aisles,” TJ Yale recalls of his early childhood years in Damascus, Ore. Yale's parents, looking for an outlet for their five-year-old’s creativity and energy, responded by enrolling him in ballet and tap lessons. “I was fortunate to have parents who were able to put me in dance classes,” he said.  TJ thrived in dance, and stuck with it. In middle school, a judge at a competition suggested that TJ’s parents enroll him in a special performing arts school in Portland. He spent the rest of his school years dancing hours each day as part of magnet programs and the Jefferson Dancers—the longest-running dance company in Portland—before continuing on to Los Angeles, New York. and Tokyo after graduation. Today, located back home in Oregon, TJ is a dancer, choreographer, and instructor at the program that helped shape him.  Ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, African modern: you name it, TJ’s done it. And now, he gets to pass his love of movement to a new generation of dancers. “It was a good transition. I got to do some commercial work and that sort of thing, but getting to take everything that I've learned from all of my teachers and give back is a pretty cool feeling; especially when you see a kid get really excited about a step, or you see them struggling with something for so long, and they finally get it,” he said. While dance is an art form, it also requires strength, stamina, and athleticism—much like basketball or soccer. “It should be considered a sport,” TJ said. “You're engaging all these different muscles, and you're using different types of breathing. Not only do you need brute strength in dance, but you need strength that's going to give you longevity. We train our bodies to be able to perform at a peak level, but keep it consistent.” Cross-training and dance may not be terms automatically associated with one another, but TJ says tools like the TRX Suspension Trainer have helped him create greater stability and improve his overall dance skills. “It made me work muscles that I didn't even realise I had—and I feel like a lot of dancers would say they feel like they have a pretty good understanding of their body,” he said. With the Suspension Trainer, TJ says his freestyling has improved because he feels more grounded, which helps him move faster and more precisely. “The main thing for me is being able to have more control, because I can more accurately execute [moves], or do them for longer periods of time.” There are days when TJ questions why he’s stuck with dance for so long, but he’s grateful to be a dancer because it keeps him in great shape. “Dancing at such a young age got me in this subconscious routine of always being active or pushing myself physically.” Ultimately, TJ says movement matters because it helps him process never-ending changes in the world.  ‘Things are constantly evolving and changing. Movement ties into that. It’s in my DNA. It feels good when I move. If I'm feeling frustrated, it's something that I can turn to and just let things out. If I'm still trying to move, that means something's working right internally.” Check out some of TJ's favourite songs here. 

Don’t freak out, but your body is not symmetrical...and that’s totally normal! There are tiny differences between the left and right sides of your face, one of your legs is probably a little bit longer than the other, and maybe your shoes have always felt a little more snug on one of your feet. Just as you have physical differences between the two sides of your body, your strength may also vary. While those strength differences could affect your stability in the long run, there are some clever TRX Suspension Trainer moves to help improve balance.   One reason athletes around the world swear by the TRX Suspension Trainer is that it’s an all-core-all-the-time tool. The stabilising loop—that circle at the top of the Suspension Trainer—will slide back and forth if you don’t engage your core, so you have to keep your core tight, no matter what kind of exercise you’re doing. That’s already huge for improving balance, but single-side TRX exercises take it a step further: they also help you identify and correct imbalances.  Most standard TRX exercises—squats, rows, planks, bicep curls, and more—can be modified to isolate a single side of your body. While some people like single-side exercises because they pose a greater challenge, others like them because they reveal which side of your body is stronger.  Let’s use TRX Single Arm Low Rows as an example. Adjust your straps to mid-length, and either thread the handles into single-handle mode, or just grab one handle in your left hand. Set a timer for 30 seconds and count how many reps you can complete before the timer expires. Next, repeat the same 30-second challenge, at the same angle, counting the number of reps you complete on your right side. Were the numbers the same? If you’re left-hand dominant, you probably completed more reps on your left side.  If there was a significant difference in the number of reps, (think three or more), consider adding extra work for your weaker side to create balance between the two sides of your body. You can repeat the same challenge with TRX Single Leg Squats, TRX Single Arm Bicep Curls, TRX Single Leg Planks, and TRX Lunges to help identify strength imbalances through your body. Keep in mind, your dominant hand and dominant leg may be different, so don’t assume that your right leg is stronger just because your right hand is. If you're feeling ready to go wild with single side exercises, here’s a 20-minute superset workout that targets your upper body, lower body, and core in six-minute segments, with a focus on single-side isolations. We divided this workout into 30-second intervals, so using an interval app like Seconds or Gym Boss—both are available in free versions with in-app purchase options—to keep you on track. There will be three exercises in each section of this workout. Complete all three exercises on your left side, followed by your right side, and then repeat each side for a second round. You’ll have one minute of recovery between sections. Upper Body Burnout (x 2) TRX Single Arm Bicep Curl Left (30 seconds) TRX Single Arm High Row Left (30 seconds) TRX Single Arm Power Pull Left (30 seconds) TRX Single Arm Bicep Curl Right (30 seconds) TRX Single Arm High Row Right (30 seconds) TRX Single Arm Power Pull Right (30 seconds) Lower Body Challenge (x 2) TRX Single Leg Lunge Left (30 seconds) TRX Crossing-Balance Lunge Left (30 seconds) TRX Single-Leg Squat Left (30 seconds) TRX Single Leg Lunge Right (30 seconds) TRX Crossing-Balance Lunge Right (30 seconds) TRX Single-Leg Squat Right (30 seconds) Complete Core Finale (x 2) TRX Side Plank Left (30 seconds) TRX Side Plank + Thread the Needle Left (30 seconds) TRX Side Plank + Hip Dip Left (30 seconds) TRX Side Plank Right (30 seconds) TRX Side Plank + Thread the Needle Right (30 seconds) TRX Side Plank + Hip Dip Right (30 seconds)

TRX® Exercise Band Workout With Rae Clarke