For Devi, the transition from heavy lifting to TRX Training Club created a deeper connection to strength and movement.
Devi Ross likes feeling strong. She enjoys hiking with her kids. She wants to stay active as she ages. And, despite being a long-time weightlifter, the Rhode Island-based interior designer says her TRX Suspension Trainer is helping her hit her goals in a way she never expected—by exercising at home.
Twenty-something Devi—the artsy student who came of age in the 90s—might be surprised to see how active forty-something Devi is. Back in the days of grunge chic and waif models, Devi wasn’t exactly a gym rat. She danced and swam as a kid, but traded sports and movement for creative hobbies by the time she hit high school.
In college and grad school, Devi worked out sporadically—mainly when her jeans felt too tight. But managing her body was also easier then. “You can not eat bread for two days and lose 20 pounds when you’re 18 years old,” she deadpans.
Like so many people, Devi’s motivation for establishing a fitness routine was her wedding. “I started working out more to look nice in my dress.”
Then it steam-rolled.
Devi discovered that she loved lifting heavy weights and kettlebells. She loved group fitness. She became a regular at the gym. But she only worked out at the gym; never at home.
Fast-forward a few years. Devi moved. A pandemic swept the globe. Life changed.
The island community that Devi now calls home looks like a Pinterest-board come to life. Sailboats line the docks where Devi walks her rescue dog. The Narragansett Bay reflects swirls of cotton candy clouds at sunset. Cedar shake houses dot the Rockwell-esque streets. Life there seems… Well, perfect. Except there’s not a convenient gym.
Devi was familiar with the TRX Suspension Trainer from cross-training workouts at her old gym, so she bought one for her house. “When I was stuck at home with limited weights, I thought that it would be an easy thing to order a TRX and do it at home. It’s been a little over a year now, doing TRX weekly—probably three to four times a week—and I’m really enjoying it.”
She even joined TRX Training Club. Sure, she knew the basics of Suspension Training, but working out with the app introduced Devi to loads of moves and combos she had never considered.
After primarily training with weights for the last decade, Devi has transitioned most of her strength training to TRX Training Club—though she still loves a good deadlift session with her heavy weights.
“To move to mostly TRX was kind of eye-opening; that it could still be hard and not have all this gear and weights to deal with.”
The safety and convenience were also happy surprises. Devi likes chest presses, and she has a weight rack at home, but she needs a spotter to progress the movement safely. With her Suspension Trainer, Devi can do TRX Chest Presses and TRX Push-Ups, working the same muscle groups without a spotter. Plus, as a working mom, she appreciates the ease of firing up short On Demand workouts to burn off stress.
TRX Training Club also brought the social element she missed from the gym back into her routine. For Devi, the sessions are fun, even when they leave her groaning on the floor at the end of class.
While she has positive things to say about all the instructors, she—of course—has her favorites. Devi kicks off Mondays with Georgia’s lower body classes, and she likes Stephanie’s upper body sessions on Tuesdays. “She can be tough, but in a very nice way.”
Wednesdays are reserved for Jay, (“just to kick my ass”), and she wraps up Fridays with Niko’s Full Body Strong.
The result of all that work?
“I feel so much more sure-footed. The stability helped with uneven terrain,” she said. “I remember I used to be really sore after long hikes. Now I’m not sore. I feel like I’m using my core strength and my legs. This is really translating to my everyday life. My mobility and flexibility has gotten better.”
Suspension Training also fits into Devi’s life when she’s taking a break from the everyday, because she can set her straps up in seconds from pretty much anywhere.
“My family skis; I do not,” she said. “I go with them skiing, and I do TRX in an Airbnb in the middle of snowy Vermont. I don’t have to find a gym. It’s a great, predictable workout when you travel… The same thing is available to you wherever you go.”
As a parent, Devi thinks about how the effort she invests in wellness benefits her children. “I’m in the phase of my life where I want to work out enough to maintain my health and keep up with my kids.” She also understands the importance of staying active as she gets older. “It’s not about being thin. It’s about having enough muscle to maintain a strong metabolism, a strong hormonal balance. If you have a lot of muscle, it really helps in the aging process.”
The so-called “gains” are nice; being able to execute a tough exercise is fun. But Devi trains to keep enjoying the things she loves.
“Strength is being able to do all the things I want to do without any pain. It seems so simple, but as I get older, it becomes less and less a given. I don’t like to slow down because I have to. My commitment to working out with TRX has helped me stay pain-free.”