Five TRX Moves for a Stronger Back

Few of us think about strengthening our back, until it starts to hurt—or worse. Spend 10 minutes a day, a few times a week to take care of that back and it will take care of you, or keep you from needing to see the doctor.

The TRX Suspension Trainer is a simple and easy tool to use to strengthen your back. We asked TRX master trainer Kari Woodall to shows us her go-to back-strengthening moves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG6EMFIdIYs

TRX Resisted Rotation

For a stronger back, train your body in 3-D and work the whole cylinder! The resisted-rotation exercise fires up your lats and increases core activation, which prepares your body to perform better in all exercises.

• Stand sideways to the anchor point with the straps at midlength, and hold both straps together at your chest to begin in single-handle mode.
• Step out so your body is leaning at a slight angle.
• Stagger your feet so your left foot is back behind your right foot. Bring your arms straight out in front of you. Hold, resisting with your core so you don’t rotate toward the midpoint.
• Bring your hands back to your chest, and repeat on the opposite side.

TRX Overhead Squat Wall Slide

The overhead squat may be part of your current leg workout, but we’re turning on the afterburners by adding a wall slide, making it more dynamic and challenging. By maintaining constant pressure on the straps and rowing as you come out of the squat, you’re lighting up your backside from your hands to your heels.

• Stand facing the anchor point, with the straps midlength. Your feet are just outside hip width.
• Place your fingers inside the foot cradles and your thumbs on the outside of the cradles. Raise your arms above your head to form a Y. There should be resistance as the cradles pull against the backs of your hands.
• Sit your hips back and down to squat, keeping your arms lifted. Maintain good posture and tension back on the straps through your hands while lowering your hips.
• Initiate the wall slide by driving your elbows down to shoulder height, back rowing yourself up, while simultaneously driving up from the bottom of the squat with your hips.
• As you squat down, press your arms straight. Back row to stand.

T-Y Fly Combo

The T-Y fly combo targets the deltoids and should be a staple in your pulling repertoire.

• Stand facing the anchor point with your feet under your hips, straps at midlength.
• Grasp the strap handles and bring your arms out so you form a T, wrists in line with your shoulders and your shoulders away from your ears. Stagger one foot back for balance so you can maintain constant tension through the entire range of motion.
• Bring your hands toward each other, keeping your arms and legs straight as you lower back, maintaining your standing plank. Open your hands back to a T with control.
• Pull your hands together, then pull your arms up to form a Y as you pull your chest up toward the midpoint. Release your hands, and alternate between a T and a Y fly.

TRX Power Pull

Buckle up because you’re getting a TRX training trifecta with the power pull, a fantastic unilateral pulling exercise challenging your core and metabolic burn with rotation and speed!

• Stand facing the anchor point, straps at midlength, in single-handle mode.
• Hold the handles in your right hand and shift your body to the left side of the anchor point. Your feet should be slightly wider than hip width.
• Begin in a single-arm row and bring your left hand up parallel to the straps. Straighten your right elbow as you open and rotate your left hand down and behind you, leaning back.
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together to pull out of the rotation and finish with a single-arm row to return to start.
• TIP: Rotate in a plank and with a connected torso so your hips and shoulders move and work together for effective power transfer.

TRX Negative Pull-Up

Feel the burn with a little DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness)! The pull-up is the final exercise, and for good reason: This exercise will revisit you for days after your training if you control the eccentric part of the pull-up.

• Over-shorten your straps and sit directly underneath the straps, holding both handles in outstretched arms. Your knees should be bent in front of you, feet flat on the floor.
• Bend your elbows and pull yourself straight up so the handles frame your face, using your legs as little as possible.
• Slowly lower yourself back down, resisting gravity and instead trying to slowly push your arms overhead. Repeat.

This post originally appeared on TRXTraining.com.
Video credit: Courtesy of TRX
Photo credit: noblige, Thinkstock