Suspension Training For Beginners

Getting Started

If you have done any time in a gym during this day and age, you have seen or perhaps been tempted to use a suspension trainer yourself when nobody was looking. If you have not seen or been exposed to a suspension trainer by now, you must be living under a rock and working out in a cave on a deserted island somewhere living the castaway dream with a neighbor named Robinson Crusoe. Let’s take a second to get you up to speed on the basics of suspension training.

Let’s start with why suspension training. What is so great about suspension training? The list of reasons to incorporate a suspension trainer in your workout routine would include:

• Highly portable and can be used virtually anywhere
• You can get a full body workout 
• It is easy to adjust resistance levels 
• Quickly move from one exercise to the next 
• Suspension training utilizes your core with every exercise
• Takes up very little space and easy to store
• Any ability level can use a suspension trainer
• Functionally improves balance, coordination & strength

So, now that you are totally sold on the benefits of suspension training, let’s give you some basic moves for a full body workout for beginners. One thing to keep in mind as we go through this workout is that you have the ability on the fly to adjust your resistance level for each exercise. You basically use your body weight and adjust the amount of lean of your body, taking advantage of gravity to modify resistance to meet your own personal needs.

Suspended Chest Press 

 Muscles Being Worked-

1. Prime Movers - Pectoralis Major, Pectoralis Minor

2. Assisting Muscle Groups - Anterior Deltoid, Serratus Anterior, Triceps Brachii, Coracobrachialis

3. Stabilizing Muscle Groups -  Rectus Abdominis, Erector Spinae, Glutes, Quadriceps

Starting Position-

The suspended chest press is very similar to a push-up as far as body position goes. Just like the push-up, your core muscles will be activated to maintain a solid plank position throughout the entire range of motion. The major difference with a suspended chest press is that the hands are separated and not on a fixed surface, like the ground in the case of a push-up. This allows each shoulder to work on its own for stability.

Movement Pattern-

The range of motion here is slightly different than the range of motion of a push-up. Visualize your hands tracing the shape of a triangle or pyramid. From the starting position slowly bend at the elbow, lowering your body. As you do, your hands should begin to gradually get further apart. Stop when your elbows are even with your shoulders. You should be able to draw a straight line from elbow to elbow with the line passing through the shoulder joints. Reverse directions and push your body back to the starting position, keeping your plank the entire time. As your arms extend your hands should slowly get closer together, finishing with elbows extended and the handles of the suspension trainer next to each other.

Pro Tip-

Try performing the suspended chest press while lifting one leg. As soon as you lift your foot off of the ground you will feel yourself fighting to maintain balance. You will also feel the hip of the now unsupported leg drop a little bit. Tighten up your core and keep your hips level throughout the entire range of motion.

Suspended Row

 Muscles Being Worked-

1. Prime Movers - Latissimus Dorsi, Rhomboids, Trapezius,Teres Major, Teres Minor

2. Assisting Muscle Groups - Posterior Deltoid, Infraspinatus, Brachialis, Brachioradialis, Biceps Brachii

3. Stabilizing Muscle Groups - Rectus Abdominis, Erector Spinae, Glutes, Quadriceps

Starting Position-

As the name implies, the suspended row mimics a seated row that is commonly performed in the gym. You will also notice that once again the core is working to maintain a plank position throughout the full range of motion. Start by facing the suspension trainer’s anchor point and lean back in a “dead arm” hanging position.

 Less Resistance

 More Resistance

Movement Pattern-

The biceps and lats work very closely together on this exercise. We want to try and isolate the lats as best we can. To do this, start your movement pattern by retracting and depressing your shoulder blades. This will engage your lats even before your arms begin to move. Keep pinching those shoulder blades throughout the entire range of motion to get the most out of those lats. Draw your elbows back toward your sides until they are just past your rib cage. Slowly lower yourself back to that beginning dead arm hang while keeping the shoulder blades pinched down and back.

 Pro Tip-

Try performing the suspended row while lifting one leg. You will find it is a bit easier to balance on one foot while performing the suspended row vs. the suspended chest press. You will feel the hip of the now unsupported leg drop a little bit. Tighten up your core and keep your hips level throughout the entire range of motion.

 Suspended Reverse Fly

 Muscles Being Worked-

1. Prime Mover - Posterior Deltoid

2. Assisting Muscle Groups - Rhomboids, Middle Deltoid, Middle Trapezius, Infraspinatus

3. Stabilizing Muscle Groups - Triceps Brachii, Extensors of the wrist, Rectus Abdominis, Erector Spinae, Glutes, Quadriceps

Starting Position-

Start by facing the suspension trainer’s anchor point and lean slightly back in a “dead arm” hanging position similar to the suspended row. Tighten your core to lock out your plank.

Movement Pattern-

Keep your elbows straight as you separate your hands and draw them back in a large arching motion. You should finish the range of motion with your arms stretched out straight from your shoulders with your arms parallel to the floor.

