13  Upper Body Workouts / TRX Workouts For Beginner

 

1. TRX Push-Up

How to: Here’s how you pump up the plain ol’ push-up. To start, hook toes through the TRX straps so that the tops of your feet face the floor. Lift your body up so that weight rests on the palms of your hands. Keeping core tight, bend elbows to lower your chest between hands. You’ll feel your chest and shoulders working as you press back up to the start position.

2. TRX Chest Press

How to: Forget lying down to perform the typical chest press. Face away from the anchor with your feet shoulder-width apart. Grab the handles with an overhand grip and extend arms in front of you at shoulder height. Lean forward so that your body is at a slight diagonal. Bend elbows and lower chest between your hands. You’ll engage your chest and arms as you push yourself back up to the start position.

3. TRX Inverted Row

How to: Row, row, row your… way to a fitter physique. Lie directly underneath the TRX. Bend knees and plant your feet on the floor. Reach up to grasp the handles, palms facing each other, arms fully extended, as you lift your body a few inches off the floor. Keeping them close to your sides, bend your elbows to pull torso up towards the handles until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees. Lower down to the starting position. You’ll put your biceps and back to work as you raise and lower your torso, slowly and with control. You can also perform this exercise with straight legs, heels grounded to the floor, and your body at a diagonal.

4. Kneeling Triceps Press 

How to: Target those tris with this no-frills move. Kneel down facing the anchor and grab the straps with an underhand grip. Stretch arms straight out in front of you and hold them shoulder-width apart. Bend elbows to lower your upper body toward the floor until hands are in line with your ears—this is when you’ll start to feel those triceps burn. Return to start.

5. Low Row

How to: This move is the key to a strong back. Grab the handles with your palms facing one another. Lean all the way back until weight is on your heels, arms extended out in front of you, and body forms a diagonal. Squeeze shoulder blades together and keep your core tight as you bend your elbows and pull torso up to meet your hands. Lower to return to start.

6. Single-Arm Row

How to: If you’re a pro at the regular low row (see No. 5), challenge yourself to the exact same movement. Except this time around, limit rowing to one arm at a time without losing your form—and get ready to feel the burn.

7. Three-Way Row

Targets: Back, abs, shoulders, biceps
Difficulty: Intermediate
How to: If anyone knows a thing or two about sculpting rock-solid shoulders, it’s superstar swimmer Natalie Coughlin. And as it turns out, she’s a fan of TRX—she even shared some of her go-to moves, including this three-in-one exercise. This move includes three different grips to keep your mind and body guessing. Your plan of action: Row with your palms up for a few reps (Natalie suggests three reps per grip), switch to rowing with palms facing one another for a few reps, and then turn palms down for a few reps.

8. Alligator

Targets: Shoulders, back, obliques
Difficulty: Intermediate
How to: Another of Coughlin’s favorite TRX moves, this shoulder strengthener is also known as a reverse fly (though “alligator” is way more catchy, if you ask us). Start facing the anchor and grab the handles with an overhand grip. Lean back until your body forms a diagonal line and the TRX straps are taut. Pull body up as you pull back and up with your right arm and back and down with left arm. Rotate torso to the right as you do so—you’ll put your shoulders and back to work as your obliques help stabilize your movements. Return to start and repeat on the other side.

9. Triceps Extension

Targets: Triceps
Difficulty: Beginner
How to: Work those tris with this simple but challenging move! Set yourself up like you did for the push-up—facing away from the anchor point, feet shoulder-width apart. Grab the handles with an overhand grip. Shift weight to the balls of your feet as you extend arms out in front of you at eye level. Bend elbows until hands are behind your head, elbows framing either side of your face. Return to start. The movement is small, but super effective, and you’ll fire up your triceps with every rep.

10. Atomic Push-Up

Targets: Chest, shoulders, arms, and abs
Level: Advanced
How to: You might look a bit like a frog in motion, but you’ll definitely feel the burn in your upper body and core as you bring your knees to meet your elbows. Slip your feet into the cradles so that the tops of feet face the floor. Lower body down into a push-up. As you press your body back up into plank position, bring knees in toward elbows, allowing legs to draw apart. Hold for a few seconds and then return to start.

11. Chest Fly

Targets: Chest, arms
Difficulty: Advanced
How to: If there’s any exercise that will make you feel like you have wings, this is it. Face away from the anchor with feet shoulder-width apart. Grab the handles with an overhand grip and extend arms in front of you at shoulder height. Lean forward so that your body’s at a diagonal. With control, spread arms out to a “T” (but keep elbows bent) as you lower your chest closer to the ground—this is where you seriously activate those chest muscles. Reverse the movement to return to start.

