TRX Workout for Beginners: 6 Moves for Full-Body Strength

A good TRX workout for beginners uses 5 or 6 simple moves that train your whole body: a squat, a row, a push, a lunge, a bridge and an arm exercise. Do 2 to 3 sets of each, twice a week. Make each move easier or harder by changing your body angle, not by adding weight.

That’s the core of it.

A TRX is a suspension trainer: two adjustable straps with handles that hang from an anchor point. You hold the handles, or put your feet in them, and use your bodyweight as resistance. TRX is the best-known brand, but the moves below work on any suspension trainer.

This guide is for you if:

• You’ve seen the yellow straps at your gym and don’t know where to start.
• You train at home and want full-body strength without a rack of weights.
• You travel and want one piece of kit that fits in a bag.
• You want a beginner workout you can make harder as you get stronger.

I’m Will Duru, a personal trainer and the founder of 12REPS. I’ve written before that the TRX is my favorite tool for core work. Here, I’ll show you how to use it for your whole body: how to set it up, six moves to start with and a simple workout to follow.

Is TRX training good for beginners?

Yes, for most people. You can scale every move to your level by changing your angle, and the straps take up almost no space. Here’s what the research shows, and where my coaching view comes in.

What the research says

• It counts as strength training. The CDC recommends muscle-strengthening activity at least two days a week, working the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms. CDC The workout below covers all of those.
• Your core works hard. A 2014 study compared floor push-ups with push-ups on four suspension systems, including TRX. All the suspension versions produced high abdominal muscle activity. Calatayud et al., 2014
• Beginners can stick with it. In a small 12-week study, 11 healthy older adults followed a TRX program. They attended 85% of sessions, and 91% wanted to continue. Getting stronger was the benefit they mentioned most. Gaedtke and Morat, 2015

What the research doesn’t say

The evidence here is limited. The muscle activity study used 29 young, fit men and measured one session, not long-term results. The older adults study was small, had no comparison group and relied on what people reported rather than strength tests.

So I won’t claim the TRX builds more muscle than free weights. It doesn’t need to. It’s a practical way to train your whole body with very little equipment.

Why I like it for beginners

The TRX lets you start easy and progress in small steps. Step closer to the anchor and a move gets easier. Step back and it gets harder. You don’t need to change any weights.

It also makes you brace your core on almost every exercise, even the arm moves. That’s one reason it’s my favorite tool for core work.

How to set up a TRX safely

Take two minutes to set up properly before your first rep. These steps follow TRX’s own guidance. TRX

1. Pick a solid anchor. At home, use a door anchor over a hinged door that opens away from you, then close the door. Outdoors or in a gym, wrap a suspension anchor around a beam, pole or rig.
2. Give yourself room. You need a space about 8 feet long and 6 feet wide.
3. Test it. Pull hard on the straps before every session.
4. Set the strap length. Each move below tells you whether the straps should be short, mid-length or long. Adjust both straps to the same length.
5. Keep tension in the straps. Slack straps jolt at the bottom of a rep, which is where people lose control.

How to make any move easier or harder

This is the most useful thing to learn on a TRX.

Start each move at an angle where you can do 10 good reps. Change one thing at a time.

If you have a joint injury, a heart condition or you’re pregnant, check with your doctor before starting a new workout.

6 TRX exercises for beginners

These six moves cover your legs, back, chest, arms and glutes. Each one links to a demo video where one exists.

1. TRX squat to row

Works: quads, glutes, hamstrings, back, biceps and core. Straps: mid-length.

1. Face the anchor and hold a handle in each hand.
2. Walk your feet forward slightly to create tension. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
3. Squat down with your arms straight.
4. Drive through your heels to stand up. As you rise, pull the handles toward your ribs.
5. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top, then straighten your arms as you squat again.

Cue: “Drive through your heels, then pull your elbows back.” Common mistake: leaning back and using momentum instead of controlling both parts. Watch the demo

2. TRX row

Works: upper back, lats, rear shoulders and biceps. Straps: mid-length.

1. Face the anchor and hold the handles with your palms facing each other.
2. Walk your feet forward and lean back until your arms are straight.
3. Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels, like a plank.
4. Pull your chest up toward your hands. Squeeze your shoulder blades together.
5. Lower yourself under control.

Cue: “Body straight, chest to hands.” Common mistake: letting your hips sag or shrugging your shoulders. Watch the demo

3. TRX chest press

Works: chest, front shoulders, triceps and core. Straps: mid-length to long.

