#CBCfit: Suspension strap workout a strenuous stretch

#CBCfit is searching for the best way to break a sweat.

Edmonton AM director Tim Adams and personal trainer Chris Tse will be hopping into some of best fitness classes in the city centre.

Every week, they'll test out a new heart-pounding program to help you find the perfect fitness fit.

'Acomedy routine waiting to happen'

You've probably seen suspension straps in a gym or featured in a fitness ad at some point in your life.

Chris Tse has them in his studio at Blitz Conditioning and has clients whouse them regularly.

According to Chris, suspension training wasranked as a top-10 group fitness trend between 2010 and 2015.

Personally, I've always wanted to try them, but just imagined myself stuck upside down.

The dangling straps with loops at the end look like a comedy routine waiting to happen.

That's why when the folks at 4 Points Health and Wellness asked Chris and me to try out a class, I jumped at the chance.

I have to admitI had high expectations.

I'm all about finding exercises I can do on my own, and exercises that will keep me motivated when I don't have the time or moneyto take a class or make it to the gym.

I've seen people use suspension strapsor TRX straps hanging from a tree in a park or at their home. That accessibility really appeals to me. You can take them anywhere and get a good workout,or so it seems.

4 Points Health and Wellness has been up and running for about a year now.

It's in the basement of an office building on the corner of 124th Street and 112th Avenue.

It's clean, but it's a basement. It's pretty bare bones, so it's not going to give you that warm, fuzzy, boutique feeling you'd get elsewhere.

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The class started with an introduction to the workout from Alyssa Schmidt. She's co-owner of the studio and head trainer.

Schmidt took the first 10 minutes of the class to run us through all the exercises we were going to do during the workout and give us a quick showing of the proper form for each exercise.

This is supposed to lead to added safety and comfort when trying the suspension straps, which should translate into being able to switch smoothly from one exercise to the next so you get a better sweat.

Tangled up for a better sweat?

The workout itself is made up of two stations.

At one station you are using solely the TRX straps and at the other you use what's called a Moveball.It's essentially a weighted ball with handles.

You do a few exercises at each stage on intervals of 45 seconds. Then you switch.

Despite the introductory lesson, Istill found the straps tricky to get going on and I'm not totally uncoordinated.

Also, Schmidt wasn't doing the exercises at the same time as the class. Instead,she was giving instructions and walking around the room tocorrect form.

I appreciate that personal attention, but it meant beginners like me no longer had someone to watch as an example and that's how Isurvive a lot of these classes.

The second option is to watch some of the experts in the class, but Iwas beside someone else who had never really tried TRX before, so I found myself looking over my shoulder.

At one point I referred to myself as a "beached whale" when I became all tangled up trying to put my feet into the straps and flip over into a plank position similar to a pushup.

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From what others told me, by the third time you take the class, it becomes easy and you're able to get a great workout. I'm sure that's true, but Chris is an old pro at these things and thought the workout could still use some tweaks. The class lacks intensity, and focuses too much on the equipment, he said.

However,the quality of instruction was a huge perk.

Schmidt did a great job of keeping the class moving and providing individual attention. You can tell she really cares about her clients.

Our challenge was that at $17,it's in the same price range as many other classes we've tried that had a better sweat and were betteradapted for all experience levels. As well, other studios we have visited have had better lighting, design and decor.

For the average person, we liked this class as an introduction to suspension straps. It's asafe place to give it a shot with no pressure and a solid instructor, but we didn't see it as one we'd regularly put in our lineup.