Get Fit NH Concord Gym Personal Training

TRX Rows – Where should I feel them?!

“Where should I feel this?”

Our clients ask us this often with many exercises. Today I’m breaking down the TRX row.

The TRX row is a fantastic upper back exercise. Your upper back is made up many muscles and they work together to pull your body up from this horizontal position.

The video below is a close up of what muscles are working. You’ll primarily see rhomboids (picture 1) and rear delts (picture 3) working, but you best believe your traps (picture 2) and lats (picture 4) are assisting in this pull.

3 things to focus on next time you TRX row:

Relax your shoulders down out of your ears. “Put your shoulder blades in your back pockets”
Squeeze your glutes to help your body stay in a solid, strong position. You don’t want to let your hips drop out at the bottom.
Drive your elbows down toward the floor as you row up. This will help from shrugging at the top

Let us know how it goes!

Check out the video here!

Progress > Perfection

Let’s not self sabotage our way into old habits. We know everyday won’t be perfect, but what we do know is that we have the decision of what we decide next.

If you are someone that struggles with nutrition or relationship with food, reach out or start a two free week trial! All of our coaches here have their own unique experience and would love to help you grow.

Check out the video below for a relatable story from Coach Ashley.

Rep Scheme For Strength Tracking Phase

Here is how the rep scheme will break down in the training for our strength tracking phase!

First 2 weeks: 8-10 reps (done)

The next 2 weeks: 10-12 reps (increases our training volume without necessarily having to increase the weight on our lifts)

Following 2 weeks: 8-10 reps (back down to see if we can lift heavier with the first rep range on our lifts)

2 weeks after: 6-8 reps

Then 2 weeks of: 4-6 reps

Then final week: 2-4 reps

This rep scheme will give you the opportunity to improve how much weight you can push!

Watch the video below for further explanation!

Barbell Hip Thrusts

Barbell hip thrusts are a more challenging variation of a glute bridge/2 leg hip thigh. It targets the gluteal muscles better than many lower-body movements. This exercise improves hip extension by engaging both the hamstrings and glutes.

How to get set up:

Start seated on the floor, knees bent, feet slightly wider than hips. Shoulder blades resting against the edge of the bench.
Barbell across the hip bones, both hands on the barbell for support throughout the movement.
Squeeze glutes, exhale, drive through your heels and press the bar straight up until your hips are in line with knees and shoulders. SQUEEZE glutes hard. Keep your core tight and chin tucked.
Inhale, slowly lower the bar back down, keeping chin tucked until hips are inches from the floor. Squeeze glutes, exhale and repeat movement.

Check out the video below for a visual on proper set up!

Common mistakes found:

Shoulder blades are off the bench
Chin is not tucked
Feet are too far out in front of knees or too close (knees out over toes)
Feet are too close together

Modifications for a barbell hip thrust can be simply removing the bench. Doing the movement from the floor. If the barbell is too much, then we can use a sandbag or even go bodyweight. There are many ways to execute this exercise for any level of fitness!

Single Arm Bench Rows

A dumbbell single arm bench row is a unilateral “pull” exercise designed to target your back and lats. This exercise is great for building a strong back and improving grip strength.

How to get set up:

Same hand and knee are placed on the bench. Hip is stacked over knee. Shoulder stacked over wrist. Other foot is out wide to the side, slight bend in the knee and parallel to the knee on the bench. (This helps keep the hips in line)
Back in a neutral position, core is tight.
Grip dumbbell. Big exhale as you pull the dumbbell towards the hip. Squeeze the shoulder blade. Inhale and control dumbbell back down until arm is straight.

Check out the video below for a visual on what a single arm row looks like!

Common mistakes:

Elbow comes up too high and rotation from spine is added to complete movement
Elbow flares out and wrist curls in at the end of movement
Knee on bench is too far forward
Back is rounded and head is dropped
Dipping down during lowering of weight, rotating back and using momentum to lift the weight

If a single arm bench row is too challenging, then you could modify by doing a single arm banded row from either a seated or standing position.

Dumbbell Bench Press

A dumbbell bench press is a chest dominant exercise, but also incorporates many other muscles. The bench press works primarily the pecs and anterior deltoid, but also includes triceps, serratus, lats and core. Dumbbell bench press helps improve strength and power. The motion of pushing up against gravity with both arms simultaneously, working multiple muscle groups results in increased muscular endurance and greater force production.

How to get set up:

Dumbbells are on your legs so you can safely rock back to lie flat on the bench.
Feet flat on the floor, shoulder blades pressed into the bench, core tight, glutes squeezed. (Feet can be flat on the bench if unable to get a good positioning)
Start with your arms straight up over the chest. Inhale as you control the weights down slowly toward the chest around a 45 degree chest. Exhale hard, drive your body in the bench and feet into the floor as you press the weights straight up. Repeat.

Check out the video below for a rundown on how to properly get set up for a safe bench press!

Common mistakes:

Feet dance/tapping (not staying tight)
Elbows drop too far down below bench

If unable to perform a bench press, you can complete the same movement from the floor aka a floor press. This will be the same movement, except your knees will be bent, feet flat, back flat. This will limit your range of motion, but will allow you to still work the pecs as a bench press would.

Trap Bar Deadlift

Trap bar deadlifts trains almost the entire body. This form of deadlift causes you to have more quad activation due to the handles being on either side of you verses in front of you. For this same reason, it can also reduce the risk of low back injuries due to having more of an upright torso.

How to get set up:

Feet about hip width apart maybe slightly wider. Feet are glued to the floor, pushing down hard.
Drive the hips back, reach for the handle bars. Squeeze as if you are trying to push the handle bars together to help engage the lats. Set your shoulders down and back as if you are bringing your shoulder blades together.
Push feet through the ground, exhale, lock hips and squeeze the glutes hard at the top.
Inhale, unlock the hips, push the hips back and lower the trap bar until plates hit the ground, then repeat.

Watch the video below for a visual on how to get set up and for additional information on what you can expect!

Common Mistakes:

Toes or heels come up off the floor
Feet are too close together
Hips come up first
Back rounds during pull (lose tension)

Modifications for trap bar deadlifts can be elevating the bar, giving you less range of motion. If in need for further modification, a kettlebell deadlift would be the next best thing!

Bulgarian Split Squats

A bulgarian split squat is a lower body exercise with a focus on the glutes. This exercise challenges your core and balance at the same time. Given the split stance position of this movement, it largely removes the lower back from the equation, putting more emphasis on the legs.

How to get set up:

Put laces of shoe onto the bench. Get yourself in a comfortable half kneeling position with foot still on the bench. This will ensure you have proper stance throughout the entire movement.
Lean chest slightly forward to put a focus on the glutes.
Exhale and drive through the front foot. Squeeze glutes hard at the top.
Inhale, drop back knee down toward the ground until comfortable, then repeat.

Check out the video below for a visual on how to get set up!

Common mistakes:

Foot positioning is too far in or out
Heel gets lifted off ground during movement

If having your rear foot elevated on a bench, then you can complete a loaded split squat with both feet on the ground. To further modify, you could either do a bodyweight split squat or assisted split squat. All movements will have the same benefits regardless of which variation is performed.