Ripped in 60

The promise is captivating. If you can get ripped in 60 days by doing 60 minutes of a workout five days a week, wouldn’t you give it a try? Rip:60 suspension training creator Jeremy Strom was in town recently to certify hundreds of local personal trainers to help people achieve that promise.

Strom, a former athlete, is the head of education and program development for Utah-based FreeMotion and ICON Health and Fitness. He had workout fun with fitness enthusiasts and celebrities Marc Nelson, Diane Castillejo, Hayden Kho, Gretchen Ho, and Sam Concepcion. It was his first time in the country, and he found people so friendly and skilled he agreed to do  a second round of certification here in mid-October.

The  Rip:60 program utilizes a simple pulley system with handlebar straps developed by FreeMotion. “Straps can be mounted from the ceiling or hanging track. The strap is then used throughout the program to mimic movements such as riding a bike, climbing a mountain or picking up a child. The goal is to create movement patterns in a training environment to make you better at your everyday activities,” Strom said. “If you’re a stay-at-home mom, you need more energy for your kids. We have programs if you are an elite athlete like Pacquiao, and we can adjust the program if you are his grandmother! We have a program for everybody.”

Focusing on the core is key to the program’s success. “Strengthen the core of your body, and with that as a power source, train the rest of the body to work together as a whole. Essentially, your power is from your hip to your shoulder. We call that the core, or the trunk,” Strom explained. “The reason to train the core is to be able to transfer external forces into controlled strength. So all of the Rip: 60 exercises on the strap are designed to enhance what happens between your shoulder and your hip, then we add movement with your arms and your legs. We’re teaching the body to move and strengthen as one unit,” Strom continued. “That’s the key -- we’re not just breaking down the abdominals, we’re not just training the bicep or the shoulder. We’re teaching the big toe to the top of the head to work as one unit, because they are all connected.”

“Anytime you add balance or take away stability, the core muscles turn on to protect and stabilize the spine. So we can isolate specific muscle movements and activate the target prime mover and all supporting muscles to the prime mover while activating the core at the same time. Science shows that when the body is challenged by instability the fight or flight mechanism turns on. So if you were to stand on one foot and close your eyes you would either connect the muscles required to keep your balance or shut down and fall over/put your foot down so as to not fall down. With coaching, we cause the user to connect the muscles which creates greater balance and stability. It is not muscle confusion, it is muscle inclusion,” Strom emphasized.

“The Rip:60 System is designed to decrease body fat, increase lean muscl,e and enhance the functionality of your movements. By providing an unstable training environment and adding rotation to the movement patterns, the core is engaged throughout the entire program. It also promotes greater neuromuscular facilitation or the brain’s ability to activate more muscle tissue. So not only are we enhancing the way the body looks by activating more muscle and utilizing more calories, we are making the body move more efficiently with less likelihood of injury.  The end result is a shredded body that is efficiently strong in movement while being stable, mobile, in balance, strong, and long. It’s a whole philosophy that includes nutrition, sleep recovery, hydration, and minimizing stress,” Strom concluded.

Michael Bance of Examiner.com said, “2012 is the year of suspension training and the popularity of this style of training has been moving through Hollywood and fitness gyms around the country at 100 mph. This new technology is allowing professional athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and exercise scientists to explore all facets of physical conditioning.  The (two most popular) straps are each equipped with a carabiner which attach very securely to a stationary anchor like a tree, door or playground monkey bars. However, where the Rip 60 really differs is with its aircraft – quality aluminum bridge and pin. This feature enables the Rip 60 straps to move side to side when you pull the pin out, giving you a whole new range of motion and exercises to work with, although it is important to keep the pin lodged into the device when completing airborne exercises to insure additional stability. The Rip 60 straps pin removal enables you to slide the bands and work the upper and lower body in an explosive motion. This allows for targeting the fast twitch muscle fibers in a more direct manner, which is very advantageous to athletic training.”

It’s no wonder then that world champion mixed martial artist Georges St. Pierre uses the Rip:60 trainer. â€œYou can’t fake it in the ring. Put in the work, commit and get in the best shape of your life. Guaranteed,” said Georges St. Pierre, known as GSP to his fans. “I train old school and Rip:60 is old school. I use Rip:60 in my training and it works.”   

Jeremy Strom is a presenter in the AsiaFit Convention in Bangkok this October for Rip:60 workout applications for MMA and also triathlon training. He will also introduce Paddle Fitness. He proceeds to Manila right after the convention for a series of certifications and workshops.

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Post me a note at mylene@goldsgym.com.ph or mylenedayrit@gmail.com.