Benefits of Advanced TRX Core Exercises

The TRX is one of the best pieces of home equipment to develop the anterior core. It provides some extremely challenging exercises that even the most advanced individuals can find very challenging. It is main benefit is in progressing the anterior core, which is what most people think of when talking about abdominals and core muscles.

The anterior core is a muscle group that is worked through resisting the extension of the spine, hence why it is also known as anti-extension core work. If we take the TRX serratus slides for example, as the elbows move forward the spine naturally wants to extend, loosing the tight core positioning that we are looking for. In resisting this force we can create very strong muscles.

Large Variety of Exercises

If you’re looking for more TRX core variations , then have a look through our extended movement library. Remember advanced exercises are great, but using basic exercises with challenging rep schemes and hold times can also be very effective. TRX exercises are very effective for horizontal pulling , even more so than core variations.

Negative Aspect of TRX Core Work

The TRX is brilliant and I don’t want to take away from its effectiveness, but it does lack movements in some crucial movement patterns when trying to develop the core muscles. If we look at both the dynamic rotation and resisting rotation movement patterns we can see that there are no TRX variations for these movement patterns.

That’s why having a dumbbell or kettlebell alongside your TRX is a brilliant way to make up for some of the movements you will be unable to perform with the TRX. Movements that can make up for exercises the TRX lacks are Cross shops, suitcase holds, single arm farmers carries, all will be a great supplement to any core routine.

The 5 Advanced TRX Core Exercises For Abdominal Development

The TRX Serratus Slides are a very challenging anterior core exercise for you to add into your home workout routine. They need to be performed slowly with control in order for them to be effective otherwise it can end up swaying between positions not developing any muscles at all. If you have limited shoulder mobility you may need to move slowly here or not attempt this exercise as these will put a great deal of pressure of the shoulders which an untrained or unmobile individual may struggle with.

The TRX Pike requires a great deal of upper body strength and control, making it a perfect exercise for an advanced individual to use to develop their abdominals. An important part of this exercise is the decent, it is often rushed as lifting the hips is challenging as it is. If you are able to control the decent as much as you are able to.

The TRX Long Lever Plank is a perfect example of an anti-extension movement. Here we can see how important the posterior pelvic tilt is and how hard it is to maintain in this long lever position. The long lever plank can be challenging when not performed in the TRX so make sure you’re confident going into this that you’ll be able to maintain good positions. If it is too challenging you can just reduce the length of the hold scale back to the TRX plank.

Single Leg TRX Fall-Outs are an excellent anterior core development exercise that can be modulated in intensity through foot positioning, making them perfect to progress over the period of a few weeks. They need to be performed with both control and stability, the goal here is to move slowly and put as much strain on the abdominals as possible.

The Advanced TRX Serratus Slide with Bear Crawl is one of the most advanced exercises available with the TRX and should only be attempted by those who are already comfortable with the TRX serratus slide variations. Just like the serratus slides this exercise should not be performed if you have in-stable shoulders or lack shoulder mobility as it will put the shoulders in an even more compromising position than the traditional serratus slides. It also requires a fair amount of coordination so make sure you have payed good attention to the video and are reflecting on if your technique matches that of the video, a good way to do this is to take a video of yourself performing the exercise.

The TRX Side Plank is one of the few resisting rotation exercises available with the TRX. It is an excellent option even for an advanced individual to work the muscles of the obliques. The importance of keeping the hips high in this movement cannot be understated, if the hips drop the core doesn’t do any work and the exercise becomes void.