One of the newest and most functional pieces of fitness equipment in the market today is the TRX Suspension Trainer. It has been featured on numerous articles and publications including Men’s and Women’s Health. The TRX Suspension Trainer received lots of media attention when it was featured on the hit TV series The Biggest Loser.

TRX

I recently purchased the TRX Suspension Training Pro Pack and plan to take it with me during an upcoming 3-month backpacking trip. When I return, I will be sure to post my thoughts on traveling with the TRX and its effectiveness on the road.

What is the TRX Suspension Trainer?

The TRX Suspension Trainer is an easy-to-use, portable suspension fitness trainer that was initially developed by a US Navy SEAL to train other SEALS when there was no fitness equipment available to them. It is a complete total-body, functional training tool that can challenge all aspects of your fitness including core strength, cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance and muscular strength.

Do not be fooled by this minimalist piece of fitness equipment as the TRX Suspension Trainer has been made with industrial-quality construction and big results in mind. Two nylon straps with handles coupled with built in resistance from your body weight and gravity can provide amazing results. What I like about the TRX is that you can use it the gym, home or even take it down to the park with you on those nice sunny days without your workout being sacrificed at all. A core workout ‘to go’ – I have no excuse!

The design of the TRX makes it so easy to transition from one exercise to another. You can get a full-body workout with the TRX Suspension Trainer in less than 30 minutes. I am not sure about you, but I find it incredibly annoying at the gym to wait for someone to get off the machine I want to use. With the TRX Trainer, there is no waiting.

Why Should You Train on the TRX?

Check out our recent interview with Fraser Quelch, the Director of Training and Development Fitness Anywhere (maker of the TRX Suspension Trainer) here:  Q+A with TRX Suspension Trainer’s Fraser Quelch

TRX Suspension Training: Make Your Body Your Machine

Who was the TRX Suspension Trainer designed for?

The TRX Suspension Trainer was designed for men and women of all ages and fitness levels. By changing the incline and angle of your body, you can make the exercises as challenging or easy as you like. Resistances from 5% all the way to 100% of your body weight can be achieved, making the TRX suitable for beginners or serious athletes.

Check out the list of people that have incorporated the TRX training tool into their fitness programmes:

  • The Biggest Loser TV show
  • US Navy SEALS
  • British Lions Rugby Team
  • Gwyneth Paltrow
  • Ben Affleck
  • Bas Rutten (Undefeated UFC Heavyweight Champion)
  • Robbie McEwen (Pro Cyclist)
  • Robert Harvey (Lead Singer- The Music)

The TRX system was awarded the 2009 Best Total-Body Workout Tool of the Year by Men’s Health Magazine.

Fitness Anywhere: Make your body your machine.

My first TRX Suspension Trainer core workout

After flipping through the TRX workout guide, I was ready and excited to try my first workout! Setting up the TRX Suspension Trainer at home with the door anchor was simple. Make sure you have enough space cleared for the workout. Ideally, you will have approximately 10 feet of space from the door and a width of slightly wider than the width of your arms when extended away from your body.

The TRX Suspension Training Pro Pack that I purchased included a basic training DVD. The workout is approximately 30 minutes long and hits your upper body, lower body and core. There are 9 strength based exercises and 3 stretches. For each of the strength exercises, the TRX trainers demonstrate 3-4 progressions to ensure that you are able to challenge yourself as you become stronger.

Ten minutes into the workout, I was dripping with sweat!  I found myself pausing the DVD a couple of times to ensure that I have the TRX adjusted to the correct length for some exercises, but I am am sure as I train more with the TRX, the adjustments will become second nature. While all of the 9 strength exercises were challenging, I found the targeted core exercises particularly tough. The workout ends with some great stretches to cool down and help speed your recovery time for the next workout.

Sample TRX Exercises

The TRX Suspension Trainer is a core workout tool that can be used to train the entire body while mimicking real life movements. With over 300 exercises to chose from, your core will be actively engaged in all of the exercises due to the element of instability created by intuitive design of the TRX.

The core exercise shown below, the Atomic Push-up, is one of my favorites and is a very challenging exercise for the muscles of the core and upper body.  Give it a try.

TRX Atomic Push-up

Many other sample TRX Suspension Trainer Core Exercises

The Fitness Anywhere website contains many sample core exercises that helped get me started with my new core workout routine. Other than the TRX Atomic Push-up, my top three core exercises are:

  1. TRX High Rotation;
  2. TRX Kneeling Roll-out; and
  3. TRX Suspended Side Plank

TRX Core Workout

Where can you buy the TRX Suspension Trainer?

The TRX Suspension Trainer is available for sale at: