YORK COUNTY, Pa. — In this week's FOX43 FitMinute Susannah Gillespie, a personal trainer from the Jewish Community Center is showcasing two different stretches, one to target the upper back and another for chest muscles, both using TRX straps.
“TRX [or Total Body Resistance Exercise] was invented by our armed forces and [when deployed] all they had on them were belts and parachute straps. If you look at a TRX you’ll see the long straps are the straps of their belt, and the handles were what they took off their parachutes,” said Gillespie.
“And it can really replicate any piece of exercise equipment, but today we are going to use it for stretching because it’s a really nice thing to brace our bodies against and just have some nice fluid body stretching in ways that we might not be able to do without that assistance,” said Gillespie.
Stretch number 1: The Upper Back Stretch.
Turn towards the straps and grab hold of the handles, with palms facing downward.
“Tilt the chin down, sink into your hips a little bit, rocking side to side, adjusting in your body to where you feel the most tightness, and then that’s where you hang out,” said Gillespie.
Stretch number 2: The Chest Stretch.
Turn away from the straps, and grab hold of the handles.
“I’m going to take my feet a little bit wide, a little bit of a leap of faith because you are going to lean forward, but again depending on where you put your feet and how far you want to go, is just how far you go. Thumbs are pointed down, so you can see thumbs are towards the floor, and I am going to lean forward,” said Gillespie.
From here you can shift side to side on the toes to further the stretch.
TRX straps are available to be used at the JCC, but also can be purchased online from several retailers for at-home use.
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