Suspension trainers, like the TRX System, can provide a whole host of benefits for bodyweight training.
They are relatively affordable compared to other equipment, easy to transport, easy to use, and can help make your bodyweight workouts more dynamic and fun.
This TRX workout only requires 15 minutes and targets the whole body. If you’re looking for a simple way to improve your strength and overall fitness, just follow this workout routine 3 times a week for a quick yet effective fitness plan. Alternatively, you could pair this workout with other forms of strength training or cardio activity for a more diverse fitness plan.
It’s also easy to scale up… just increase the duration of each exercise. Or, just repeat the whole workout to turn it into a more advanced 30 minute TRX routine. Below, under each exercise description, we’ve also provided tips on how to make adjustments to make the movements more challenging too.
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Equipment Needed
To follow this workout plan, you’ll need access to either a TRX trainer, or another brand of suspension trainer.
“TRX” is the name of a brand, which is arguably the market leader of suspension trainers… but there are a lot of copycat brands on marketplaces like Amazon, often for much cheaper.
Many people use the word “TRX” to actually describe any sort of suspension trainer.
We’ll leave it up to you whether you want to invest in a premium TRX trainer, or a cheaper alternative suspension trainer.
Perfect travel equipment
Suspension trainers like TRX are super light-weight and easy to transport. This makes them the perfect piece of fitness equipment for those who travel and still want to get an effective workout in. But don’t let their simplicity fool you, they are still a really effective tool to help you get stronger and fitter.
TRX Workout Plan PDF
We’ve turned this TRX workout plan into a PDF so you can print it off and use during your next workout. The PDF also includes links to exercise demonstrations as well.
Workout Summary
| Primary Goal | Functional Strength, Balance and Cardio |
| Muscles Targeted | Full Body |
| Training Level | Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced |
| Program Duration | Ongoing |
| Average Workout Duration | 15 Minutes |
| Training Days Per Week | 3 Days |
| Required Equipment | TRX Suspension Trainers |
| Printable Version | View here |
Programming explained
This TRX workout plan includes 6 exercises. Instead of counting reps or sets, you’ll be doing each exercise for 1 minute, followed by 1 minute rest. This will give it a HIIT/circuit training flair and not only help build functional strength but also improve cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance too.
Full Body TRX Workout Plan for Beginners
| Exercise | Duration | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| TRX Squats | 1 minute | 1 minute |
| TRX Chest Press | 1 minute | 1 minute |
| TRX Bicep Curls | 1 minute | 1 minute |
| TRX Row | 1 minute | 1 minute |
| TRX Mountain Climbers | 1 minute | 1 minute |
| TRX Good Mornings | 1 minute | 1 minute |
TRX Exercise Details
Below, we’ve provided some details on each exercise, including how to perform the exercise properly, as well as tips for making the movements more challenging.
This is one of the big benefits of TRX trainers, in that with a subtle change in stance, you can often make the movement easier or harder, making it a great option for beginners. Instead of trying to push through a workout plan that leaves you feeling incredibly sore for weeks, you can adjust the movements to suit your level of fitness for a more sustainable approach.
Warm up
Remember to warm up before starting this workout. Include stretches that target your whole body as this workout routine will engage and activate all your major muscle groups.
TRX Squats
Squats are a fantastic bodyweight exercise and TRX suspension trainers give you so many options to adapt the movement to change the level of difficulty.
For beginners, this squat is very similar to a regular air squat. You’re holding the TRX trainer as a guide, but you want to really focus on pushing through your legs to power yourself up. If you’re struggling with the regular air squat, the TRX trainers allow you to leverage your upper body strength to help support the movement, making it a great option for beginners who want some extra help during a squat.
Similarly, this ability to use your upper body to help can be useful in rehabilitation and recovering from an injury.
For added difficulty, we’d recommend doing TRX pistol squats. This single leg variation is much more challenging and you can use the TRX trainer for extra support during the movement.
TRX Chest Press
The TRX chest press is a great upper body exercise to do with your TRX trainer.
This replicates a push-up/bench press action, but in an upright position. You’ll lean forward and use your chest, triceps and shoulders to help push your body back into an upright position.
Compared to push-ups or a bench press, you’ll notice your triceps are activated even more, to help provide extra stability during the movement.
As you lean forward, you’ll also notice your core is also heavily engaged to provide stability during the movement.
TRX Bicep Curls
Activating the biceps is often more challenging with bodyweight movements compared to lifting free weights… however, the TRX bicep curl offers an effective method for really focusing on the biceps.
Your back and shoulders will also help support the movement.
You can also leverage slow, eccentric repetitions like you would for negative bicep curls.
TRX Row
The TRX row has a similar starting position to the bicep curls, but the grip and movement pattern is different.
For TRX rows, the focus is on squeezing your back and shoulders muscles to help bring your body towards the handles. You want to be bending at the elbows.
You can adjust your foot placement to target more of your shoulders or mid-back.
A more upright starting position will be easier too.
TRX Mountain Climbers
TRX mountain climbers are a great way to really leverage the functionality of suspension trainers.
By moving each leg towards your chest, you’ll really activate your abs and obliques (which is great if you’re starting to get bored of doing oblique crunches over and over again).
If you’re struggling, you can also pause in a plank position for a moment, before resuming the mountain climbers.
Compared to doing regular mountain climbers on the floor, you’ll notice your shoulders and arms are more activated during the exercise to provide stability for your body.
TRX Good Mornings
To finish up this TRX workout plan, we’ll be engaging your glutes and hamstrings will TRX Good Mornings.
Unlike regular Good Mornings, the TRX trainer allows you to use your upper body during the movement too, creating a more complete exercise.
The key to Good Mornings is to focus on hinging at the hips and really squeeze your glutes to return to the starting position.
FAQs
Can you build muscle with TRX training?
Yes, you can absolutely build muscle with TRX training. Just like bodyweight movements, it’s a great way to build functional and lean muscle. Your body’s weight acts as the resistance, which challenges your muscles and leads to muscular development.
For optimal muscle building results, you’d be best suited to training for hypertrophy (8-12 rep range) and including eccentric (slow lowering phase) of exercises too.
Can you do TRX training every day?
This really depends on what type of TRX training you’re doing. Your body will need a rest to really benefit from the exercise, so we’d recommend doing TRX training 3 times a week, alongside other forms of exercise. At a maximum, we’d opt for 5 days a week TRX training, giving yourself two days to recover and rest.
Can TRX burn fat?
Yes, TRX suspension trainers lend themselves well for HIIT and circuit training, which is a great way to burn calories and burn fat.
Is TRX better than weights?
It really depends what you mean by “better”… both TRX and weights can help you get stronger and fitter, but there are so many other factors at play, such as what your goals are and what type of fitness program you’re following.
If you want to become as strong as possible, nothing really beats lifting weights. However, if you want to improve your bodyweight movements and feel functional fitter, TRX is certainly hard to argue against.
In our opinion, using both is likely the best overall solution and helps to develop a healthy, well-rounded approach to fitness and exercise.
Bottom Line
Ultimately, the TRX suspension trainer is a great piece of fitness equipment for those looking to do bodyweight exercises. It makes adapting the movements very easy, which means you can adjust the level of difficulty during your workouts whilst using TRX trainers.
This TRX workout plan will not only build functional strength, but also burn calories and improve your cardiovascular health… making it a great choice for those in a rush that only have a limited window to exercise and want something with a wide range of physical benefits.
You just need 15 minutes… and some motivation… so give it a go and see how you get on.
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