Suspension Training

Suspension training is a new craze sweeping the globe. It was developed by a former U.S. Navy SEAL as a way for soldiers to workout using lightweight, portable equipment. The training technique is a registered trademark of Fitness Anywhere Inc, an American company.

It essentially consists of placing your hands or feet into stirrups that are attached to straps, which are suspended from a bar that’s around 2 metres in the air. This can be a dedicated bar or any sort of squat rack or Smith machine. Using the straps you can perform a number of workouts, all of which are designed to work the core, along with the rest of your body.

The two most popular makers of suspension training equipment in the UK are TRX and FitKit Pro, which are both widely used by personal trainers, professional sports clubs and health clubs. There are now many gyms offering suspension classes, and it is becoming a widely recognised form of training.

For beginners, the suspension equipment can be adjusted so your hands are in the stirrups and you lean back to perform the exercises. The angle of your body affects how difficult a workout is. Once you’ve mastered this form of suspension training, you’re ready to be hoisted into the air. Place your feet into the stirrups to perform more difficult exercises.

The idea of suspension training is that, no matter what exercise you are performing, your core is being worked all the time. This is great for your posture, back and six pack and the best part is, you can’t help doing it. So no matter if you’re doing squats or push ups your core will be working away and experts claim this in itself can reduce the chance of injury whilst working out.

By adjusting the exercises, repetitions, rest period and intensity of your workouts you can work almost every muscle group whilst always using your core muscles. You can work on power, balance, stability and endurance, all with just one set of straps.

The only drawback experts warn against is potential injury to beginners. If you’re core is not already in reasonable shape, the instability of the suspension straps could lead to overworking of the muscles, leading to potential injury.

If you’re desperate to get your hands on some of the suspension equipment, the TRX system is available for about £175 online. Seeing as though the equipment is still pretty rare in gyms across the UK, this may be your only option for some time. Most sets do come with instruction DVDs so you can get the most out of your equipment although there are plenty of instructions online.