The TRX Suspension Trainer is one of the most popular exercise systems in the fitness market today. This review takes a look at some of the most common questions most people have about this unconventional exercise system.

What Is The TRX Suspension Trainer?

The idea for the TRX Suspension Trainer derived from Randy Hetrick (of Fitness Anywhere) and his US Navy SEAL teammates. These military athletes believed it was essential to have a portable, versatile and effective means of keeping in peak physical shape wherever they went and in whatever conditions.

The TRX Suspension Trainer is a clever exercise system that is essentially an adjustable strap suspended from a single anchor point with hand grips for the hands and incorporated stirrups for the feet. The TRX Suspension Trainer is made with industrial strength materials and redundant stitching similar to the quality found in the mountain climbing equipment industry. The suspension straps are constructed of high grade nylon webbing and thoroughly tested up to 1400lbs – three times the recommended user weight limit. The design includes an anchor strap with a carabiner and multiple anchor loops making it easy and quick to suspend the TRX from any suitable overhead structure such as a solid tree branch, soccer goal crossbar, monkey bars, swing set or even a vertical structure such as a tree trunk or telephone pole. Anything sturdy enough that can support your body weight and allow unrestricted movement will do. The non-slip cam buckles and pull tabs facilitate easy adjustments to the strap lengths. This makes transitions between exercises quick and fluid – great for interval and metabolic training.

Fitness Anywhere, the company that designs and sells the TRX, covers it’s products with a one-year warranty that covers any defects in materials or workmanship as well as a 30-day satisfaction guarantee.

Why Is The TRX Unique?

What makes the TRX Suspension Trainer different among the large majority of fitness equipment is it’s versatility, portability, and effectiveness and it does all three very well. In my personal experience, I have not come across a single piece of workout equipment that was so compact and lightweight, yet could be used to perform literally hundreds of exercises. In addition, the TRX Suspension Trainer is versatile enough to be useful for everybody from the beginner to the professional athlete.

The TRX takes the conventional exercises like pushups, squats, twists, and rows (and many others) and makes them more effective and challenging by engaging the core area. The often neglected core area is vitally important because it provides a stable base and foundation for your body to move and function.

Nonetheless, some of the same challenging exercises can be made less challenging by providing support and a means for good form so beginners or even rehabilitation patients can start slow and gradually step-up resistance to build muscle and joint strength. No more than moving the position of the feet or hands (depending on the exercise) and altering the body angle increases or decreases resistance. Furthermore, narrowing ones stance can further engage the core muscles, while widening ones stance offers more stability and disengages the core area. This degree of control allows users to adapt exercise routines to their current fitness level and over time easily increase resistance to gain muscle strength, core stability, flexibility and metabolic conditioning. From the shear amount of different exercises and routines available, working out with the TRX should never get boring. This is an extremely important factor for many people including myself. If exercise becomes boring, it’s much harder to motivate yourself to keep at it.

Is The TRX Suspension Trainer Worth The Money?

The TRX concept sounds simple and initially the $190 price tag doesn’t seem quite justified. However, the TRX allows users a huge variety of exercises as well as the ability to perform these exercises in numerous locations: at home, the park, while traveling, at the local rec center, etc. A simple change of setting can add a certain amount of life to any workout regiment. Keeping things fresh and fun is essential. When you purchase the TRX, you not only get the straps, but you get the support of the TRX community as well. There is literally thousands of forums, blogs, articles and videos on the internet that support the TRX system. There is sport specific training DVD’s and videos for surfing, multi-sport, running, golf, football, and a lot of others. Furthermore, the TRX Suspension Trainer is engineered to handle the extreme and constant use found in busy fitness clubs, military gyms, and the rugged outdoors. In my opinion, the TRX is an excellent piece of equipment and an intelligent investment in your health.

To this day, I use the TRX on average 3 to 4 times a week for about 20 to 30 minutes per session to supplement my training for triathlons as well as an assortment of other activities like squash, half marathons, and hiking. Before I was a TRX owner, my triathlon and running training was almost exclusively swimming, cycling, and lots of running. Over time, I found the gains and benefits I once enjoyed diminishing because my body was adapting to the same type of repetitious exercise. Not surprisingly, I experienced the dreaded “plateau” in my training more often, I was prone to repetition type injuries, and quite frankly, I was getting bored. After trying what seemed like a multitude of ways to mix up my training with varied results and a lot of money, it was my wife Debra who turned me on to the TRX after she had signed up for a class at the local recreation center. My wife found the TRX workouts fantastic and suggested I give it a try it.

