Suspension Trainer Thoughts

I figured after owning my homemade suspension trainer for almost a year now, I probably should put it to good use...or any use. It was always my intent to blog about how I made it but I cannot seem to find the pictures of the work in progress so I am not sure if that post will ever happen. So the next best thing is to do a post about me using it.

A few weeks back I finished up a 12 week workout and was looking for something different. Something challenging that would keep me interested for a few weeks at least. Enter into the picture my suspension trainer. Now that I had it, I needed to know what to do with it. Off to the internet I went in search of a workout. It was tougher to find than I thought. Apparently those TRX guys don't believe in posting any workouts online. Sure there are a ton of how-to's for the exercises but I really wanted a full workout. I finally found something close to what I wanted on a forum and then adapted it for my needs. What you see below is my workout. If you have questions about the workouts or exercises, leave me a comment or drop me an email.

Monday: Chest and Arms

• Atomic Push-Ups - I loved this exercise as it really worked my abs.


• Single Arm Bicep Curl - I don't know if its just me but I tended to cheat a little bit when doing curls with the suspension trainer. I found it hard to keep my arm in one place.


• Tricep Press - Pretty simple exercise. I do something very similar using the cable machines in the weight room.


• Dips - These were awesome. I elevated my feet on a chair which made it quite a bit harder. This is definitely an exercise that I will continue to do.


• Steep Chest Press - Basically just an angled push-up. Nothing special about that.


• Suspended Push-Ups - I lowered the trainer until it was just a few inches off of the ground and then did push-ups. These were tough. My arms were shaking and I really had to engage my core in order to not wobble all over. I loved it though!


• Deltoid Y-Fly - I didn't really feel these while I was doing them but I sure felt the effects of them the next day!

Overall Impression of Chest and Arms:  I could really see the benefit of doing chest exercises with the suspension trainer. The constant balancing act really made my muscles work and my core was tight the entire time because of it. The arm exercises I felt really lacked though. The curls I felt were mediocre at best. The best arm exercise was definitely the Tricep Press.  I ended up hitting the real weight room to do some dumbbell curls and tricep push-downs when I was all done, just to feel like my arms really got a good workout. I will probably incorporate some of the chest exercises into my usual workout though.

Tuesday: Cardio

• I did 5 hill sprints then it started to rain so I ran back to the gym


• Proceeded to do about 5 intervals of some jumps where I had my hands on the bench and jumped over the bench from side to side. Does anyone know what that is called?


• Went into the gym and stacked up the blocks and did 10 high jumps.

Wednesday: Shoulders and Back

• Single Arm Row - I thought this was a good move. Overall it felt great.


• Back Extensions - I didn't really get this one. I looked it up on the internet before I left and performed it to the best of my ability but I felt stupid doing it and am pretty sure I got nothing out of it.


• Max Inverted Rows - These felt really good. I set the angle so that my body was almost parallel with the floor. I really felt the burn as I was performing it.


• Incline press - This is probably my favorite exercise. Its the one where you put your foot in the stirrup and swing around and do a handstand. Then press. It really works the core because you still have to balance yourself. Felt great when I was done.


• Pull Ups - I tightened up the handles all the way to the top and did some suspended pull-ups. I got a pretty good workout from this as well as I really needed to use all my muscles to stabilize myself.

Overall Impression of  Shoulders and Back:  I read online that there are not a lot of exercises that can be done with a suspension trainer that targets the shoulders. I found this to be very true today.  The Incline Press was the closest thing my shoulders got to a workout until I went into the weight room and did some military presses and lat. raises.  My back muscles fared pretty well with the rows though and I was feeling the effects of that workout throughout the day.

Thursday: Core and Cardio

• 5 x 25 yard sprints


• 5 x 50 yard sprints


• Box jumps - Went to the park and did 20 jumps up on the seat of a picnic table followed by 30 jumps to the table top.


• P90x Ab Ripper X - Its been awhile since I have done Ab Ripper X and it gave me a good run for my money. I must say that it probably wasn't smart to do it after the sprints and box jumps though. My legs where dead.


• Tried to do some core work with the suspension trainer buy my garage just isn't a good place to try and work out. I hung the trainer from the garage door track but I didn't feel that comfortable putting a lot of weight on it. I did manage to do some Pikes and some Max Body Saw's. Both felt pretty good.

Friday: Legs

• Hip press - This will felt a little awkward as you have to thrust your hips to the ceiling. It took a few reps before I really started get a burn from it. By the end of the cycle, my back hurt more than anything.


• Single Leg squat - This can really be done without the suspension trainer if you have good balance. I do not, so I used one of the handles to keep myself up. Simple squat down on one leg with the other out in front of you.


• Lunges(each side) - Tony Horten calls these Speed Skaters. It is essentially a lunge where you kick your back leg behind you and use the suspension trainer for balance.  It's another leg exercise that can be done without the suspension straps.


• Hamstring Curl - This exercise is quite similar to the Hip Press. You lie on your back and bring your feet to your butt. I really didn't feel anything on this one.


• Hip Abduction - The idea is you get into a plank position with your feet in the straps. You then spread eagle. The only thing I felt on this one was embarrassment.

Saturday: Core and Cardio

• 10 x 25 yard sprints


• Box jumps - Went to the park and did 60 jumps up on the seat of a picnic table followed by 20 jumps to the table top. Video of that workout can be seen here.

Sunday: Rest Day

My overall impression of the suspension trainer is pretty good. I really loved the workout that it gave my core. I could really feel it in just about every workout I did. Some of the exercises where quite a bit more challenging than others, and some just left me asking WTH??  I would have to say that the Chest exercises are probably my most favorite to do and most of those will find their way into my daily workouts back in the weight room. The least favorite body part to workout was Shoulders. Mainly because I just couldn't find more than one exercise for shoulders in all of the internet. To me shoulders are in integral part of working out. Hopefully someone somewhere can come up with a decent shoulder workout for suspension trainers.

The suspension trainers are a good tool for those that do not have access to a gym but I do not feel that they are a good replacement for a gym full of equipment. You won't get big doing these exercises but you will get toned.  After awhile, I could see this piece of equipment getting really boring. And at $200 dollars for the cheapest TRX kit, I think you would be better off spending that money on a gym membership. Or spend $30 dollars like I did and make your own.

With all that said, I am not giving up on it yet. I am going to go another 2 weeks with the above workout and see if I notice any results what-so-ever.