No one—and we mean no one—has been doing Suspension Training longer than TRX Founder Randy Hetrick. The former Navy SEAL invented the original Suspension Trainer prototype while deployed at a safehouse in Asia in the 90s, and has been championing the concept ever since. With decades of experience in training on-the-go, Hetrick knows all the tips and tricks for home fitness. The moves he’s digging right now? Exercises focused on combating work-from-home hunching and slouching.
Randy is taking over Moves of the Week with three exercises that will help you stand taller, prouder, and stronger. All you need is your Suspension Trainer and your TRX Strength Bands.
First up is the TRX Overhead Squat to Overhead Back Extension. Stand facing the anchor, with your straps adjusted to mid-length. Start with the overhead squat, and keep tension on the straps! As you come back up to standing, gently fall back while hinging at the waist to squat and hinge, all while squeezing your glutes at the top. Hetrick says this move will activate your body from the glutes and hamstrings all the way to your fingertips.
“I do this either as a dynamic warmup before my workout, or I'll do it during the workout and just slow it down, really activate and grind through it,” he said. “Do a set of 15 of these things and you'll be hating life and loving it at all at once.”
For the second move, a Loaded Squat, trade your Suspension Trainer for two TRX Strength Bands. Loop one end of each band around the arch of your foot, then cross the bands behind you. Loop the other end of the band around each hand between the thumb and forefinger. With your palms facing up toward the sky, squat then extend your arms up into an overhead press. “I'm feeling a pretty good load there, and as these run up my back, they actually help my squat,“ Hetrick explained.
Hetrick calls the third and final move a “Bandput” because it simulates a shotput throw a TRX Strength Band, integrating both extension and rotation.
Start with one end of the band wrapped twice around midfoot, then shoulder the other end of the band on the same side of your body. For example: if the band is anchored to your left foot, you’ll load the other end of the band on your left shoulder. Like the press you just completed, the “shouldered” end of the band will still be looped across your palm between your thumb and forefinger. (Think of it like a server carrying a tray at a restaurant.) Squat down to “load,” then use your hand to push the band diagonally up and away from your shoulder—throwing away the tray—to “explode.”
For variations on this move, Hetrick suggests playing with the speed or even leveling up to a heavier band.
All three of these moves use an extension to open up your posture and strengthen your back muscles. Whether you’re at home or hitting the road, pack your Suspension Trainer and your TRX Strength Bands in your TRX pouch to keep up with your fitness goals anytime, anywhere.
