I don't know why I keep picking on the poor old TRX:  it's actually a very useful piece of equipment and enthusiastically endorsed by no less of a curmudgeon (and I mean that in the best sense) than Alwyn Cosgrove--which is saying something.  I think the price tag is part of what turned me off (it's a pair of adjustable straps with handles, folks!) and--I'll cop to this--my continuing disgruntlement that they refused to send me a free one back when one of their PR guys contacted me to write about the product last year (they offered me a complimentary class at a gym about 90 minutes away from me instead; er, no thanks). 

So I'm split on this one:  great piece of equipment, very compact, absurdly versatile, cleverly marketed, that can give you great results.  What other two-pound piece of totally portable equipment allows you to perform so many terrific exercises?   

But I'm also a big proponent of fitness on the cheap, so I've resisted mightily shelling out the cash for one even while wishing I had an inexpensive way of trying all those cool moves.

Yesterday, I came up with one:

 
You'll note that in the lower left-hand corner of the photo is my daughter's plastic swing which I removed from the two hanging chains in order to install my faux-TRX.  You can't make an egg without breaking omelettes, or whatever that saying is.  My daughter wailed with dismay at having lost her swing, but I told her "this is for Daddy to build his muscles!" and after several meetings with child counselors, she got over it.  Look, I'm still a good father!  I even let her try it for a moment before I kicked her off, saying "That's enough now, honey, this is for DADDY'S exercise equipment!  Go inside and watch Dora":

You'll note that all I did was buy two cheap cable-attachment handles (the softer ones are better for putting your feet in, as Kate demonstrates) and a couple of 'beeners to affix them to the chains at whatever height I choose--not unlike the TRX's adjustable straps.  Only difference is the price tag...

Ahhhh, a penny-pinching fitness freak's dream.  And I got a terrific workout.