Suspension Training is a very mystical realm of training. The whole point of the Shredded Shaman is quite literally to demystify much of the concepts, ideas, and trends within the world of fitness by bringing it back to the old school roots of Physical Culture. So, a piece on the fundamentals and nuances of suspension training is long overdue. To be fair, it’s not that mystical of a training implement or method. But it is considerably specialized and this needs to be kept in mind when creating and curating content on the matter. Pretty much, if you’re not on the TRX website or some affiliate, you won’t get very nuanced and detailed content on suspension training. Not to the level that you should be. On the other hand, there’s a bunch of workouts out there that feature the suspension trainer as the main implement, yet do not treat it with the same respect – providing at least a very basic education and exposition – as they do other implements and training methods such as kettlebells or even gymnastic rings. This piece is intended to provide you with all you need to begin to make sense of suspension training and begin to make the most of your suspension trainer, itself.
Intro to Suspension Training
I’ve been consistently programming suspension training into numerous blocks of my periodization for around 7-8 years. Before I began researching it, I’d been rather dismissive of it as “boneless ring training”, pretty much. It wasn’t until Jai Courtney was doing press for the upcoming Terminator Genysis film that I began to be intrigued by this pulley system that, not only one of the most jacked guys in Hollywood swore by, but many tactical athletes sung praises of as well. So, I got a Gold’s Gym brand Suspension Trainer from Wal-Mart because there was absolutely no way I was spending TRX was charging, nor paying into that monopoly. And I never looked back. In the near decade since, I’ve learned everything there is to learn about Suspension Training. And that very first suspension trainer of mine is still very much intact and in rotation.
I’m going to share with you the finer points of what I’ve learned about suspension training from science, anecdote and experience as an athlete, physical culturist, and as a coach. As interesting as suspension training can be, a lot of the research is admittedly boring. So I’m going to try to keep it as concise as possible. What is Suspension Training
Suspension training can be best described as training that utilizes a system of ropes and cables, which allows you to use your bodyweight against gravity to provide resistance. Movements and exercises’ difficulty and intensity can be scaled by adjusting the length and position of the straps. As well as your body positioning and orientation. I consider this to be in the same family as Variable Resistance based on these factors. Suspension training is one of the best implements and methods for contemporary physical culturists for quite a few reasons. And it’s more than just resemblance to the pulley systems of days past. The main reasons I consider it essential and one of the top three implements you should have in your home gym are – it’s inherent ability to build functional strength and muscle. As well as it’s understated versatility while being extremely minimalist. I’m going to briefly touch on each of these attributes before comparing it to ring training.
Perfect for Functional Training
The general consensus within the scientific community seems to be that suspension training is, by all measures, superior to weight training in the area of developing core strength and stability. Without bloating this article with too much scientific jargon – this is mostly due to the fact that you have to keep your balance. We’ve already established that you’re working with your own bodyweight against gravity. The way this is done with suspension training requires the activation of smaller stabilizer muscles. Many of which most people are wholly unaware of until the DOMS sets in. This brings me to another point from exercise science – most studies conclusively show that suspension training elicits greater muscle activation altogether, but this was most evident in the midsection. This includes the rectus abdominis, obliques, rectus femoris, and the serratus anterior.
Core development is probably the linchpin of functional fitness. So much so that over half of the conditioning exercises I’ve encountered in over a decade of study Chinese, Korean, and Okinawan/Japanese martial arts, were formulated to develop these aforementioned muscles specifically. As they are known to play a role in striking, grappling, and defense power and ability. Traditions that span over 1,500 years and at least 800 years, respectively. Chinese martial arts has survived many historical events and undergone many makeovers (a completely separate extremely nuanced discussion) yet these conditioning methods were essential enough to be maintained and preserved. As well as transmitted to and fused with methods indigenous to Okinawa, or even Southeast Asia in the case of Kuntao. These methods are also present in more contemporary traditional martial arts such as Hapkido and Yusul, for example. Combined with many of the stances you see in traditional martial arts, this is also how the center of gravity is conditioned, building another crucial piece of what the core actually is. So How is it Different From Ring Training
The first and most obvious difference between these two implements is the design. Rings are meant to be anchored equally but individually. This means each strap has its own anchor point. But the rings are to be at equal length and height and be equidistant to one another. Suspension trainers, on the other house, are connected to one anchor point at the apex of the apparatus. Thus, eliminating (for most suspension trainer setups) the possibility of performing staple ring strength progressions such as the diop or the pullup. Then there’s the obvious nomenclature. Gymnastic Rings come with a 170 year history. Two millennia if you count their humble origin as Roman Rings. This means it also comes complete as a discipline of gymnastics and will always require sport specific training to be used properly and effectively. To compare it to martial arts, you could think of ring training as internal gong fu. There is a breadth of knowledge to be explored within a rich tradition that is very nuanced. But respecting the process and progressing from the most fundamental principles to the most advanced technique has tremendous payoff from beginning to end. Suspension training, on the other hand, is like external gong fu. The forms are there but the focus is on martial applications and combat conditioning early on. If your goal is a more rapidly acquired improvement of strength, conditioning, and aesthetics – suspension training is better suited to your needs. On top of that, you can still practice movements such as the RTO Pushup or the Row, thus building a sturdy base and foundation for ring training down the road.
