Benefits of TRX Squat Exercises

Home Training

The TRX is often found in gyms, but it is traditionally known for how good it is as a piece of home training equipment. Unlike weights like kettlebells and dumbbells its compact and light and can be transported around with you to hotels. This means that you can always maintain your exercise regime if you are training at home or traveling.

Beginner Friendly

Most of the exercises in this article are for beginners who are either learning the squat, have limited range of motion or are just coming back from injury and need some extra support. These exercises not only make the exercises physically easier, but they also provide a great way for beginners to put emphasis on the technique, helping them in the skill acquisition phase of resistance training.

Negatives of TRX Squat Exercises

Not Load Bearing

The TRX doesn’t increase load, it decreases it for these squat variations. This is negative if you are not a beginner as it will create little to no adaptation in the lower body if you’re using these exercises in your workouts. Bodyweight training for intermediate and advanced individuals is difficult enough for the lower body, when you add a tool in to take load away, it becomes a bad way to train. Intermediate and advanced individuals should consider looking through our bodyweight squat variations or buying some equipment to load the squat movement pattern.

Training Recommendations for Training the Squat with a TRX

Training at home to stay fit and healthy is usually the goal associated with those using a TRX, if you’re looking to compete in bodybuilding, the TRX isn’t for you. With this goal in mind, using full body resistance training to achieve it is the best way to go. Full body resistance training means picking exercises that target different movement categories (muscle groups) and putting them into one session. These sessions can be from 10-60 minutes and are an extremely effective way to stay healthy and strong while training at home. If you can programme in two of these full body resistance training sessions a week, have a TRX a few kettlebells and a band, you can create a very good training regime. I have added in a TRX full body circuit at the bottom of the article so you can have look at what a short session would like like. It is for an intermediate trainees so if you are a beginner you may not want to attempt it.

The 4 TRX Squat Exercises to Add to Your Workouts

The Reverse Lunge with TRX Support is an excellent exercise for people who are learning to perform uni-lateral squat exercises for the first time. The TRX will allow people to take some of their weight away from the legs whilst still moving through their full range of motion. It is important to note that the video above shows the full range of motion, but this may not be your full range of motion those with mobility restrictions shouldn’t try and mimic those without mobility restrictions. Always use the principle of using your full range of motion for the given exercise.

The Squat with TRX Support is another great exercise for beginners who are learning to take their weight in the squat movement pattern, this time a bi-lateral squat. The amount of weight put into the TRX can be modulated over time to make the exercise progressively more and more difficult. This exercise really is not meant to be used by anyone who isn’t a beginner.

The TRX Curtsy Lunge is slightly more complex than the first two exercises, it requires more balance and stability in the hips. The difficult of the TRX curtsy lunge can also be modulated by how much weight is put into the TRX, meaning this exercise can be useful for beginners as well as intermediate trainees.

The TRX Single Leg Squat is the only one of the four exercises that is for more advanced individuals. This exercise an excellent bridge between not being able to perform a pistol squat and being able to. It is also a great way for those to maintain leg strength whilst on vacation but may not be able to perform a pistol squat yet.