There are thousands of fitness resources available online—apps, videos, live streams—but some of us might want to design our own TRX workout every now and then. The most important thing to remember: the best workouts start with a plan. One of the easiest ways to plan is to use an interval pattern. Here, we detail three patterns that fitness professionals use to help you get creative on your own.
Tabata Intervals
Tabata is a type of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) consisting of eight rounds, alternating between 20 seconds of hard effort and 10 seconds of recovery, for a total of four minutes of work. While Tabata can be viewed exclusively as a cardio tool, you could apply the same concept to strength training using two or four different moves.
Here's a quick example: a two-move TRX Tabata series could include TRX Rows and TRX Jump Squats with the Suspension Trainer set to the midway point. Start with TRX Rows for 20 seconds, then take a 10-second break to reset yourself for 20 seconds of TRX Jump Squats. After another 10-second break, you will continue and complete three more rounds of TRX Rows and TRX Jump Squats. Your workout would look like this:
Round 1: TRX Rows (20 seconds)
10-second break
Round 2: TRX Jump Squats (20 seconds)
10-second break
Round 3: TRX Rows (20 seconds)
10-second break
Round 4: TRX Jump Squats (20 seconds)
10-second break
Round 5: TRX Rows (20 seconds)
10-second break
Round 6: TRX Jump Squats (20 seconds)
10-second break
Round 7: TRX Rows (20 seconds)
10-second break
Round 8: TRX Jump Squats (20 seconds)
10-second break
If you want more variety in four-minutes, you choose four moves instead of two, cycling through each move twice. For this example, we’ll add another two moves that require your straps to be adjusted to the midway point: the TRX Bicep Curl and the TRX Crossing Balance Lunge. Here’s what that would look like:
Round 1: TRX Rows (20 seconds)
10-second break
Round 2: TRX Jump Squats (20 seconds)
10-second break
Round 3: TRX Bicep Curls (20 seconds)
10-second break
Round 4: TRX Crossing Balance Lunges (20 seconds)
10-second break
Round 5: TRX Rows (20 seconds)
10-second break
Round 6: TRX Jump Squats (20 seconds)
10-second break
Round 7: TRX Bicep Curls (20 seconds)
10-second break
Round 8: TRX Crossing Balance Lunges (20 seconds)
10-second break
For a longer workout, you could program multiple four-minute Tabata sequences. Four sequences with a minute of recovery between each sequence would give you a 20-minute workout; ten sequences with the same one-minute recovery period would be a 50-minute workout.
AMRAP
AMRAP stands for “as many reps as possible” or “as many rounds as possible,” and it’s exactly what it sounds like.
Let’s say you set a timer for three minutes and decide to work through TRX Rows, TRX Jump Squats, and TRX Bicep Curls in 10-rep increments. You would complete ten reps of TRX Rows, followed by ten reps of TRX Jump Squats, and ten reps of TRX Bicep Curls before starting back at TRX Rows. Your goal would be to complete as many rounds of those three sets as possible in a three-minute period.
After a quick break—think 30-60 seconds—you can either start back at the top and try to beat your previous record or try the same time program with three new moves.
EMOM
Finally, we have the “every-minute-on-the-minute” (EMOM) challenge. In an EMOM workout, you perform a prescribed amount of work in one minute or less. Let’s use the same three moves from above as an example.
For an EMOM, the challenge could be completing eight TRX Rows, eight TRX Jump Squats, and eight TRX Bicep Curls—for a total of 24 reps—in less than one minute. If you have a balance of time after those 24 reps, you get to rest. If your minute expires before you can finish the reps, you will still start with your TRX Rows when the next minute begins.
With EMOMs, the faster you complete the work, the more recovery you get. But keep in mind that it should take at least 30 seconds to complete the rep count in an EMOM. If you’re flying through reps in less than 30 seconds, it’s time to increase your load or the number of reps per round.
Making It Work For You
The best part of designing your own workout is making the routine work for you. Have fun playing with your workout options! A TRX-focused workout doesn’t have to consist solely of Suspension Trainer exercises. Spice it up with classic cardio moves like jumping jacks or burpees. Factor in some floor work like inchworms or bicycle crunches. This is your opportunity to be creative!
If you’re trying a Tabata, AMRAP, or EMOM, you may want to download an interval timer app. Gym Boss offers a free version of its timer app—both for iOS and Android—so you can focus on your form rather than stare at a clock. The app runs simultaneously with music players and signals when it’s time to start a new interval or rest.
With any interval pattern, it’s easy to measure your progress. Want to see if you’re increasing your endurance? Try the same workout once a week over the course of a month and track your rep counts with a goal of improving each week. Every month can be an opportunity to start with a fresh endurance training challenge.
Looking for more ideas? Don’t forget to follow TRX Training on Facebook and Instagram, where we have fitness professionals around the world ready to challenge you with new combos.