1. Face away from the anchor and hold the handles at chest height, arms straight.
2. Walk your feet back a little and lean forward. Keep your body in a straight line.
3. Bend your elbows and lower your chest between your hands.
4. Press back up until your arms are straight.

Cue: “Plank the whole way.” Common mistake: letting your lower back sag. If it does, step closer to the upright position.

4. TRX biceps curl

Works: biceps, forearms and core. Straps: mid-length.

1. Face the anchor and hold the handles with your palms facing up.
2. Walk your feet forward and lean back slightly, body in a straight line.
3. Hold your arms out in front at shoulder height. Keep your elbows lifted.
4. Curl your hands toward your forehead. Squeeze your biceps.
5. Lower yourself back under control.

Cue: “Elbows high, hands to forehead.” Common mistake: letting your elbows drop, which turns it into a row. Watch the demo

5. TRX split lunge

Works: quads, glutes, hamstrings and inner thighs. Straps: mid-length.

1. Stand in a split stance, one foot forward and one back. Hold the handles lightly for balance.
2. Keep your chest lifted and your core braced.
3. Lower your back knee toward the floor. Keep your front knee in line with your toes.
4. Drive through your front foot to stand back up.
5. Finish your reps, then switch legs.

Cue: “The straps are for balance, your legs do the work.” Common mistake: pulling on the straps to stand up. Start with no weight. Later, hold a kettlebell, as in the TRX kettlebell split lunge demo.

6. TRX glute bridge

Works: glutes, hamstrings and core. Straps: long, so the foot cradles hang about 8 to 12 inches off the floor.

1. Lie on your back facing the anchor. Put your heels into the foot cradles.
2. Bend your knees, feet hip-width apart, arms by your sides.
3. Press your heels into the straps and lift your hips.
4. Squeeze your glutes at the top. Keep your hips level.
5. Lower under control.

Cue: “Heels down, squeeze at the top.” Common mistake: arching your lower back instead of lifting with your glutes. This one is harder than it looks, so start with fewer reps. Watch the demo

Your beginner TRX workout

Warm up for 5 minutes first: march in place, do arm circles and a few slow bodyweight squats. Then work through the moves in order.

The whole session takes about 30 minutes. Start with 2 sets of each in your first week.

How often: twice a week, with at least one rest day in between. That matches the CDC’s two-day minimum for muscle strengthening.

How to progress: once every set feels controlled, change one thing:

1. Add a third set.
2. Add 2 reps per set.
3. Increase your angle by walking your feet a little farther forward or back.
4. Slow down the lowering part of each rep to 3 seconds.

After a few months, you can move on to harder versions, like the TRX alternating pistol squat or a weighted split lunge.

The TRX workout in brief

• Anchor the straps securely and test them before every session.
• Do six moves: squat to row, row, chest press, biceps curl, split lunge and glute bridge.
• Start with 2 sets of 8 to 12 reps, twice a week.
• Make moves easier by standing more upright. Make them harder by leaning further.
• Change one thing at a time as you get stronger.

Want a full program built around your equipment?

Six moves is a strong start. Knowing what to do next week, and the week after, is where most people get stuck.

That’s why I built 12REPS. Here’s what you get:

• Programs written by a real personal trainer. I write them, with structure and progression built in.
• A demo before every lift. Each exercise has a video demonstration and a coach’s guide.
• Workouts built in seconds. Tap the muscles you want to train, front or back, set your time and hit generate.
• Saved workouts. Save a session and it waits for you, ready to start next time.
• Every set saved. Log your reps and weight. Check your history any time, so you know when to step up.

Download 12REPS and see what you’ll get:

Sources

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adult Activity: An Overview. Last reviewed December 20, 2023.
• Calatayud J, Borreani S, Colado JC, Martín FF, Rogers ME, Behm DG, Andersen LL. Muscle activation during push-ups with different suspension training systems. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2014;13(3):502–510.
• Gaedtke A, Morat T. TRX suspension training: a new functional training approach for older adults – development, training control and feasibility. International Journal of Exercise Science. 2015;8(3):224–233.
• TRX Training. How to Get Started With Your TRX Suspension Trainer.

Related reading

• Ultimate Back & Core Workout with Dumbbells & TRX
• Ultimate Leg & Core Workout with Dumbbells and TRX
• Ultimate Hybrid Leg & Core Workout: Machines, Dumbbells, TRX
• How to Do Face Pulls: Cable, Rope and Band Versions

About the author: Will Duru is a personal trainer, the founder of 12REPS and holds a BSc (Hons) in Sport and Exercise Science.