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Try These 6 Best TRX Workouts for Total Body Strengthening

Jeff Turbett
By

It was 2010 and Miguel Vargas was finishing up his first bodybuilding show when he decided to take a position with TRX. The company’s straps, which suspend from a fixed anchored point and allow the user to perform a host of bodyweight-centric exercises, weren’t nearly as popular as they are now in gyms around the country. But Vargas was tasked with procuring clients for the studio, and so the self-described “middle linebacker” was out there on the sidewalk trying to entice prospective members to their small studio in San Francisco. “They’re walking by the studio, and they see the straps hanging, and this big guy coming out,” he says, laughing at the memory. “It was a hard sell.”

But in the last decade, TRX has boomed in popularity, and one session is all it takes to see why. The first and maybe biggest reason? “We’re all core, all the time,” Vargas says. As soon as your hands touch the straps, your core engages, regardless of whether you’re pushing, pulling, squatting, hinging, lunging, or rotating. Like jump ropes and resistance bands, it’s also incredibly portable — the TRX Home2 System kit mounts in a doorframe and packs down smaller than a dopp kit, making it great for studio apartments and hotels without fitness centers. It requires no additional weight to get a killer strength session, and unlike those sets of bicep curls you’ve been doing while staring into your own eyes, all its movements are functional, assisting in your rec league performance and getting out of bed alike. “It’s not just about how much you can lift,” he says. “It’s about how well you can move.”

Man doing a TRX Workout outside his house during a sunny day.
TRX

Vargas, who has since moved from luring curiosity seekers off the street to TRX’s training and development manager, has assembled the best TRX workouts that will get you started as you build strength, balance, and definition. All workouts last just over 20 minutes but will leave you huffing and puffing to the point that someone may need to get you an oxygen tank.

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Total Body 1

A man doing a total body workout using suspension straps outside his house with trees in the background.
TRX

Start here. This total-body strength session is the perfect intro to the pain of TRX, which targets all muscles, including the ones you didn’t know you had.

Targeted Muscles: All
Execution: For 45 seconds on, 15 seconds of rest, complete

  1. Squat Row
  2. TRX Lunge to Chest Stretch
  3. TRX Chest Press
  4. TRX Triceps Press
  5. TRX Y-Deltoid Fly
  6. TRX Squat Row
  7. TRX Lunge to Chest Stretch
  8. TRX Chest Press
  9. TRX Triceps Press
  10. TRX Y-Deltoid Fly
  11. TRX Squat Row
  12. TRX Lunge to Chest Stretch
  13. TRX Chest Press
  14. TRX Triceps Press
  15. TRX Y-Deltoid Fly

Then, for the finisher:

  1. TRX Chest Press +Triceps combo

Execute 10 reps, repeating the finisher for 10 sets and resting as needed. Focus on quality, not speed, and reduce reps if necessary.

Lower Body Burn

A man doing a lower body burn workout in a gym.
TRX

Say goodbye to walking up a set of stairs the next day with this 25-minute session.

Targeted Muscles: Glutes, core, quads, hamstrings
Execution: For 45 seconds on, 15 seconds of rest, complete

  1. TRX Squat High Row
  2. TRX Lunge to Chest Stretch
  3. TRX Hamstrings Curl
  4. TRX Hip Press
  5. TRX Pike
  6. TRX Squat High Row
  7. TRX Lunge to Chest Stretch
  8. TRX Hamstrings Curl
  9. TRX Hip Press
  10. TRX Pike
  11. TRX Squat High Row
  12. TRX Lunge to Chest Stretch
  13. TRX Hamstrings Curl
  14. TRX Hip Press
  15. TRX Pike

Then, for the finisher:

  1. TRX Sinigle Leg Squat

Perform 10 reps on each side, resting as needed. Repeat both sides five times each.

Total Body 2

Two guys doing a total body 2 workout in front of an outdoor dining area.
TRX

Think you’re ready for the next level? Check out this full-body torcher and we’ll see how strong you’re feeling.