12. Biceps Curl

Targets: Abs and arms
Difficulty: Intermediate
How to: Face toward the TRX anchor point and grab one handle in each hand, palms facing. Lean all the way back until your arms are extended and the strap is taut. To activate your biceps, bend elbows (without letting them drop) until hands frame your temples, slowly pulling body up as you do so. Return to start—and then ask for two tickets to the gun show, please.

13. Push-Up with Pike

Targets: Chest, shoulders, arms, abs
Difficulty: Intermediate
How to: The push-up and the pike. Completely stellar on their own, these two movements are always better when they’re together (we paraphrase Jack Johnson, of course). Get into your suspended plank position, perform a pushup, and then lift hips up into a pike—your body should look a bit like an upside-down “V." Your abs will work overtime to bring you up and out of this motion. Be sure to keep legs straight and feet together throughout the movement.

14. Y Fly

Targets: Abs, biceps, back
Difficulty: Intermediate
How to: The real question is: Why not fly? Stand facing the anchor with feet hip-width apart. Grasp the TRX and extend arms overhead into a Y, palms facing. Lean back on your heels until body forms a diagonal line, pulling your arms in and out in front of you until your palms nearly touch. Leading with hips, pull your body back up to stand, spreading arms back into a Y as you do. You’ll feel your back muscles working as you move from the “down” position to the “Y” position, and your abs will help you maintain stability throughout the movement.

15. Clock Press ( trxAbs, trx shoulders, trx back, trx biceps )

Targets: Abs, shoulders, back, biceps
Difficulty: Advanced
How to: Tick, tock, tick, tock: the countdown is on for a super fit upper body, and this move gets you one step closer. Grab the handles with an overhand grip and lean forward until your body forms a diagonal line, weight on toes. Brace your core and bend elbows, keeping them close to your body—you’ll remain in this “down” position throughout the exercise. Keeping your left arm bent, extend right arm to the side until right elbow and wrist are almost in line with shoulder—this is when your shoulders, back, and biceps will start to burn. Reverse the movement to return to start and repeat with left arm. Continue alternating.

16. Power Pull  ( trx Upper back, trx abs, trx shoulders, trx obliques )

Targets: Upper back, abs, shoulders, obliques
Difficulty: Intermediate
How to: Power pulls make for powerful bodies, especially since this move includes a rotation to fire up your abs and obliques in addition to your upper body. Stand facing the anchor with a wide stance. Grasp the TRX with your left hand and hold it at chest height, left elbow high and pointing behind body. Extend right arm so that it’s in line with the TRX. As you lean back, extend your left arm and rotate torso to the right to reach your right arm out and slightly behind you. Reverse the movement to return to start.

17. Standing Fallout ( trx Chest, trx abs, trx shoulders )

Targets: Chest, abs, shoulders
Difficulty: Intermediate
How to: Get ready to set those abs on fire. Get yourself in the starting position for a TRX chest press (see No. 2). Then, as you fall forward, reach arms up until they’re in line with the rest of your body—this is where your abs and shoulders really come in handy. Reverse the movement to return to start.

18. T Deltoid Fly ( trx Back, trx shoulders )

Targets: Back, shoulders
Difficulty: Intermediate
How to: This moves suits our fitness needs to a "T," with a flying motion that strengthens the upper back and sculpts shoulders to perfection. Face the anchor, stagger your stance (right foot should be a few inches in front of left), and grasp one strap in each hand. Lean back so that weight is on your left foot and the TRX straps are taut, arms extended in front of chest. Pull against the TRX, shifting weight to your right foot as you open your arms into a “T” position. Return to start.

19. Side-Straddle Golf Swings (trx Back, trx chest, trx shoulders)

Targets: Back, chest, shoulders
Difficulty: Beginner
How to: While you won’t exactly feel like you’re golfing when performing this move, this exercise involves a swinging movement that challenges your upper body in a new way. Facing the anchor point, assume a wide-leg stance and grab one TRX handle with each hand with an overhand grip. Keeping weight on your heels, bend forward at hips and reach arms forward at chest height. Look forward throughout the move. Rotate your torso, extending right arm behind you while you extend the left arm in front of you. Reverse the movement to repeat on the other side.