In the first installment of this three-part TRX Moves of the Week series, TRX Master Instructor Susane Pata will guide you through an upper-body compound exercise that will unilaterally train your “pull,” “rotation,” and “plank” movements. By focusing on these under-utilized foundational movements, you can add balance to your training regimen. There is also an added benefit to training one side at a time, which is to ensure that one side is just as strong as the other.
The first exercise in this compound movement is the TRX Side-Facing High Bicep Curl and the second is the TRX Power Pull. The first can flow seamlessly to the next, once your TRX Suspension Trainer is set up properly. Adjust your TRX Suspension Trainer to mid-length and configure the handles to single-handle mode.
Begin by standing with one side of your body facing sideways to the anchor point with your legs in a side-offset stance, while maintaining a tall, neutral spine. Hold your single handle with your palm facing up, then raise your arm up in line with your shoulder while leaning away from the anchor.
Keep your upper arm up in line with your shoulder while bending your elbow then bring the handle directly in line with your ear to reach the “end” position. Your elbow should be in line with your shoulder. Try to keep your elbow away from the center of your body or rounding your back. Keep your chest proud and your neck long.
Extend your arm slowly while maintaining the same amount of tension on the TRX Suspension Trainer as your arm returns back to the starting position. The key idea here is to keep tension on the straps even as your arm extends and your body moves away from the anchor. Keep the movements slow and controlled to maintain proper form and technique, especially when trying this move the first few times.
The leg shift in your offset stance helps create higher quality movements by redistributing weight from the back leg to the front leg, and vice versa. The same amount of tension can be maintained consistently on the straps with the working arm during the concentric and eccentric phases of contraction.
Try performing three strong reps before transitioning to the next exercise, the TRX Power Pull.
For the TRX Power Pull, keep your working arm extended and step your back leg forward to stand facing the anchor point. Immediately rotate slightly away from the anchor by extending your free arm toward the ground.
Start by rotating up your body toward the anchor by circling your free arm up until it reaches up the length of the straps. Draw the elbow of the suspended arm inwards, close to your rib cage. (Your suspended arm will begin to bend soon after the rotation toward the anchor is initiated.) To return, slowly extend your suspended arm and rotate your body until your free arm can reach behind you. Maintain a neutral spine throughout the entire movement.
Try performing three strong TRX Power Pulls, then complete this TRX Bicep Curls-to-TRX Power Pull combination three times before switching to work on the other side.
Thanks for following along for part one of this three-part series. Be sure to tune in next week for part two of TRX Moves of the Week: Compound Movements!
Susane Pata is a Global Senior Master Instructor, Presenter, and Author. She has been delivering TRX education sessions to fitness professional audiences worldwide for the last 12 years, with over 27 years' experience in fitness. In 2004, she helped TRX Founder Randy Hetrick create and develop TRX's first-ever group fitness program. Soon after, as TRX’s Education Director, she organized the company’s Education Department and later launched the first-ever TRX Training studio in San Francisco. Simultaneous to this work for TRX, she became one of the company’s first master educators. Even though she is now based out of New York City, she continues to deliver education courses around the country. Stay connected and follow her @fitnessshazam.