Targeted Muscles: All
Execution: For 45 seconds on, 15 seconds of rest, complete

  1. Runners Stretch (no straps)
  2. TRX Squat to Y-Fly
  3. TRX Atomic Push Up
  4. TRX Hip Press
  5. TRX Low Row Biceps Curl Combo
  6. TRX Alternating Side Lunges
  7. Runners Stretch (no straps)
  8. TRX Squat to Y-Fly
  9. TRX Atomic Push Up
  10. TRX Hip Press
  11. TRX Low Row Biceps Curl Combo
  12. TRX Alternating Side Lunges
  13. Runners Stretch (no straps)
  14. TRX Squat to Y-Fly
  15. TRX Atomic Push Up
  16. TRX Hip Press
  17. TRX Low Row Biceps Curl Combo
  18. TRX Alternating Side Lunges

Then, for the finisher:

  1. TRX Side Plank Hip Taps

Though it hurts, move slowly through the finisher. Perform 10 reps on each side, resting as needed. Repeat both sides five times each.

Upper Body with Core

A half-naked man performing a TRX workout using suspension straps at a park.

True, all TRX exercises engage your core. But after your upper half is dead, it’s time to directly target those abs and make them truly beach-body-worthy.

Targeted Muscles: Shoulders, pecs, lats, biceps, triceps, core
Execution: For 45 seconds on, 15 seconds of rest, complete

  1. TRX Squat Row
  2. TRX Lunge (Right foot in straps)
  3. TRX Burpee (Right foot in straps)
  4. TRX Lunge (Left foot in straps)
  5. TRX Burpee (Left foot in straps)
  6. TRX Squat Row
  7. TRX Lunge (Right foot in straps)
  8. TRX Burpee (Right foot in straps)
  9. TRX Lunge (Left foot in straps)
  10. TRX Burpee (Left foot in straps)
  11. TRX Squat Row
  12. TRX Lunge (Right foot in straps)
  13. TRX Burpee (Right foot in straps)
  14. TRX Lunge (Left foot in straps)
  15. TRX Burpee (Left foot in straps)

Then, for the finisher:

  1. TRX Crunch

Perform 10 crunches, resting as needed. Repeat for 10 rounds.

Lower Body Burn

A man doing arm exercises with suspension straps at gym.

Ready to have your lower body set on fire? Check out this total leg burner!

Targeted Muscles: Quads, core, glutes, hamstrings
Execution: For 45 seconds on, 15 seconds of rest, complete

  1. TRX Squat High Row
  2. TRX Lunge to Chest Stretch
  3. TRX Jump Squat
  4. TRX Over Head Squat
  5. TRX Low Row
  6. TRX Squat High Row
  7. TRX Lunge to Chest Stretch
  8. TRX Jump Squat
  9. TRX Over Head Squat
  10. TRX Low Row
  11. TRX Squat High Row
  12. TRX Lunge to Chest Stretch
  13. TRX Jump Squat
  14. TRX Over Head Squat
  15. TRX Low Row

Then, for the finisher:

  1. TRX Hip Press

Perform 10 reps and rest as needed. Repeat for 10 rounds.

Total Body 3

A man doing a total body 3 workout on a field.
TRX

Ready for our final challenge? Try out this intense total-body blaster, and we’ll see how strong you’re feeling afterward.

Targeted Muscles: Chest and triceps, back and biceps, core, shoulders
Execution: For 45 seconds on, 15 seconds of rest, complete

  1. TRX Squat to Biceps Curl
  2. Runners Stretch (no straps)
  3. TRX Chest Press
  4. TRX Triceps Press
  5. TRX Crossing Balance Lunge R
  6. TRX Crossing Balance Lunge L
  7. TRX Squat to Biceps Curl
  8. Runners Stretch (no straps)
  9. TRX Chest Press
  10. TRX Triceps Press
  11. TRX Crossing Balance Lunge R
  12. TRX Crossing Balance Lunge L
  13. TRX Squat to Biceps Curl
  14. Runners Stretch (no straps)
  15. TRX Chest Press
  16. TRX Triceps Press
  17. TRX Crossing Balance Lunge R
  18. TRX Crossing Balance Lunge L

Then, for the finisher:

  1. TRX Hip Press
  2. TRX Atomic Push Up

Perform 10 reps of each and rest as needed. Repeat the pair exercises for five sets.

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