The TRX System can be an amazing workout. It helps with core stabilization, can build lean muscle, and increase functional strength. However, if you’re suffering from issues with sciatica, low back pain, knee pain, body mis-alignment, tech neck, or tight hips, it may not be the best modality for you while they persist. Using TRX could make these issues worse—if you don't work to resolve them.
Developed by a former Navy SEAL, TRX focuses on building strength, but has been criticized by analysts who believe that the instability of suspension straps could possibly result in injury, especially for those with a history of joint or back injuries, or inadequate core strength.
Enter Redcord
If you enjoy doing TRX and/or Pilates, there’s another modality you may like even more, as it combines elements of both while helping you recover from injuries.
And, while you’ve probably never heard of it, it’s far from new and is practiced worldwide. It’s called Redcord, a physical therapy modality that’s been practiced in Europe for over 25 years, has moved into Asian and Latin America, but is relatively unknown in the U.S.
As you’re reading this article, we’re assuming you may be suffering from one of today’s most common ailments:
sciatica
low back pain
Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction (SI Joint Pain)
knee pain
postural lack of alignment
tech neck
Redcord can address all of these issues, while TRX—still a great workout method—may aggravate them. But Redcord does more than just treat injuries. It’s a flexible, pain-free training tool that uses your own bodyweight to build strength, improve coordination and athletic performance, prevent injury, and treat musculoskeletal disorders.
Essentially, Redcord uses rehabilitative exercise to relieve pain. Working with a licensed Redcord practitioner, you are led in performing stabilizing, strengthening and stretching exercises on red ropes, using your own bodyweight as resistance.
TRX versus Redcord
As popular as TRX is, not everyone is aware of the pros and cons of the modality. And few Americans have heard of Redcord, so let’s step through the basics of each practice.
How TRX works
As TRX users know, the system uses two yellow straps attached to a single anchor, usually on the ceiling or a secure bar. In a class, or one-on-one, participants lean away from the center point of the straps, forcing themselves to balance, working their core and activating associated muscles. It’s an effective workout that builds strength and gets your heart beating, all using your own bodyweight.
How Redcord works
Redcord also uses straps, but includes multi-point suspension through the use of slings and bungee cords. This allows for an even greater range of motion than TRX. Working with a licensed Redcord practitioner, you are led to perform stabilizing, strengthening, and stretching exercises on the red ropes, using your own bodyweight as resistance. By using multiple points of suspension, you can isolate the working muscles without incurring strain elsewhere on the body. It facilitates proper body alignment and efficient movement patterns, making each exercise painless, safe, and possible for everyone.
Unlike the TRX System—developed for fitness—Redcord was originally designed as a form of physical therapy to help with injuries. Now it’s also being used by athletes and everyday people for rehabilitation and fitness.
If your problem is pain, Redcord may be a better choice
In our practice in San Francisco we provide Redcord and Pilates as therapy and/or workout sessions. Once again, one of the main differences between Redcord and TRX is that Redcord allows us to work with every restriction a client might have. In fact, Redcord has many advantages over other systems.
Here are some of the key benefits:
Redcord has multiple suspension points, about 60 centimeters apart. This enables you to reproduce the same axis of rotation as your body. What’s the advantage? While doing a standard push-up, the parallel ropes make the exercise more natural, and prevents strain on other parts of the body.
TRX uses a single point of suspension. This means you are constantly working at an angle, which limits what you can do. The Y-shaped sling has a single fulcrum suspension point above it. Meanwhile, Redcord has two independent ropes shoulder-width apart: this mimics natural postural alignment.
The almost unlimited amounts of progressions and positions make Redcord ideal for every body. By changing positions according to the equipment, adjusting the height and adjusting the lever arm, a practitioner can adjust the intensity to suit your needs and avoid further injury.
If you've been wanting to recover from an injury, sciatica, low back pain, knee pain, tech neck, challenge your core, or work on your posture, Redcord is for you. It’s a unique, safe, and effective suspension-based system that gets results, regardless of age, ambition, or skill.
Take a step towards relief TODAY
If you don’t live in the Bay Area, but would like to learn more or work with a practitioner, click this link to find a licensed Redcord practitioner near you.
Live in the San Francisco Bay Area? I combine Redcord suspension training backed by over 20 years of medically proven results with Pilates to help you recover from injury, live a pain-free life, and even get you back to TRX with a stronger core. As the only Redcord trainer in Northern California, I’m looking forward to sharing this medically proven suspension exercise system with you. Check us out right here: RebalancedSF.