TRX is back and better than ever at Western

Apr 22

The TRX Suspension Trainer is one of the fitness industry’s most versatile and effective pieces of equipment. Created in 1997 by Navy SEAL officer Randy Hetrick and patented in 2005, the TRX has taken the fitness world by storm, creating a whole new modality — suspension training.

What is suspension training?

Simply put, suspension training is a type of strength training that uses the TRX system and allows you to use your own body weight to train. The genius behind it is that you get a ton of variety when it comes to different types of moves you can perform, which allows exercise routines to be customized with your goals in mind. Want to develop more strength? You can do that with the TRX. Looking to increase balance and flexibility? You can do that with TRX. Want to increase joint stability and general mobility? Yup, you guessed it. You can do that with TRX!

Even better, anybody can use the TRX! It is created to be used by all fitness levels and can be easily adjusted to match the needs of the user.

How did TRX come to Western?

I remember back in 2008, watching The Biggest Loser, and seeing these super cool yellow and black strappy things hanging from a tree and immediately Googling what in the world these things were. After I found them, I was hooked! I don’t think I ordered anything so fast in my life.

The straps got delivered, I threw them on a tree, and my husband became my guinea pig. Oh, what a tangled mess I made of him. I knew, from that moment, that a TRX Education Course was in my future!

Little did I know that this education course would change my little fitness heart. The education behind the straps is something that sets TRX apart from anything else that I have learned. I was OBSESSED!

Fast forward to getting hired as a Group Fitness Director at Western Racquet & Fitness Club and learning that we would be starting club renovations with a big focus on improving our Group Fitness Department - adding more studios, classes, and instructors. I was like a kid in a candy shop and I knew part of this plan HAD to involve a TRX program. I not only saw the results from my in-home clients and on myself, but I saw how anyone that used the straps fell in love — they felt stronger, more confident, and could get a workout in a short amount of time!

I carried those straps around with me everywhere — showing members, Western’s owner, and department heads. I begged and pleaded and promised I would make this program something special. Eventually, Western said, ‘Okay great! Let’s build a whole studio for it!” That was music to my ears and the start of my TRX dreams for Western.

Growing the TRX program at Western

Don’t let this smile fool you from my Facebook memory — I was nervous about the BIG renovations needed to create this studio, especially with Western’s owner putting so much faith behind something I loved. TRX was still a new program, especially in Green Bay, but I was determined!

Now it was time to find staff to fall in love with TRX too, get everyone certified, and spread the word to our members. And that is exactly what we did. One by one, our group fitness instructors drove miles to find a TRX Education Course and they studied and used the straps on repeat, falling in love with the program just as I had. We also held numerous TRX 101 classes to get our members ready to go. We ended up adding multiple TRX opportunities to the schedule — drop-in classes, adding them to other classes, one-on-one and small group classes, plus we incorporated them with our Rock Steady Boxing for Parkinson’s program. It was everything I’d hoped for and more!

TRX in a post-COVID world

Of course, like many fitness studios and gyms, after the height of COVID, we saw a decrease in TRX participation due to staffing difficulties, continued social distancing, and an overall shift in how people were engaging in fitness. But I was not giving up. I was ready to reorganize and relaunch our TRX program. I started by working with Western instructors and getting them re-energized and certified to add more classes to the schedule again.

TRX makes its comeback this May

Fast forward to today! Starting this May 2023 we are adding FIVE new TRX classes to our regular weekly schedule, plus tons of chances to take TRX 101 and learn the basics of TRX. We have three newly certified instructors who are excited to show our members how TRX can help them reach their fitness goals, grow stronger, avoid injury, plus have fun while they’re doing it!

Benefits of TRX

So why should you join us on the TRX straps? Here are some of the benefits of TRX training.

Adjust to your level. You will be doing the same move as everyone in the class but you can make it spicier or tone it down just by adjusting where you are in correlation to the anchor point. It’s really that simple and the class really is for ALL fitness levels.
All core all the time. You are moving your body through space and chasing your plank with every push and pull. We have unilateral and rational movements on top of floor work that will strengthen your core from the inside out, building a strong foundation to carry you through your everyday movements and your workouts.
All planes of motion, functional movement. Think of how you move throughout the day. Hour after hour you are moving your body in 3D through your world, so why wouldn’t you train that way too? With TRX, you hit all planes of motion and do functional movements, so you can move through your day better, for longer, with fewer injuries.
TRX packs a punch. TRX truly is the “everything” workout as in you get everything you want from a workout when you do it! It’s a full-body workout in a short time frame that’s also low impact.
You are in great hands at Western. Our passion for TRX at Western is unmatched. All of our staff are trained and certified on the TRX straps and we keep our classes on a smaller scale so you get more one on one attention. We truly LOVE sharing our excitement for this program with our members!

Take a TRX class at Western

Starting this May, Western will have six TRX classes on the schedule, plus always free TRX 101 classes for beginners to get the hang of things. We also will be featuring the TRX every Sunday in May for our 11:00 am Sunday Snippet so join us for this weekly TRX Bootcamp (free to Western members). Come to any of the TRX Bootcamp Sunday Snippet classes in May and receive a free TRX credit you can use to take a TRX class in the future!

Lastly, we wanted to kick off this TRX relaunch by giving our members a chance to grab their Premier Class Packages on sale! So starting April 24th and going through May 24th, all Premier Class Packages are 20% off!

And of course, while we’d love you to use your Premier Class Packages to try out some TRX, you can also use them for any of our other Premier Class offerings including Heavy Bag Burnout and all rowing classes on the schedule! Plus, Premier Class Packages never expire, so you can use them whenever you want, however you want!

We are ready to take your fitness to a whole new level with TRX, whether you are just starting out, starting again, or are ready for a new challenge! Check out class offerings below and visit the Group Fitness webpage to see a full schedule of classes and to purchase your 20% off Premier Class Package.