Pro Tip-

Try to maintain tension on the suspension trainer straps throughout the entire range of motion. This will make this exercise very effective. As soon as the suspension trainer straps go slack, all tension in the posterior deltoids is lost.

Suspended Arm Curls

Muscles Being Worked-

1. Prime Movers - Biceps Brachii, Brachioradialis, Brachialis

2. Assisting Muscle Groups - Anterior Deltoid

3. Stabilizing Muscle Groups - Rectus Abdominis, Erector Spinae, Rhomboids, Glutes, Quadriceps

Starting Position-

Start by facing the suspension trainer’s anchor point and lean back in a “dead arm” hanging position like you would for the suspended row. You will also notice that once again the core is working to maintain a plank position throughout the full range of motion.

Movement Pattern-

With your palms facing up, keep your elbows high as you curl your arms and draw the suspension trainer handles towards your temples. Slowly lower yourself back under control to the dead arm hang position.

Pro Tip-

By keeping the elbow up and finishing with your hands near your temples, you will increase the intensity a bit on the biceps.

Suspended Tricep Extensions

Muscles Being Worked-

1. Prime Mover - Triceps Brachii

2. Stabilizing Muscle Groups - Latissimus Dorsi, Anterior Deltoid, Teres Major, Serratus Anterior, Flexors of the wrist

Starting Position-

Start facing away from the suspension trainer’s anchor point, leaning away with your arms overhead. Think of yourself in a ‘Superman’ position, i.e., when the ‘Man of Steel’ takes flight.

Movement Pattern-

The only part of your body that should move on this one is your elbows. Slowly bend your elbows to lower yourself maintaining your plank the entire time. Once you reach the bottom of the range of motion reverse directions and extend your arms to lift your body. Again, lock in that plank.

ProTip-

The natural temptation on this one is to pike or bend at the waist. If this happens, you have effectively shortened your lever and made it significantly easier to perform. You will need to really focus on your hips and core on this one. As you reverse directions, your hips will have a tendency to want to keep moving forward due to momentum. If this happens, there will be a brief moment that you will lose your plank and become swaybacked.

Suspended Back Lunge

 Muscles Being Worked-

1. Prime Movers - Gluteus Maximus, Quadriceps Femoris

2. Assisting Muscle Groups - Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus, Semimembranosus

3. Stabilizing Muscle Groups - Gluteus Medius, Gluteus Minimus, Gastrocnemius, Soleus, Plantaris

Starting Position-

Once again face the suspension trainer’s anchor point and lean back slightly in that usual dead arm hanging position.

Movement Pattern-

Slowly step or reach/step back with one leg. At the same time bend the knee of the supporting leg, lowering your hips straight down. Both knees should be flexed with the thigh of your supporting leg and the lower portion of your trailing leg parallel to the ground. Extend/straighten your forward leg and bring your trailing leg back to your original starting/standing position.

 Pro Tip-

Try to keep your arms straight and avoid pulling on the suspension trainer as you rise back to a standing position. If you flex at the elbow, you are effectively pulling yourself up and taking work away from your quads and glutes. Arms should be as passive as possible. The knee of your supporting leg should be positioned directly over your foot, with your lower leg perpendicular to the floor the entire time.

Suspended Leg Curls

Muscles Being Worked-

1. Prime Movers - Semitendinosus, Semimembranosus, Biceps Femoris

2. Assisting Muscles - Gastrocnemius, Gracilis, Sartorius

3. Stabilizing Muscles - Popliteus, Gluteus Maximus

Starting Position-

Adjust the length of the straps on your suspension trainer so that the stirrups hang off of the ground 12-14 inches. Lie flat on your back with your heels in the stirrups hanging directly under the suspension trainer’s anchor point. Your arms should be lying at about a 45o angle from your sides with your palms down. Engage your glutes to lift your hips into a “bridge” position.

Movement Pattern-

From the suspended bridge position, squeeze your heels back towards your glutes and slowly extend your legs back to the bridge position. Keep your glutes engaged throughout the entire range of motion. You may find yourself pushing down on the ground just slightly with your hands and arms to maintain balance and stability.

 Increasing Balance Challenge Progression-    

Pro Tip-

If you move your arms alongside your body you will increase the balance challenge of the exercise. What you have effectively done by doing that is to create a smaller base of support which will require more core strength to maintain balance. To increase resistance, move away from the suspension trainer’s anchor point.

Final Thoughts

Keep in mind that this is an outline of the basics and is only scratching the surface of the possibilities for suspension training. With that in mind, think of this lineup being the start to a basic workout circuit. Try each exercise for 1 minute each with about 25-30 seconds of rest/transition time between exercises, and perform this circuit three times to get a nice quick full-body workout. If I do my math right, this would be a 30-minute workout, give or take a minute. Who doesn’t like that in our fast-paced world?

Stay tuned for more advanced suspension workouts in the near future!