The XPO Trainer from a Coach's Perspective - @strengthofseven

When we think of the perfect gift for someone, the XPO Trainer 2 comes to mind! And that's exactly what this month's featured customer got for Mother's Day! #bestgiftever

As a certified Youth Exercise Specialist, Fitness Nutrition Specialist, Mixed Martial Arts Conditioning Specialist and a Master Fitness Trainer in the US Army, Milagros (@strengthofseven) excels in all physical fitness aspects. She also enjoys using her expertise and experience to teach others how to create lifelong changes in health and fitness. Her husband, Aaron, is a certified Group Fitness Instructor and has been involved in fitness and athletics for the majority of his life. A US Army veteran, he found a love for training others in various fitness activities such as weight training, calisthenics (bodyweight training), and agility. That same love for fitness soon caught on in his household of seven, where he and Milagros began to train and educate their children on the importance of fitness...while making it fun.

Strength of Seven (2 parents and 5 kids = 7) has been collaborating with clients for two years from their home. During the Covid-19 pandemic, they decided to develop more of an online presence with a website and Instagram account as a way to get more of their community involved. You can often find their family packing their vehicle with equipment and heading to the park to host a community workout so that those with younger children can workout while their kids have some fun as well.

"We love incorporating various aspects of fitness into training plans. Calisthenics, weight-lifting, agility, plyometrics, long-distance running, sprints, animalistic movements, etc. are all a part of who we are."

Why did you purchase an XPO Trainer? 

We purchased an XPO Trainer for a few reasons. When we first began to branch out and get other families involved in fitness, we lived in Texas. We had a lot of flat green space to set up workouts and used the typical style push/pull sled. The kids fell in love with workouts that involved the sled because they could get free rides and motivate their parents to keep going. Then our family moved to Virginia, and we found ourselves in a bit of different situation, landscape-wise. We liked being able to use our sled close to home in Texas but were now driving 20-30 minutes to find areas where we could do so in Virginia. This put a hold on our sled training. The Army also announced that it would be changing its physical fitness test, and that it would now include a 90-pound drag. So, we tried various ways to make the sled that we already had work in our neighborhood, but to no avail. Then Aaron and our youngest son sat down to find a Mother's Day gift, came across the XPO Trainer and thought that it would be a great gift for mom. 

What benefits do you see when you or clients add sled training to a workout routine?

Adding sled training to workouts has taken leg work and cardio to a level of pure grit and determination in a reduced amount of time. It's wonderful! 

What makes the XPO Trainer different from other sleds you've used?

The XPO Trainer has definitely set itself apart from other sleds by, first and foremost, making sled training possible on concrete. This has been a heaven-sent gift for us and those that train with us. In addition to its usability on streets or sidewalks, it has resistance automatically built into the sled itself, meaning that for many, weights are NOT required. The harder you push it, the harder it pushes back. How amazing is that?!  

What is one of your most memorable workouts using the XPO Trainer?

I would have to say that the most memorable workout with the XPO Trainer was our Mother's Day workout...the day after it arrived. Our initial thoughts were that we would just give it a few runs to see the positives and negatives, figure out how we could use it to train, and above all, see how loud it would be because we did not want to bother our neighbors with a lot of loud noise as we were working out. So, we gave it a go and could not believe how difficult the resistance was without weights. We didn't want to stop. We tried over and over to make it go faster, but the only thing that got faster was how fast we got tired. 

It is an incredibly effective and fun piece of equipment. A better purchase could not have been made. 

We love watching and helping other small businesses achieve their mission to enhance the lives of individuals and families by highlighting the benefits of fitness and health through fun and collaboration. Keep up the great work, Milagros and Aaron!