TRX System Review

You may have seen these odd contraptions hanging from beams at your local gym or wrapped around trees, poles or swing sets at the neighborhood park.

Attached to these contraptions, you’ll find grunting sweaty people with determined looks on their faces – and sometimes even smiles.

The contraption in question is a suspension trainer and their popularity as a full-body workout tool is steadily increasing because they tend to be portable, versatile, and effective.

One of the most well-known systems is the TRX Suspension Trainer. This review will provide answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the TRX and hopefully help you decide whether it’s worth the investment.

TRX – What is it?

The idea for the TRX originated with the US Navy SEALS. 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 essentially an adjustable strap system 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 a suspension anchor strap with a carabiner and several incorporated anchor loops making it quick and simple to suspend the TRX from any appropriate overhead structure such as a durable tree branch, soccer goal crossbar, monkey bars, swing set or even a vertical structure such as a tree trunk or telephone pole.

Almost anything solid that can bear your weight and provide a safe workout area will do. The combination of the non-slip cam buckles and pull tabs help adjustments to the strap lengths making transitions between exercises fast and smooth – terrific for interval and metabolic training.

What makes the TRX unique?

What makes the TRX Suspension Trainer unique among the huge majority of exercise 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 small and lightweight, yet could be used to do literally hundreds of exercises. Moreover, the TRX system is versatile enough to be helpful for everybody from the new-to-exercise novice to the pro athlete.

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

Still, some of the same exercises can be made less challenging by providing support and a means for proper form so beginners or even users undergoing rehabilitation can start slow and gradually add resistance to build strength and conditioning. Simply moving the position of the feet or hands (depending on the exercise) and altering the body angle increases or decreases resistance. Narrowing ones stance can engage the core area more, while widening ones stance offers more stability and disengages the core. This degree of control allows TRX users to adapt workout 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 number and variety of different exercises and routines available, exercising with the TRX Suspension Trainer should never get monotonous. This is an extremely important factor for many people including myself. If I get bored with exercise, I simply won’t keep at it.

Is the TRX Suspension Trainer worth the price?

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 travelling, at the local rec center, etc. A simple change of scenery can add considerable life to any exercise regiment. Keeping things fresh and fun is essential. When you purchase TRX like the Prp Pack or TRX Force, you not only get the straps, but you get the community as well. There are practically thousands of fitness blogs, forums, articles, and YouTube videos on the net that support the TRX system. There is sport specific training for golf, running, surfing, football, rehabilitation, etc. Moreover, the TRX is engineered to handle the extreme and substantial use found in busy fitness clubs, military gyms, and the rugged out-of-doors. In my opinion, the TRX is a great piece of equipment a sound investment.

Is the TRX safe?

Genuine TRX products are designed to exceed requirements needed for use in facilities such as busy health clubs, military bases and I’ve personally used the TRX at outdoor bootcamps where usage is constant and demanding. As mentioned previously, the TRX is thoroughly tested well beyond usual weight loads. With all suspension trainers, confidence in the equipment is a must or the equipment will not be effectively used. The makers of 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 purchase the TRX Suspension Trainer or other TRX products, buy 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.

How is the TRX anchored?

Fundamentally, the TRX has three anchoring options. First of all, you can use the TRX by wrapping the anchor strap around any safe, weight bearing horizontal or vertical structure. This could be anything from beams, chinup bars, gym equipment, trees, goal posts, etc. To be safe, make sure the structure is secure and plenty strong enough to support many times your weight. With this option you don’t need to purchase anything extra. Secondly, the TRX Door Anchor accessory can be used to anchor the TRX from any hinged door. Personally, I use the Door Anchor attachment only when travelling. For this purpose, it works really well. Still when I workout at home, I find using the TRX around most doorways too constrictive for the exercises I prefer. The final alternative is the TRX Xmount ceiling mount. This is a good option if you have a dedicated area in your home, but no exposed beams or anything to wrap the anchor strap around. The Xmount needs to be secured with lag screws to the support structure of the ceiling or wall. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, you may have to have the Xmount professionally installed.

TRX Review Summary

As you probably noticed in this TRX Suspension Trainer Review, I couldn’t hit upon much wrong with the TRX. To begin with, I was a little skeptical with the TRX Suspension Trainer. 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. Thankfully, good sense won out and I bought the TRX ProPack with the Door Anchor Attachment and we’ve been enjoying the benefits ever since.

Two aspects of the TRX that I thought could have been improved was the mesh carrying bag and the foot straps. The included mesh bag could have been a bit bigger making it easier to pack away for travel. As well, I found the foot straps a little small for those times when I wear (size 12) running shoes. Still, these are minor problems and for the most part, not really problems at all.

The TRX is a versatile and convenient exercise system for fast effective workouts for core stability, strength training, flexibility, and metabolic conditioning. The TRX travels well so you can exercise anywhere: on trips, at the local park, at home, or at your favorite gym.

In my opinion, the TRX can be used as a all-inclusive home gym, but where it really shines is as a valuable addition to an existing exercise regiment. This simple yet incredibly versatile exercise system makes getting or staying in shape fresh and fun! When it’s fresh and fun, you’re more likely to keep at it.

This concludes the TRX Suspension Trainer Review. I hope you found the information useful…

Take care and best of luck,

==> Visit The Official TRX Site To Learn More <==

 

(The information in this article is the authors own point of view and constitutes recommendations only. The author is an actual user of the product. Before beginning any new exercise regiment, consult a doctor for professional medical advice.)

Filed under: Fitness

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