TRX Suspension Trainer Review

Suspension training is resistance exercise which has your body weight working against gravity for a total body workout. Suspension training exercise is what fitness experts call a "metabolic workout" or "metabolic training", which means a comprehensive workout of strength-based exercises that target multiple muscle groups at once, with a short rest between each repetition and set. Basically, instead of working one area of your body at a time, you're working most or all of it at once. It's tough, but it is totally accessible to and doable by people of all fitness levels - including beginners. And most importantly, it's incredibly effective for developing strength, balance and flexibility. In short, it's a fantastic full-body workout.

So the TRX Suspension Trainer is a newer product to hit the market, the brainchild of former Navy SEAL Randy Hetrick, who began developing the concept when he was still on active duty. The idea was born from the need to stay in top shape while deployed, when faced with the unavailability or inaccessibility of gyms or other outlets for exercise. Hence the name of the company which produces the TRX - Fitness Anywhere, Inc. Hetrick's original TRX was strips of parachute webbing stitched together to create a harness, with which the SEALS performed bodyweight resistance exercises. And from its rudimentary beginnings through field testing by the military and its eventual commercial launch (Fitness Anywhere was founded by Hetrick, now retired from the Navy) the TRX hasn't changed much. There's still not much to it - it's simply two straps of adjustable length nylon webbing, with handles and foot straps which you anchor on a point (a door, a tree, a beam, whatever) and then you suspend yourself to perform exercises where the only resistance - which you control, so it can be high, low, or in between - is your body weight.

The TRX Suspension Trainer was a hit when it was launched, and continues to gain popularity and advocates....it's publicly endorsed by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and is used by fitness trainers Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper on NBC's "The Biggest Loser", as well as celebrity fitness trainers Gunnar Peterson and Greg Miele with clients Jennifer Lopez and Mary J. Blige. It even turned up in an episode of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Orange County." Why all the love? A number of reasons.....

Most metabolic workouts involve exercises where the body moves in a single plane - and strength training is generally practiced with a singular approach, you work your arms, or your legs, or your back specifically, one at a time. But if you think about it, that's not how your body works in real life - in real life activities and athletics your muscle groups and joints and your core are all working together in a wide range of motion, your body moving about in multiple different directions. If you are running, cycling, skiing, climbing stairs - your body is engaged in multi-planar movements. It's working in concert. The suspension training concept allows for this "real life" variety in planes of movement - TRX exercises are multi-planar just like actual athletic movements. One of the greatest benefits of this approach is avoidance of overuse injuries of a specific part of the body.

So what does this mean for you? Well, to begin with you'll get a total body workout - with a particular emphasis on core stability - that effectively improves flexibility and strength, and will undoubtedly work up a sweat and burn major calories. The TRX system comes with an instructional DVD of exercises, as well as a laminated exercise reference guide. The workouts are easily modified from a beginner level to a hardcore, SEAL-style advanced level - it's up to you to determine how much bodyweight resistance you want to work against, which you alter by adjusting the angle of your body in relation to the ground. It's a one-stop shop - an entire workout can be completed seamlessly with just one TRX - and it can be set up anywhere you've got an anchor point and a little room to move around. Weighing in at 2 pounds, it's both transported and stored with ease - and at $150 it's significantly cheaper than a home gym system or a gym membership.

The upside: this is really cutting edge fitness philosophy, proven effective and something new and different for exercisers bored with the same old routines. The downside: while it looks simple enough, novice exercisers will likely struggle with balance and just generally getting it right without supervision or assistance from a professional trainer. Our conclusion: a great system for more advanced exercisers.