Army makes big purchase of TRX Suspension Trainers
As a fan of the TRX Suspension Trainer, and as someone who uses one semi regularly personally – as well as with the tactical LE/SWAT teams I have worked with – I think this is $$$ well spent for the Army. Below is the press release. You can see a short vid of yours truly using one at home HERE
FORT BRAGG, N.C. – The Army has purchased 3,205 TRX Suspension Trainer “Fitness Anywhere,” kits to help deployed Soldiers get complete-body workouts wherever they can find a beam, doorway or tree limb to anchor the resistance-training device.
Soldiers already have mounted several of the systems to Humvees, tanks and cargo crates. The Force Trainer kits were bought by the Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command.
MWR employees at Fort Belvoir, Va., will send 205 of the combat-boot-sized systems to Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the recreation kits for deployed troops. Three thousand more were issued to Army units for a pilot program at Fort Bragg, where about 100 Soldiers volunteered for train-the-trainer clinics with instructors from Fitness Anywhere, Inc.
Source: Source: www.military.com
Brink Bottom Line: The TRX Suspension Trainer is not be all end all, have their limitations (as everything does…) but bang for the $$$ and the ability to use them pretty much anywhere (hence the name…) this seems $$$ well spent. For the non soldier, the TRX is a great addition to a home gym, people looking to add more functional type exercise, etc. and I highly recommend it.
Will Brink is the owner of the Brinkzone Blog. Will has over 30 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published. Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
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Just saw the video of you with it at home, (I always seem to miss those). Looks definitely like a good alternative just to get something in if getting to the gym isn’t an option, not sure if its feasible at my house though, my basement (aside from being stuffed with crap from the wife and m-i-l), has a low ceiling. The video may not be representative but it looks like your basement ceiling is higher than mine unless I am totally out of line here. I’m about 5′ 9″ and I can reach up and touch the ceiling beams with no effort.
hello! mr. zone thn for this…………
A great addition for our men and women in the service! I would think though that they could manufacture something like this themselves. Probably better to subcontract it out. With all the government red tape it would end up costing the taxpayers over $1000 per unit! Is the TRX “Made In The USA”?
Also I found it interesting (but not surprising) that soldiers are penalized on fitness tests for having too much muscle mass. Maybe the Military should buy some calipers to measure bodyfat percentage!
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The TRX seems like it would be ideal for any skill level of exercise/weight lifting you are in. I am especially impressed with the abdominal benefits. I’m not sure how to install this for use, would be my only question. I am in more on the strength training side of weight-lifting and I see how beneficial this would be in hlping my flexibility now that I’ve hit the big 4-0.
Fairlane: as it’s made to attach to tree limb or tank turret, a low ceiling will not be an issue.
Walt: I believe it’s made in the USA, but not 100% on that, so don’t quote me there. The only thing I’m 100% sure was made in the US is myself and my 1911s….
Brad: as the name says it all “fitness anywhere” it can be used pretty much any place anywhere. I have found nothing to equal those atomic pushups and or pull throughs for abs/core muscles. That alone made it worth the $$$ to me…
This is a great idea when working with the limitations found in the field. I was in the Gulf War in the Marines. We had some plates and bars and manufactured more of what we needed. But it was hard to come by equipment. Anything to get the job done was considered awesome in our book.
Consider the fact that most of the armed forces are younger people, mostly guys. They need something to burn off that extra steam and to eat up the hours. Much of field time is consumed by boredom. This leads to very bad things. This trainer would do the job nicely of filling in some of those hours and keeping morale higher.
Funny thing: Someone mentioned above about being penalized for muscle mass. This was true when I was in (’86-’91.) But if one were to really develop enough quality mass and strength, one might find himself on the powerlifting team traveling the world representing his branch. I wasn’t one of those guys but some of my friends were. Funny how rules can be overlooked when the need is high enough. LOL They frowned on us becoming too large but if we kept passing our PFT’s (physical fitness tests) we’d be left alone.
It looks to me like a great thing for our troops. Also would break up the day and give a good workout. Hopefully they are received well and used.
Ken, if you take a look through the Mil/LE section here, you will see the blog posts I put up regarding mil being penalized for the extra muscle mass. It makes for some interesting reading. It appears slowly, the powers that be are starting to “get it” that muscle is a good thing and are reconsidering what soldiers need to perform, etc. The days of large numbers of men marching from one side of a country to another, are gone, and modern war is more about carrying heavy load outs short distances, being able to sprint from one place to another, etc., and that’s slowly being added to the PFTs of some branches, which I also write about here.
Hey, make your branch look good playing ball, lifting, etc, you can get away with all sorts of stuff…or so I am told…
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