Okay, that was more of a little gratuitous analogy for those of my readers who are martial artists. A better comparison, and one I often use in training discourse, is that of Kettlebells and Barbells. More specifically, Kettlebell/Girevoy Sport Training and Olympic Lifting. There’s probably no greater developer of speed, power, and athleticism than Olympic Lifting. Research shows their relative strength to be on par with gymnasts’ and their speed and power to be on par with track and field athletes. Obviously this is at the pinnacle of the elite levels. The main barrier to entry when it comes to the practice of Oly Lifting is learning the technique and access to an adequate training environment. I’m one of those who were lucky enough to have weight training as an elective in high school. But even luckier in having a coach who focused on Oly Lifting more than powerlifting because of how technically involved it was. And because he believed it was superior for athletic development. I usually program Oly Lifts into my periodization for at least two separate blocks through out the year. Those of you who had a similar such privilege in their youth know the value of having less of a learning curve when it comes to this type of training. But for those who feel they’re too far in training age or simply don’t have the wherewithal to endure being a novice with barbells, kettlebells offer a formidable alternative. Will it produce the exact same results as Oly Lifting? No. But studies show it’s pretty close. There is a whole world of benefits to kettlebell training that I can’t get into right now. But the one I want to highlight is the WTF Effect. This refers to the phenomena whereby kettlebell training improves athleticism and performance in areas that have nothing to do with kettlebells. Many people sing praises of this after a trial run of kettlebell swings. Things get deeper the more you integrate kettlebells into your training. Suspension training has a similar phenomena. Because of the functional strength developed by the greater recruitment of muscle fibers – it is conducive to firing on all cylinders. This will see improvements in performance in other calisthenics disciplines, as well as training with free weights. To boot, it is probably the most fun you’ll have with metabolic conditioning. With what seems like an infinite array of movements and combinations at your disposal. When we look at the versatility of suspension training we’re truly getting into uncharted territory. I don’t think it necessarily reinvents the wheel, per se. But it does offer a completely new experience with variations and progressions of movements that are legitimately obscure in their application. For strength, progressions of ring movements provide an incredible base and a benchmark that will truly challenge you. Not only that, but you’ve got movements that are pretty much exclusive to suspension training – movements that you can’t safely or efficiently execute on rings. These include, for example, the suspended pushup, certain bridging variations and progressions, as well as lower body progressions such as the Suspended Squat. These completely neutralize the misconceptions of limited hypertrophy and strength progression, and dedicated isolation work with bodyweight training. Some of these movements, such as the Chest Press or the more intermediate/advanced rowing progressions, are best worked within the parameters of classical hypertrophy training. But there are progressions like the High Row, Suspended Pushup, and the various lower body movements that are perfect for conditioning work such as endurance training and MetCon. After gaining proficiency, of course. There are also movements that seem to actually be ideal for conditioning work. Lighter pushing and pulling movements, unique hinging movements and nearly all of the core movements qualify here. You can program some seriously fun, challenging, and effective conditioning sessions with Suspension Training. Okay, now let's get into the real reason you’re here – Functional Hypertrophy or Functional Bodybuilding. Functional Hypertrophy with Suspension Training is a no-brainer. Suspension Training is fertile soil for both functional hypertrophy as well as Bodyweight Bodybuilding. Remember that here at PrymaFit, functional simply means pragmatic. It’s training in a way that is practical. Doing what is most effective and efficient for improving performance. Hypertrophy means the same thing everywhere – increasing or growing muscles. It’s the enlargement of the tissue and fibers therein. Functional Hypertrophy, then, refers to hypertrophy training that enhances or contributes to athletic performance. For me, I aim to perform well in traditional martial arts for decades to come. But I’m also freerunning, performing stunts, and climbing to various extents throughout the year. I’m also doing these things with a vestibular disorder. So I include many movements that stimulate the vestibular system. So for me, using progressions such as the Hindu Pushup and Judo Pushup are functional hypertrophy. Yes, these progressions work your upper body in a tremendous way. But if it wasn’t for balance and other functions of the vestibular system, I would only be programming these movements for a couple blocks of periodization here and there. I will dedicate an entire article to Functional Hypertrophy, but I just wanted to give an example of how nuanced and individualized it is and should be. For someone who is not an athlete, not even as a hobbyist, functional hypertrophy is still the same. You’re training to increase or otherwise improve performance. Generally, this is regarded as myofribular hypertrophy or training the Type 2 muscle fibers. As opposed to sarcoplasmic hypertrophy or training the Type 1 muscle fibers. In layman's terms this pays more attention to strength and power, and not so much to endurance. It’s fairly more nuanced than that, but that’s the essentials. Type 2 muscle fibers contribute to longevity mainly due to helping prevent injury, as well as fortifying bone. There is also further metabolic benefit. Suspension training makes it difficult to train for hypertrophy in a way that’s not functional. This is because you have to initially build the strength necessary to execute suspension training