A Guide to APT Do’s & Don’ts

Life is risky business, and while movement is inherently risky, a life with too little movement is even riskier, movement is life.

Everything is risk and reward, in fitness practice itʼs pretty much all good until itʼs bad.

The most important safety aspects of Anchor Point Training are associated with how the anchor itself is created, the anchor point must, Must, MUST be secure , if the anchor itself fails there is a good chance of injury.

Purpose built anchors are always going to offer more versatility. Overhead anchoring will offer different possibilities than vertical anchoring on a wall or a pole.

The ideal anchor will offer overhead and vertical anchors from high to low in a fashion that provides for simple creation of versatile anchors.

If you anchor using a doorway the best approach is to train on the side of the doorway that the door closes towards so the entire door frame supports the anchor. Training on the side the door opens towards means that only the door latch is holding the door closed, if this is your only option then position the anchor as close to the hinge side of the door as possible to reduce the force on the door latch.

Lock the door if possible and ALWAYS be aware of the possibility of someone opening the door from the other side.

Anchors that wedge into the top of the door can slip through if there is a space at the top of the door, be aware of how the door fits and test your anchor before your workout.

When training outside many poles, fences and trees can be used to create useful anchors. Always have a careful look at what you are anchoring to and test your anchor to be sure itʼs as solid as it looks and wonʼt move before starting your training. Somethings that look solid are not !

On a sports field permanently installed football and soccer goal posts are very useful, HOWEVER moveable soccer posts can tip over when anchored high and some of these moveable goals are heavy and capable of crushing someone dead when tipped over. Waist height or lower anchoring elastic resistance to these heavy moveable soccer goals can work well, HOWEVER high anchoring suspension or elastic resistance to this type of goal post is VERY VERY VERY dangerous !

Always always check the equipment you are using to connect to the anchor  for wear and test for strength. A poor connection to the anchor is ALWAYS dangerous !