Ditch the Boring Routine: 7 Unconventional Suspension Trainer Moves for a Full-Body Blast
I’m a long-time fan of bodyweight and calisthenic training. Bodyweight workouts were a cornerstone of my conditioning workouts as an athlete and a big part of my career in the Royal Marines. Decades later, I still use bodyweight training to stay fit and strong.
I also use a lot of bodyweight exercises with my personal training clients. This is despite having access to a state-of-the-art gym.
Why?
Because, for many people, bodyweight training offers advantages that weights cannot match. For example, you can do most calisthenic exercises anywhere and anytime, making them the perfect excuse-free workout. In addition, bodyweight exercises are often more joint-friendly and functional than their standard gym equivalents.
That doesn’t mean that lifting weights is inferior or bad. However, in some cases, bodyweight exercises are as good or even slightly better.
That said, conventional floor-based bodyweight exercises can become boring if that’s all you do. And that’s where suspension trainers (e.g., the TRX) come in. Suspension trainers make every bodyweight exercise better by adding an element of instability. They also increase your range of motion.
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In addition, researchers found that suspension training compares favorably with conventional strength training (1). Consequently, you can confidently work out with a suspension trainer, safe in the knowledge you’ll get similar results compared to lifting weights.
In this article, I share seven of my favorite lesser-known suspension trainer exercises.
Are you bored of doing the same old TRX exercises? I hear you! Here are seven of my favorite unusual suspension trainer exercises for full-body strength and conditioning.
Target muscles: Pectoralis major, deltoids, triceps, core, hip flexors.
Push-ups are one of the best upper body exercises on the planet. However, if you do them for a long enough time, they can become boring. That’s probably why some trainers think that push-ups are a beginner exercise. The suspension trainer atomic push-up breathes new life into this classic calisthenic exercise. It also makes them a whole lot harder!
How to do it:
Tips:
Muscles worked: Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus maximus, abductors, adductors.
Bulgarian or rear foot elevated split squats are one of my favorite leg exercises. While they emphasize one leg at a time, increasing overload for a tougher workout, you get to use your non-working leg for balance, making them more accessible than true single-leg squats. Using a suspension trainer is a superb alternative to the more conventional bench.
How to do it:
Tips:
Muscles worked: Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus maximus, abductors, adductors.
While air squats are an effective calisthenic leg exercise, most people find them pretty easy. As such, they’re not much good for building strength. Switching to single-leg or pistol squats is a logical progression, but that’s a big jump, both in terms of load and technical difficulty. Suspension trainer pistol squats make this single-leg exercise easier and more accessible.
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Tips:
Muscles worked: Gluteus maximus, hamstrings, latissimus dorsi, trapezius, rhomboids, rear deltoids, biceps.
Prolonged sitting can ruin your posture, and it’s not good for your health, either (2). Sitting weakens the muscles on the back of your body while shortening those on your front. The suspension trainer bridge row reverses this effect by strengthening your entire posterior chain and stretching your hips, abs, and quads. As such, they’re the perfect sitting antidote.
How to do it:
Tips:
Target muscles: Pectoralis major, deltoids, triceps, core, hip flexors.
Archer push-ups are an excellent stepping stone toward mastering the one-armed push-up. They load one arm more than the other, making them an effective way to overload your chest, shoulders, and arms with just your body weight. Doing archer push-ups on a suspension trainer makes this popular calisthenic movement even more effective.
How to do it:
Tips:
Target muscles: Core, latissimus dorsi.
Many exercisers are familiar with rollouts, but have you ever done them using a suspension trainer? No? Well, you are in for a treat! I believe that it takes much more effort to control free-moving straps than a wheel rolling along the floor. In my opinion, and that of my personal training clients, suspension trainer rollouts are much more challenging than the conventional version. So, try ’em – I think you are going to like ’em.
How to do it:
Tips:
Target muscles: Latissimus dorsi, trapezius, rhomboids, deltoids, biceps, core.
Most suspension trainer exercises are done with a controlled tempo. This helps eliminate momentum and ensures that your muscles are under tension from the start of each rep to the finish. In contrast, you do this rowing exercise explosively, which increases muscle power. Power is your ability to generate force quickly and is a critical part of most sports.
How to do it:
Tips:
Suspension trainers are the ideal solution for home exercisers looking to take their bodyweight workouts to the next level. As well as making things like push-ups and rows more challenging, you can replicate most cable and resistance machine exercises with one of these training tools.
In addition, there are plenty of unique suspension trainer exercises that you can’t really do any other way. These unusual movements challenge your muscles, joints, core, and balance, making them super-effective and time-efficient.
So, don’t get stuck in a suspension trainer rut, doing the same old exercises over and over. Instead, use the seven movements in this article to breathe new life into your workouts. Your body and mind will thank you!
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