TRX Suspension Training vs. Weight Training: Full Comparison

TRX Suspension training opens up a world of possibilities, offering hundreds of strength training exercises for every muscle group. Whether you're new to suspension training or looking to advance your skills, our quick fitness assessment can help identify the perfect TRX movements for your level. One of the biggest advantages of using TRX Suspension Training is the increased time under tension your muscles experience during workouts, leading to effective muscle overload, mass gains, and strength improvements! Not sure where to start? Take our quick quiz to get a personalised TRX training plan that matches your fitness goals. 

Advantages of Strength Training 

Strength training has many advantages for helping your body stay strong and healthy! Here are the top benefits that come with strength training: 

• Increase in muscle mass and strength
• Use of different types of strength training equipment 
• Helps maintain healthy body composition
• Increase in bone density
• Preventing injuries as you age
• Improved balance and joint mobility 
• Improved energy and endurance
• Improved self-confidence 

Boosting energy levels with strength training will help carry over into your day-to-day activities. This will allow you to do more things in your day without feeling worn out or exhausted. Weight training has its own benefits as well. Let’s take a look at what makes TRX and weight training different.  

TRX vs. Weight Training: The Main Differences

Targeting Different Muscle Groups

One of the many advantages of using the TRX for strength training is that you’ll be utilising and targeting different muscle groups all at the same time. 

Because TRX Suspension training utilises your bodyweight as resistance, you will be using your core to stabilise yourself throughout most exercises. You will be engaging opposing muscles to assist in movements and recruit others to help stabilise your body.

With weight training, you target muscles more specifically and isolate the muscle group with a free weight. There’s also no need to stabilise or engage multiple muscle groups to perform the exercise. By specifically targeting muscle groups with weight training, you can help certain muscle groups stand out more if that's a goal for your workouts.

Weight training can also allow you to target the different areas of a muscle group by simply changing your grip on some exercises. Lastly, weight training can be very beneficial while training around an injury.

However, you should try to do both suspension training and weight training together. It can be constructive to incorporate TRX Suspension training alongside weight training to create a well-balanced workout plan!

Strengthening the Core

Suspension training is all about strengthening the core, as research provides. You will have to engage and utilise your core in every single movement you do with the TRX Suspension trainer. Whether your hands are on the handles or your feet are in the foot cradles, your core is required to have a higher level of engagement. 

The TRX creates a perfect balance between an unstable and stable environment. When performing specific core exercises with your feet in the foot cradles, you will be able to recruit abdominal muscles to help build a rock-solid core! 

Adding Extra Weight

The ability to add extra weight is where weight training and suspension training probably differ the most. 

With weight training, you are able to increase the resistance of the exercise by simply using heavier dumbbells or more plates. This will increase the progressive overload to your muscles, resulting in more mass and strength. 

With TRX Suspension Training, your body weight is the only weight you will be using. Yes, you can increase the amount of body weight being used by adjusting the angle of your body to the anchor point, but you won’t be adding “additional” weight to the exercise being performed. 

Be conscious of the additional risk that comes with adding weight. If you aren’t ready to lift at that level, you’re putting yourself at risk of injury. Make sure you can comfortably perform at the weight level you’re at before moving up. 

Price & Affordability

If you are setting up a home gym or investing in equipment, the price can be a big part of the decision-making process. 

For traditional weight training, you will have to buy multiple sizes of a certain weight. For instance, kettlebells, dumbbells, and weight plates will require multiple sizes if you actually want to progress. 

When it comes to TRX Suspension Training, the cost can be very minimal. The investment in a Suspension Trainer is usually all you need to get a wide variety of TRX exercises. The only other thing you would need to invest in is a permanent anchor that you can hang to maximise your movements. Since TRX classes are available on TRX Training Club, you can even work out for free with professional trainers when signing up.