Hang 10 (or 20): Suspension Cables Might Be The Hottest New Fitness Craze

What's the most underrated piece of gym equipment? Bench press? Smith machine? Lat pulldown?

How about the ceiling?

The hottest trend in getting fit takes advantage of the roof over your head, and it doesn't even require that.

A former Navy SEAL came up with the idea of using suspension cables to combine body weight with the force of gravity to create a workout that might make a Cirque du Soleil understudy sweat bullets.

The result is the TRX training system. It's designed to provide a thorough, challenging workout in tight quarters -- something necessary in the military and quite helpful for the rest of us civilians.

Here's how it works: hang the cables from the ceiling (or a swingset or a tree branch), grab the handles, and do everything from tricep dips to yoga. Moves can be as easy as curls or as complex as plank-twist-push-ups-into-a-pike. You can even combine it with other workouts. For example: attach the cables to your feet, grab a pole, and do mid-air sideways crunches. (Good luck!)

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Athletes have plenty of uses, whether their sport is tennis or motocross. Even Saints quarterback Drew Brees is a believer, using it to strengthen his throwing shoulder and train for his five-step drop.

There's just one catch: TRX's $189 price tag will make you want to hang yourself. It's pretty clear the system works without a lot of hassle, but let's face it, you can do some of the same exercises by going to the gym, grabbing a band, and wrapping it around a pole. (Just don't snap it and go hurtling into the Pilates class.)

But the best aspect is the convenience. Got a meeting in an hour? Attach the cables to your hotel door. Need a quick post-hoops stretch? Hang the cables from a basketball stanchion. You can even get a treadmill workout without a treadmill by running against the stretch of the cables.

The whole system weighs two pounds, and that sure beats lugging around dumbbells. Sure, if you're trying to get huge, you'll need something more than this. But most of us just want to fit into our pants.

And hey, in the worst-case scenario, your kids will love their new jump rope.

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