Anytime I go on a Girls Trip, there's one thing I always bring with me (aside from too many shoes) - my TRX. My closest girlfriends think I'm crazy. It's an ongoing joke that I always pack my torture mechanism. But I love it. I love that you can set it up anywhere and run through a strength workout, a cardio workout or both. When I found out that my favorite Coach, Darsenio Hunter, teaches a TRX class at Rival Fitness in Capitol Hill, I had to go.
You know I never go without a friend so I grabbed Lindsay and we headed out to Rival. When you walk in, the lobby and front desk area is fairly spacious and open. The facility itself is broken into three areas - there is a room to the back right of the front desk that houses rowing machines, another room to the right of the front desk that houses a bunch of free weights and weight machines then a huge open area to the left of the front desk that holds TRXs and more weights. I love that the main area is laid out with turf. It gives it a nice open, fresh feel. Lindsay and I grabbed our TRXs and got ready for what was guaranteed to be a good workout with the Coach. There are about 12 TRXs set up so it allows for a small, intimate training feel with the class. I love a smaller setting because it allows the teacher to provide more individualized coaching.
Darsenio is consistent in his warm up. He has a specific stretch he uses across gyms so given it is the same one he uses at Community Fitness, Lindsay and I were comfortable leading into the set. Darsenio then walked us through three exercises. We would do each exercises for a minute before we had a one minute break. We would do this for three rounds. He then had us do a Tabata round. It was the perfect combo for me. The TRX exercises were great for strength, they were a solid combo of upper body, core and leg. Darsenio also did a good job of mixing up exercises that we were comfortable with (think single leg lunges and pull ups mixed in with T-Rex arm lifts). And of course my lack of coordination was highlighted when Darsenio had us do push ups with our feet in the TRX. I think it took me the entire 3 rounds to figure out how to get my feet in correctly!!
The TRX class is perfect for all levels - beginners to experienced. One of the greatest things about an experienced instructor like Darsenio is that regardless of the gym or the class, you're guaranteed to get a great workout. He always provides modifications for those that are looking for a less intense or MORE intense workout so he covers the full scope.
I love the space at Rival and will be looking for any excuse to go back!!! Highly recommend this gym and the class for anyone (all levels).
Workout Scale:
Cardio: 3/5
Core: 3/5
Legs: 4/5
Arms: 3/5