TRX FORCE TRAINING

Onto week 8 of TRX Force Training. If you're a cyclist who doesn't want to keep breaking your collar bone every time someone sneezes, then wise up and put in some time to in-season Functional Strength Training. I have found the TRX Force Training protocol to be a phenomenal accompaniment to my on-bike training for the past 8 weeks. In addition to helping maintain the functional fitness I developed in the 'off season' I've been able to address strength and mobility asymmetries between my right and left legs, right and left arms, right and left hands and feet, and imbalances between my posterior and anterior chain. Like, for real address them. One of the biggest improvements I've noticed from TRX Force Training and addressing bilateral asymmetries is that I no longer have knee pain in my right knee from riding.

If you read VeloNews, Cycling News, etc., you have probably come across their 'ask the physio' sections. Some of the most commonly asked questions revolve around leg length discrepancies (like an article up today on Velonews).

While I'm no physio, my anecdotal experience would suggest that many people who suspect they have 'leg length differences' actually have an impinged range of motion on one side of their body due to excess tightness on that side and lesser strength on that side. Until I finally took the time to train up my weaker right leg (my dominant leg by the way), I long suspected that I too had 'leg length discrepancy' issues. When I actually took the time to pay attention to my body and stopped fidgeting with saddle position, etc. I quickly discovered that I have a ridiculously tight right hamstring, a weaker right quad (and supporting musculature that stabilizes the knee). Upon further investigation/attention to what was happening with my body in both on and off bikes training efforts, I discovered that the root of the problem went all the way down to the tips of my toes. As in literally, I have two toes that don't seem as strong or 'turned on' as the rest of my toes. On the bike I noticed that this manifested in my right calf not firing properly, my right foot not applying the same amount of force (or applying force as evenly) as my left foot. I believe this is the origin point of much of the right side ITB pain and low back pain that has creaked up many times as I up my mileage during the past 22 years.

Now my right knee is pain free, something I attributed to performing unilateral movements on the TRX and bringing my weak side up to speed with my strong side by doing more reps in the weak areas every time I train on the TRX.

Sound like bullshit? It's not. Give it a try and see what you think.

On a side note: Click on Fitness Anywhere ad to right for more information about Force Training, the protocol developed to prepare tactical athletes for the call of duty. It's a bear of an all-body, all-core workout, highly recommended, and comes with a complete 12 week FST and aerobic/anerobic conditioning protocol. And get a free 20 dollar gift cert when you buy a TRX through www.drillit.tv by clicking over yonder to the right. I use the TRX and participate in the Fitness Anywhere affiliate program because it's a game-changing product that works, and it will work for you, too. No lies, no bullshit, no gimmicks. It's the real deal and if you're serious about getting fit (and not just going out and training so hard you puke, etc., which really doesn't do a whole lot except fuck up your next training session and drive you into the ground), you need to own a TRX. It's an unsurpassed strength and conditioning tool and the applications for ROM, mobility, flexibility, prehab, and rehab are unsurpassed in my experience with 22 years of hard, consistent training.

Live Alive.

DRILLit.

www.andrewvontz.com
www.drillit.tv
@vontz