TRX Training

By Nkoyo Iyamba

SALT LAKE CITY -- We may see ourselves one way in the mirror, but our medical charts tell a different story.

A new study shows Americans have a distorted view of their health. They think they're thinner or healthier than they actually are.

Health experts say this skewed perception could put their lives as risk.

"You can't feel high cholesterol, and most of the time you can't even feel high blood pressure," explains Julie Hansen, nutrition professor at Weber State University. "So I don't think people know unless they get it measured."

As part of a recent Harris Interactive/HealthDay survey, respondents were asked to provide their height and weight in order to calculate their body-mass index (BMI), a ratio of weight to height. Respondents then had to classify themselves into several weight range categories.

The results showed 30 percent of people classified as overweight actually thought they were "normal" size, while 70 percent of people classified as obese also thought they were of "normal" weight. Of those classified as morbidly obese, almost 60 percent thought there were merely obese.

Hansen says this skewed perception puts our lives at risk.

"Any other type of disease, this would be like an epidemic," explains Hansen. "This is an epidemic, but people seem to be OK with it."

Hansen also says popular culture is not adding to the obesity solution. She says manufacturers are making clothes and other things bigger and then slapping smaller labels on them to make us feel good.

"There are a lot of accommodations. We're making a larger seat and larger coffin, and larger medical beds," she says. "I don't think we really need to start changing clothing sizes."

The study also showed those surveyed felt their weight problems were less a food issue and more a lack of exercise.

I just found my new workout partner! I love the TRX!

I absolutely love my TRX trainer! I love having clients use it too! Shake up your workout and do something fun that will rock your body into shape!

Medium Repetitions (6-10)

With this approach, your muscles are nuder medium tension for a medium amount of time. Consider this just what it is: A mix of low and high rep lifting. So it helps you improve both muscle strength and endurance. You might say it strikes a good balance between the two. However if you use this rep range all the time, you will miss out on the greater tension levels that come with lower reps and the longer tension time achieved by the higher reps!

High repetitions (11 or more)

When you use higher reps, your muscles have to contract for long periods of time. This increases the number of mitochondria in your muscle fibers. Your mitochondria are energy producing structures that not only burn fat (the more the better!) but also lead to greater muscle endurance and cardiovascular fitness. What's more, these structural changes boost the fluid volume in your fibers, adding size to your muscles!

Low Repetitions

Low repetitions (1 to 5): This rep range allows you to use the heaviest weights, which puts your muscles under the highest amounts of tension. This increases the number of myfibrils in your muscle fibers. What the heck is myofibril? It's the part of your muscle fiber that contains the contractile proteins. Think of it this way: When there are more of these proteins to contract, your muscles can generate greater force. That is why 1 to 5 is an ideal rep range for building strength. And, of course, more myofibrils increase the size of your fibers, making your muscles bigger!

There is no such thing as a bad rep... 3 part series

Trainers don't just randomly choose the number of repetitions a person does. Well at least the good ones don't. That is because the rep range you use dictates how your muscles adapt to your routine. In fact,by knowing the benefits of three key rep ranges, you can choose the strategy that's best for the results you want. Keep in mind that these rep ranges don't work like an on-off button; they're more like a dimmer switch. As you move up and down in reps, you're simply dialing back the benefits of one and emphasizing those of another. I will post 3 more posts that will cover each rep range and what they do.