TRX Suspension Training Review

TRX Suspension Trainer review

The TRX Suspension Trainer is a great piece of exercise gear for those with limited space in their apartment or home to exercise or who want to do strength workouts outside.

The product design is simple, compact, and tough. A TRX is basically a super strong nylon webbing with hand/foot straps. It weighs less than 2 pounds and can be stored in a small bag making it ideal for those with limited space or for taking your workout on the road.

The company states the TRX is 'designed to build power, balance, strength and flexibility for people of all ages and at all fitness levels. Fitness Anywhere offers a total-body training tool, supported by cutting-edge workout programs, that has changed the way serious athletes, fitness professionals, and the US military exercise, train and perform. Whatever your objectives, the TRX team is committed to helping you get stronger, train better, and reach your fitness goals.' After using the TRX at home both inside and in my backyard I can say it is a very effective product.

How does it work?

You use your own bodyweight as the resistance. The TRX comes with both laminated instructions and DVDs depending on what package you purchase. I found both helpful to get proper form down. It does take a little getting use to, but nothing was impossible to learn.

I used the TRX in my bedroom using a door as an anchor and outside using my garage door as an anchor. I found it was great indoors because of the DVD. Outside was awesome too, just because the printed instructions were good and on a nice day it is great to workout in the sunshine.

There are a number of great workouts, all body parts are hit and the level of resistance is adjustable depending on the grips and angles. The TRX stores in a small pouch which means you don't have to sacrafice a room to have a great workout. I highly recommend the TRX, it is a great workout with tons of flexibility in an unbelieveably compact package.

TRX Suspension Trainer

The TRX Suspension Trainer consists of two straps connected on one end and two handles at the end of each strap. These straps use various positions and angles to create numerous exercises that utilize one's own body weight for resistance. The focus on the efficacy of TRX Suspension Trainer straps in this analysis is on their contribution to their variation in push-ups.

These aspects include angle, stability, and accessory muscle activation.

Evaluation of Advertisement

The advertisement of the TRX Suspension Trainer is simple and straightforward. The advertisement explains that the TRX Suspension Trainer is good for increasing balance and core strength. In a study of regular push-ups versus suspended push-ups, researchers found that suspended push-ups were superior in challenging the abdominal and back muscles (Beach, Howarth, & Callaghan, 2008). The suspended push-ups performed in this study were very similar to the push-ups performed with the TRX Suspension Trainer. The results of this study show that it is very likely that the TRX Suspension Trainer is good at increasing core strength due to the increased activation of core muscles during suspended push-ups. The instability in certain exercises causes a higher activation of accessory muscles during (Oliveira, Carvalho, & Brum, 2006). This instability likely causes an increase in activation of core muscles during the suspended push-ups performed through use of the TRX Suspended Trainer. However, the researchers also found that the vertebrae during suspended push-ups were under greater compressive forces and those who do not have strong backs or are susceptible to back injury probably should not use suspended push-ups (Beach, et al., 2008).

The site for TRX showed many pictures of people with active lifestyles. The ads center their focus on athletes, military personnel, or those with busy/active lifestyles. Pictures shown include athletes and military personnel using the TRX equipment to train in different environments. The Navy Seal who designed the TRX Suspension Trainer probably had these specific demographics in mind. Fitness Anywhere, a company founded by Navy Seals distributes the TRX Suspension Trainer. Fitness Anywhere likely came up with their company name after creating the TRX product, which is very small and compact when compared to other fitness equipment.