I just wanted to write a relatively short story on how the TRX can be much more than many people give it credit for. I have found that many people love the TRX for all the tremendous bodyweight exercises one can create. However, I still hear many ignorant people saying it doesn't make you strong, but it is good for conditioning. How wrong people can be!!!

Having been involved in heavy strength athletics for the past seven years I have seen some impressive feats of strength. The bad part? Most of them have come with major injuries or lead to those injuries. I have found the TRX to be a powerful tool for reprogramming bad motor patterns, muscle imbalances, dynamic flexibility issues, and creating better links to the body. 

Many lifters that focus on just the barbell lifts begin to develop compensation patterns and substitute their dominant muscles for the right muscles! In the case of barbell back squatting, exercises such as the suspended hip press and suspended lunge are very beneficial for improving the back squat.

1. These two lifts target the posterior chain which decreases the amount the lifter relies on the low back to lift the weight and allows the lifter to maintain a more upright posture. This is especially true as the lifter comes out of the bottom position of  deep squat.

2. The suspended lunge provides not only a dynamic stretch to the hip flexors, but becomes a lower body pull as well. The suspended lunge does a great job of also addressing common weakness in the adductors and abductors of the hip. This helps stabilize the pelvis and provide a stronger foundation. 

3. Both these lifts also seem to help decrease the axial loading stresses that are caused by back squatting. I have seen many situations where athletes' hip mobility gets decreased after heavy back squatting. Almost every time this has been rectified by having the athlete move to these two lifts. 

Core drills such as rollouts and suspended side planks do wonders for core strength during strength lifts such as squatting and deadlifting. The rollouts and their variations truly challenge the body's ability to maintain posture during movement which is similar to the challenge faced in these strength lifts, especially overhead lifting. The side plank variations are tremendous for reducing injury during these strength lifts and strongman exercises such as farmer's walks where lateral stability is highly unstable. 

A drill that gets attention, but I think is misunderstood is the single leg squat thrust. While many people love it for the conditioning component, I have found it valuable for other reasons. I believe it provides valuable feedback upon hip mobility and differences between the two sides which is actually more important. Since athleticism and prevention of back pain can be traced to immobility of the hip this is vital in long-term performance and health. The lateral stability issues also do wonders for power movements as many athletes get injured during the moment of changing direction.

I don't work for Fitness Anywhere, but appreciate great training and tools when I see them. Thank you guys for a great product and ideas keep up the good work. You will know that the TRX has helped me hit personal bests in some of the classic strength lifts without any pain in my back. Not bad for a guy with two bad discs!

I hope this gives some coach ideas as well,

Josh Henkin, CSCS

http://sandbagfitnesssystems.com

Hi Josh,

Awesome post, thank you for the insight!

You are totally right in all the above. That's one reason I love the TRX so much is because when you work one muscle, it's still working another, and you can build up tremendous strength and power. And basically like you were going towards, if used with good form and the appropriate pace and angle for that persons athletic ability level, then injury can be prevented and elliminated altogether.

Thank you for your thoughts on that, glad to see people shed light on these things from time to time.

Thanks,

Justin

There is a lot to be learned from this short article. There is no place to hide with suspension training and I think the greatest benefit it has in single side muscle development. With single arm/leg movements it forces the postural muscles in the body to activate and re-energize the internal belt that many of us have forgotten how to use by sitting in cars, couches and at computers. My clients have seen huge strength gains after using the TRX in the squat and deadlift, including people with ACL injuries who the doctors said would never squat again. With the gentle coaxing and the development of stabilizers the TRX system has helped build strength, endurance and muscle mass.

Great insights.