If a client said to me, “If I could only buy one piece of equipment for a home workout, what would you recommend?” I’d say the TRX home suspension training system time and time again.
With gyms opening across the globe, many of us are worried about stepping foot in a gym. With stainless steel surfaces, heavy breathing, and close contact with others, it’s hard to know if gyms will ever be the same again after COVID-19.
Investing in tonnes of equipment for a home gym just isn’t practical or possible for most of us. After years of training clients, and purchasing my fair share of equipment throughout the years; this is the only piece of equipment that I am happy to recommend to everyone. Especially the unmotivated trainees out there.
Why Is The TRX Better Than Lifting Weights?
Lifting weights is one of the best things that you can do for your body. Building muscle will support your bones, increase your metabolic rate, and improve your posture. If you have an educated trainer to guide you, it’s likely that you’ll see improvements in your major and supplementary muscle groups.
But what if you could achieve all of that without the bulky weights? The TRX system uses your body weight and gravity as the weight throughout your home workout. You’re in control of how much or how little you lift, and the exercises that you do.
It all started with a Navy Seal, a Jiu Jitzu belt, and parachute webbing while Randy Hetrick was on deployment. Now, it’s likely a piece of gym equipment that you’ve walked past and placed in the “too hard” basket.
How Suspension Training Will Boost Your Overall Fitness
A regular suspension training regime will accelerate your progress from the seasoned calisthenic athletes to the office worker that hasn’t stepped foot in the gym in ten years. You can set it up anywhere; anchor your TRX to a door, a hook, or a tree. If you don’t know how to use it, use the free year subscription to online training.
ACE undertook a small study of the TRX suspension training system and tested it for it’s cardiovascular and resistance training benefits. The study found that the system was a great alternative to traditional training modalities for cardiovascular and muscular fitness over a period of eight weeks.
Have time for a 40 minute workout now? Let’s go!
Resistance Training
The TRX system can train any muscle you want it to. It has footholds where you can do hamstring curls, Bulgarian split squats, crunches, and plank holds. Make push-ups harder, nail inverted rows, bicep curls, skull crushers, and upright rows. To change up the resistance, simply walk closer or further away from the anchor.
Make those difficult-to-master movements easier with the handles. I’d argue that almost anyone can do a pistol squat with a suspension trainer. For those who struggle with a regular squat, you’ll be able to do them with the support of a TRX.
Cardiovascular Training
The TRX supports a sweaty home workout session. Holding onto the handles you can add more stability to your squat jumps and jumping lunges. If your really want to get the heart racing, use the footholds to do a Bulgarian split squat into a hop. Or you can simply do burpees or box jumps between sets.
Improved Stability
My favorite thing about the TRX home workout is the ability to challenge your balance. For example, in a pistol squat, you can try and use the handles as little as possible until you need that extra stability. Then over time, you’ll need the support less.
These workouts also increase your stabilization muscles. When executing a bench press, you’ll get a huge load through the pectoralis major, minor, and triceps. But with a pushup on a suspension trainer? To maintain your balance, you’ll be activating the same muscles as a bench press as well as all of the muscles in your core while activating your glutes and legs.
The Pros and Cons of Adding A TRX To Your Home Work Outs
Pros
It’s hard to go wrong with a TRX. I’ve trained my 72 year old grandmother on it, and a 16 year old schoolboy wanting to surpass the awkward adolescent stage by building muscle. It’s cheap, it’s portable, the resistance level is adjustable, and it’s difficult to injure yourself (unless used improperly).
A suspension trainer will not just build your large muscle groups, but also your assisting and supplementary muscle groups that don’t get used enough. For most people, a TRX will be more than enough for your home workout. You can find them on Amazon, or the official TRX website for $170.
Cons
The TRX workout is not for bodybuilders as a primary exercise. You’ll get more load through your major muscle groups when you add stability through machine-based lifts. Best to stick to the gym.
Something I noticed with beginner clients was that they lost their form quickly while training on the TRX. If you’re going it alone, you’ll need to be incredibly self-aware if you’re a beginner to working out. You will be working that core!
Where Will Your Home Workout Take You?
Gym workouts seems to be a distant memory, and home workouts, online trainers and portable equipment the way of the future! Let us know in the comments what you think the best home workout equipment is.