The Ultimate Total-Body TRX® Workout

One of the biggest fitness myths: You need an arsenal of equipment to get a good workout. Enter the TRX® Suspension Trainer™. It's lightweight, portable, and surprisingly adept at blasting almost every muscle in your body.

If you're not sure how to program Suspension Training® workouts, I've got you covered. I consulted an in-house expert: CSCS and TRX® coach Monica Henrichs. She put together a quick and effective 30-minute full body workout you can do at home or anywhere you can anchor TRX® straps.

30-Minute Total Body TRX® Workout

The Warm-Up

Perform each movement for 60 seconds for 3 rounds.

Lunge-to-knee pull

Using the TRX® for light support, step back into a reverse lunge and then pull your knee through into a high knee drive. Find your balance and full range of motion, then add some tempo to get your heart rate up. Switch sides at the halfway point.

Squats

With feet set just outside the hips, drop into a squat and return to standing. Drive your knees out to engage the glutes and don't be afraid to get a little lower than your standard bodyweight squat (that's what the straps are for!). Set a pace that makes your breath pick up, but don't burn yourself out.

Rows

Walk your feet forward until you are in a supported backward lean. The more horizontal you are, the harder the movement will be. Extend the arms and then row up, pulling your chest between the straps with hands just outside the ribcage.

The Workout

Perform each movement for 90 seconds for two rounds.

Knee Tuck to Push-Up

Also known as an atomic push-up, this movement will light up your core and shoulders. With feet set in the TRX® handles, find a strong plank position with shoulders stacked over wrists and fingers spread wide. Hit your push-up and come back into the plank position. From here, pull your knees to your chest. Repeat and rest as needed.

Hamstring Curls

Time to work the posterior chain. Lying on your back, place your heels in the handles with toes pointing toward the ceiling. With legs extended, lift your hips. Find a solid foundation and when ready, pull your heels in toward your glutes. Reset and repeat. Keep your hips off the floor and rest as needed.

Reach Rows

Find the row position from the warm-up. Hang onto to the bottom handle straps with one hand. With your free hand, open up and extend your hand toward the floor. Allow for a torso rotation away from the TRX® straps. Come back to center and pull up into a row with the hand anchored to the straps. Repeat.

Y-Raise

A TRX® classic, the Y-Raise torches your traps, shoulders, and upper back. Find a position similar to your TRX® row starting position, just a bit more upright. Next, think about making a "Y" shape with your body. Pull through the straps to set your body in a standing position with arms up and out. Lower back down slowly to starting and repeat.

Switch Lunges

Time to build explosive power in the legs. Think of your traditional stationary jump lunge: Your goal is to hit a lunge, explosively jump up, and switch sides on the way down. Find a rhythm that is fast-paced, gets your heartrate up, and builds the burn in your quads, calves, and glutes. Reminder: the straps are there to lighten the load on the way up and help with balance, but don't use them as a crutch. Keep as much work in the legs as possible.

Pistol Squat to Jump Squat

Alright team, we're taking it from single leg to bilateral work here. Begin by lowering into an assisted pistol squat (see the above video). On your way up, aim to be as explosive as possible. Jump up using your grounded leg, then land in a squat. Jump out of that squat with both legs, and land on the opposite leg. Lower into an assisted pistol squat on the opposite side. Find a flow and repeat.

Pike to Mountain Climber

Choose your own adventure with this core and shoulder burnout to end the workout. Set up in a TRX® plank. From here, pull your core in while driving your hips up toward the ceiling. Pretend there is a strap around your waist and someone is pulling you up. Lower down with control back to plank. Hit 3-5 mountain climbers per side. Repeat and rest as needed.

The Cool Down

Congrats! You crushed it! For the cool down, hit each stretch for 30-60 seconds.

TRX® Lat Stretch

This is one of my favorite stretches. Grab both handles and push your hips back and down until your arms are taught and you feel a stretch through your shoulders and lats.

Assisted lateral lunges

Working the adductors and glutes, this stretch releases tension in the low-body. Set your feet wide in a sumo stance. Lower down to one side in a lateral lunge. Use the straps to find extra depth. After 20-30 seconds, switch sides.

TRX® Hamstring Stretch

Extend one leg out in front of you with your toe pointed toward the ceiling. Come into a slight forward fold until you feel the hamstrings turn on. If you're feeling it, add a twist to stretch the low-back. Repeat on the opposite side.

Interested in Suspension Training®? Add these to your home gym for a killer workout:

• TRX® Suspension Trainer™
• TRX® Rip Trainer™
• TRX X-Mount®