The first couple of weeks with the TRX taught me how badly I had neglected my core area. Overtime, I gradually started to adjust my body angle to add more resistance and experimented with some of the more challenging exercises. After just a few months of consistent TRX workouts, I saw improvement in my swimming and running times. As an added benefit, my recovery rate after long workouts and races was almost halved. The most important benefit of all, was a restored passion to train. I ran and swam less, replaced these workouts with suspension training, and improved my overall fitness and susceptibility to injury. Training was once more enjoyable.

Is The TRX Suspension Trainer Safe?

True TRX products are engineered to exceed requirements needed for use in military bases, busy health clubs, recreation centers, and the outdoors. I’ve personally used the TRX at outdoor boot camps where usage is ceaseless and difficult. As mentioned previously, the TRX is tested well beyond normal weight loads. With suspension trainers, trust in the equipment is an absolute must or the equipment will not be used and the makers of the TRX products recognize this fact and it shows in the quality of the product.

Further on the topic of safety, because of its popularity, the TRX has become the target of counterfeit and knock off sellers who use inferior materials with virtually no quality control measures to cut costs and in effect produce unsafe versions. If you decide to get the TRX Suspension Trainer or other TRX products, acquire the product from the Fitness Anywhere site, from Amazon or one of the authorized dealers in your region. You can find a list of dealers near you at the Fitness Anywhere site.

What Are The TRX Mounting Options?

Basically, the TRX Suspension Trainer has three mounting methods. Firstly, you can use the TRX by wrapping the anchoring strap around any sturdy, weight bearing horizontal or vertical structure. This could mean anything from gym equipment, beams, chin up bars, trees, goal posts, etc.. Make sure the structure is safe and plenty strong enough to bear many times your weight (just to be safe). This option doesn’t require any additional purchases. Secondly, the TRX Door Anchor attachment can be used to anchor the system in any hinged door. Personally, I only use the Door Anchor accessory when traveling. And, for this purpose, it works very well. Nevertheless when I workout at home, I find using the TRX around most doorways too constrictive for the exercises I like to do. The third option is the TRX Xmount ceiling mount. The Xmount is a decent option if you have an area in your home specifically for your TRX, but no exposed beams or anything to wrap the anchoring strap around. The TRX Xmount must be secured into the supporting structure of the ceiling whether it’s wood joists or concrete. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, you may have to have the Xmount professionally installed.

Review Summary

As you probably noticed in this TRX Suspension Trainer Review, I couldn’t find much wrong with the TRX. When I first heard about the TRX Suspension Trainer, I was a little skeptical. Even though the concept of suspension training intrigued me, I thought almost $200 dollars for “a set of straps” was pricey and I didn’t feel like spending more money on something I’d probably only use for a few weeks. Gratefully, good sense (aka. my wife) prevailed and we (actually my wife) bought the TRX ProPack + Door Anchor attachment and we’ve been using the TRX ever since.

The included mesh carrying bag could be a bit bigger, so the straps are easier to stuff in and the foot straps could be a bit bigger for my size 12+ running shoes, but these points are minor and easily dealt with by simply taking off my shoes and being patient when packing.

The TRX is a versatile and convenient exercise system for fast effective workouts for core stability, strength training, flexibility, and metabolic training. The TRX is exceedingly portable so users can exercise anyplace: at home, while traveling, at the park, or at the gym.

In my opinion, the TRX can be used as a all-complete home gym, however where it really excels is as a important addition to an existing exercise regiment. This simple yet incredibly versatile exercise system keeps exercising fresh and fun! When it’s fresh and fun, you’re more likely to use it.

I appreciate your interest in this TRX. I hope you found the ideas, recommendations, and personal experience useful…

Take care and best of luck,

The information in this article is the authors own point of view and constitutes recommendations only. The author is an actual user of the TRX. When starting any new fitness regiment, consult a physician for professional medical advice.
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Is cycling a valid substitute for Jumping Jacks, Running on the Spot in Circuit Training?

I am following a home fitness regime which consists of a circuit. This circuit includes a handful of exercises which are not particularly practical in the flat I live in. Star Jumps/Jumping Jacks, Running on the Spot and any other jumping/crashing ones which may disturb the people downstairs are not really ideal. I do, however, cycle at least 40 minutes each day (Mon – Fri), to and from work. Is this a suitable alternative, or am I missing out on working certain muscles and should find somewhere else to do those specific exercises?

Answer
Cycling is a brilliant way to tone up your bum, thighs and calves not to mention that it is an intense cardio workout that will assist all over weight loss. You also have the added benefit of it being much kinder to your knees than running and you’re getting lots of fresh air!

You might want to do some upper body toning excercises such as crunches or the plank for your stomach, push ups for your chest and biceps and triceps dips for the backs of your arms. These can all be done fairly quietly and shouldn’t disturb the neighbours!