TRX training

[ernirulez]

Hi all,
for core training and general conditioning I´ve seen that TRX training is being incorporated to climbing.
Personally I only found these exercises, so I am following some of them:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAYUq8GV16A

I wanted to know which exercises would be good to do in TRX for climing, or share your thoughts about which ones would be better to do in order to have a set of exercises to follow.

Regards,

Ernesto

[MarkAnderson]

I think it's perfect that the video is titled "crossfit for climbers" considering the amount of kipping going on   The "Ab Curls" are a great exercise if you do a reasonable number of them, slowly and in control.

Anyway, I use rings, which as far as I can tell are nearly the same as TRX, except that it's a bit harder to use your feet in the rings. So I think there is good potential for the apparatus. Regarding the video, I didn't see a lot of exercises that I would do personally. For example, I don't really see the benefit of using straps for Biceps Curls or Triceps extensions. It seems like a dumbbell provides much better quantification of the resistance. But if you don't have access to dumbells, the TRX exercises are perhaps better than nothing.

I use my rings for explosive pull-ups, front levers, "ab rolls" (imagine using the rings instead of an Ab Roller), and "Wings" (from Gimme Kraft!). In the past I've used rings for 1-Arm Inverted Rows. If I had more time/energy I could see throwing in some other exercises, but my philosophy trends more towards picking a small number of exercises and doing them seriously, vs doing a ton of exercises.

[Otis.]

I have a TRX and have used rings, essentially the same concept. Anyway, I do mostly push ups, rows, dips, Y_T_W's (shoulders) and some core work with my TRX. I prefer a hangboard or jugs for pull ups. I love the TRX as a warm up because you can do a lot of exercises in quick progression to warm up before lifting. You can also add a weight vest to increase resistance directly to TRX exercises. It's also great for travel, as it packs up to the size of a grape fruit. As for exercises, just type in TRX exercises in youtube and 1,000's of videos come up. It's not too hard to pick and choose what would best apply to climbing.

[ernirulez]

Thank you very much guys for the answers. I am building my set of core exercises..
Mike, now that you mention the the Gimme Kraft! book, what do you think about it? and what exactly is that "wings" exercise?

[MarkAnderson]

Gimme Kraft! is essentially a menu of supplemental exercises. There are around 100 exercises in the book, obviously way too many for anyone to do all of them. Some of the exercises are good, some are not.

"Wings" is done using one ring/hand at a time. Start standing straight up with your hand/arm hanging straight down, grasping the ring at your side (so the ring is hanging at the same height as your would naturally hang straight down). Keeping your torso arms and legs straight, lean out to the side (same side the ring is on), rotating at the shoulder, as far as your strength allows, then reel yourself back up to a standing position. Repeat.