movements properly before actually becoming proficient and really repping it out. This means that thoughtful programming will have you working those more classical set/rep/rest schemes for the progression of relative strength before you can ever approach something resembling bodybuilding or conditioning programming. The linear progression from the 3x5 of 5x5 style training to the more hypertrophy oriented 3x6-10 or 4x6-10 style training is a natural one. The final evolution of this being the gradual leap in volume to sets of 8-12 or 10-15. This can further be scaled and augmented in a few fundamental ways. These are mainly: the stability required to execute the movement, body positioning, and center of gravity. The stability required to execute a movement in suspension training can be scaled by changing the grip (hand position, handles used, etc) or by changing your stance or body position. Changing the latter can also augment the angle of push or pull, further scaling difficulty and intensity. And finally, you can augment the center of gravity – which is what I’m referring to in discussions about suspension training when I talk about how parallel you are to the ground. And this is further scaled by the length of the straps. Because the straps are perpendicular, the shorter you have the straps, the higher the center of gravity. That’s because the anchor point is the center of gravity of the suspension trainer itself. This is why you shouldn’t really try Ring Dips or Ring Pullups on a single-anchor suspension trainer. But when you’re using the straps, you add the weight and the center of gravity. So when you lengthen the straps you lower the center of gravity. But because that’s a lot to explain in a really technical way, most coaches just use terms like “parallel vs perpendicular” instead of diving into Newtonian Physics. After all, that would be an extremely long road to go down just to tell someone that they can use suspension training to open the door to drop sets and reverse pyramid training without going from progression to progression. However, there is still a world of progressions now open to you, with each movement branching off into a myriad of others. This allows the intermediate to advanced physical culturist to now open doors to bodyweight training progression that isn’t linear, such as the aforementioned training methods. You can then focus on strength and hypertrophy, power and endurance, etc. in the same block of periodization. Base Building
Now that I’ve made the case for suspension training it’s time to provide a Base Building template to show what building a proper foundation of strength looks like. The purpose of this program is to have the physical culturist that is new to suspension training build the strength and stability that will carry them through the expansive world of suspension training and successfully be able to focus on things like hypertrophy and conditioning down the line.
This template features a basic linear progression. With 3 sets of 5-8 reps and 3 minutes rest between sets. I recommend that you only use straight sets when it comes to this template. After you’ve run its course – which, in this case, would be doing the full sets for the full amount of reps without reaching failure or significant fatigue – you can begin to experiment with supersets and giant sets. Or you can simply move onto slightly more challenging movements. It’s the classic full body “A/B/A” set up and you can either keep it static or alternate, having the following week be “B/A/B”, and so on. As with many of my templates it’s plug and play and leaves you open to other activities, so if you have other physical pursuits – whether it’s BJJ, Taekwondo, or climbing – you can absolutely train those on full body days and especially on the days in between. Hypertrophy Template
This template is for those of you who already have a decent base with suspension training. It’s programmed like a classical bodybuilding template. This is mainly to show off the versatility of suspension training and the application of heavy compounds and isolation work. It combines suspension training with progressive calisthenics, so you’ll be using a pullup bar as well. This template will have you doing 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps for each movement. You can use straight sets or supersets. But I would hold off on the giant sets until you have absolutely no doubts about your proficiency. There is an even number of movements, so you can either use antagonist supersets (chest/back for example), or upper/lower supersets. I recommend between 2-3 minutes rest here. And as far as activity outside of this goes – I wouldn’t be doing heavy sparring or rolling, for example. Or, let’s say you’re a climber, I wouldn’t be doing anything with a ton of intensity on days that you’re also doing this. Unless you’re a freak when it comes to recovery, I recommend limiting other activities to skill work and moderate conditioning when starting out. Eventually this will be relatively easy to recover from.
Suspension Training Functional Hypertrophy TemplateFull Body A
Full Body B
Conclusion
Suspension Training is one of the most formidable training methods available for the improvement and development of functional fitness. It truly shines in the domains of relative strength and functional hypertrophy. As well as being a real wild card for conditioning and core training. While not as elite, so to speak, as Ring Training, it’s more than deserving of respect and distinction as a one of a kind training implement that can improve one’s strength, conditioning and aesthetics by leaps and bounds. I’ve gone over the how and the why behind this and have already created quite a bit of content that focuses on Suspension Training. I hope that this piece served to enlighten any physical culturists who may have been less informed about the topic. And demystify the methods that make this implement so great. Until next time.
Stay Prymal, Shredded Shaman.
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Shredded ShamanLifelong athlete and martial artist. I'm on a mission to bring back the good old days of Physical Culture and make this fit lifestyle a lot more enjoyable. Archives
October 2022
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