What Are the Benefits of TRX Suspension Training?

What is TRX Training Good For?

The TRX suspension trainer is among the most popular exercise equipment for many years now. Perfect for home use, but you can also join classes. And, there are millions of workouts out there for weight loss, strength training or cardio.

But, what are the TRX suspension training benefits? Why does it work so well even if it is such a simple item?

Here I’m going to show you the reasons why you should include suspension training in your workout routine.

1. TRX training benefits for core strength

Most of the people when they hear core muscles, they associate it with the abs. However, it includes more muscles groups, not just your abs, but obliques, pelvis, back, chest, hamstrings. Hence, if you do only crunches, we could not call it core training.

Why is core strength necessary?

The core muscles are responsible for the balance, flexibility, and stability of your body. Each of them is vital for everyday activities and better performance in any sports. On top of that, you can avoid such problems like back pain and poor posture.

When you exercise with the TRX suspension trainer, it gives an unstable environment. Because of that instability, your core is always activated to keep the balance since it connects your lower and upper body.

For example, when you do TRX push-ups. Your lower body wants to move to the sides, but your core stops that. Or, when you do lunges, your core stops your upper body to move to any directions.

You can hardly find any other home gym equipment that provides such an effective core training.

Of course, you can also have TRX exercises to target your abs and obliques to get six pack.

Here a few examples.

2. Suitable for Any Fitness Levels

Thanks to the versatility of the suspension trainer anyone can benefit from it. For example, beginners can do upper body exercises in a more upright position. TRX suspension training is an excellent choice for overweight people because they can start with very lightweight exercises. Here are a few beginner exercises.

Advanced athletes can have challenging training by angling their torso closer to the ground. Or, even use extra resistance with the help of a weighted vest. Besides they can do single limb exercises such as one arm push up or body weight row. Here you can learn advanced practices.

The possibilities are endless, so if you get suspension training equipment, it will serve you for long years helping you to develop continuously.

3. Hundreds of exercises to choose from

Credit: slimmerfitterstronger.com

Although, the TRX system is just two adjustable straps and handles, it provides a lot of possibilities to strengthen any parts of your body.

Basically, there are two types of movements you can do, pulling and pushing.

To get upper body pulling exercises, you need to face forward the unit. Such practices work your biceps, back, and your rare shoulders. For lower body pulling exercises, you need to place your feet in the holders. These moves are great for abs, hams, and glutes.

To get upper body pushing exercises, you need to face away from suspension trainer. These moves work your chest, shoulders, and triceps. By placing one of your feet in the handle and facing away, you can make lunges which strengthen your lower body (calves, quads, glutes) very effectively.

Some people do suspension training instead of using the cable crossover machine since they can do almost the same pulling and pushing exercises. You can increase or decrease the resistance by altering the angle of your body, but without spending time with changing the weight plates.

The possibilities are almost endless and there hundreds of tutorials online. For example, here some TRX workouts for arms.

4. Powerful tool for calisthenics

Weight lifting is not the only way to build muscle. Actually, I prefer bodyweight training which is a more natural way to exercise. On top of that, it does not require as much workout equipment, versatile and build functional strength. And, without a doubt, it is possible to build fantastic physique with calisthenics, just see those pro guys doing the street workout.

Some lifters criticize bodyweight workouts for its limits. I mean, there is a point when the resistance of the body weight is not enough anymore, so the athlete cannot go on to develop. Thanks to the TRX we can switch to more advanced exercises and have more versatile workouts to get progressive overload for further development.

Let me give you two examples.

For example, you can already perform 40 clean push-ups. You can use the suspension trainer to add extra resistance by placing your feet in the handles in a higher position. This way, you can do not only decline push-ups, which are harder since more load is on your chest but because of your moving legs. Are you a pro? Do one arm push-ups with TRX which is one of the hardest bodyweight exercises.

Weight lifters also criticize calisthenics for not being sufficient enough for lower body training. Do some pistol squats with TRX! Yes, squat with one leg. You will feel the burn for sure.

To sum up, the TRX suspension trainer is among the best calisthenics equipment out there.

5. Workout wherever you want

I love working outdoors. The fresh air, birds singing. And, TRX is a perfect tool for that. It consists of buckles, handles, and straps. It is also easy to fix almost anywhere in seconds. I attach it to one of the trees in my garden.

It is also beneficial home fitness equipment for people who have no space or traveling a lot. You can quickly attach to any door (anchor point) and after your training put the parts in a bag, and take it wherever you want.

It is a compact exercise system that you can use even in a hotel.

6. Cure for muscle imbalance

Are you among those who have muscular imbalance when one side of your body is stronger than the other? I had this problem which was pretty annoying when I did deadlifts. Muscle imbalance is not just bad for performance, but also lead to injuries since one side of your body gets much higher load.

With unilateral training, you can focus on your weak side. For this type of workout, TRX is an excellent tool. You can focus on balancing out the strength of the different muscle groups.

7. Compound exercises for functional strength

Let’s say you go to the gym and want to strengthen your legs. You sit into the leg extension machine to shape your quads. That is a type of isolation exercise which works only one specific muscle group. However, in real life, there is no such move, or better to say most of the activities engage more than one group. Hence, the leg extension is not the best for improving your useful strength.

On top of that, such isolated exercises are not good for coordination and balance because the muscles of the body do not have to work out together.

Almost all the suspension training exercises are compound moves meaning besides the primary muscle many other stabilizer muscles are activated. This way, these are compound exercises that are the best for functional strength. Also, they develop coordination and balance.

For example, when you do push-ups with TRX, the major muscle group is your chest. However, your triceps, back, shoulders, core, and even the leg muscles are activated to complete the movement.

8. TRX workout benefits for cardio and fat loss

As we mentioned before most of the suspension exercises are compound ones when many muscles work together. The more fibers are activated, the more energy and oxygen they need. Therefore, your lung and heart rate increase and your body burn more calories. On top of that, you can increase the intensity of your workout easily since you can switch from one exercise to another quickly. Hence, TRX is excellent to have high-intensity interval training (HIIT) which is proven to be the most effective way of cardio training for weight loss.

I think, these are the most important benefits of TRX workout and you now understand why it is such a powerful workout equipment. Very versatile and effective. If you have not tried the suspension training yet, I recommend you to give it a shot. If you have any questions, or you just want to share your experiences with TRX, do it in the comment section below.