Homemade Suspension Trainers

About a month ago, a co-worker of mine brought in and showed me her TRX Suspension Trainer.  I had seen these things before, either from Drew Brees endorsements or infomercials.  I never really understood how they were used, or really how they could be an effective resistance trainer.  

Wait, it's just a bunch of straps???

I tried out a few "moves" on the TRX, and immediately knew I had found a new training toy...  and I wanted one BAD!  

I am all about convenience when working out.  This is probably one of the main reasons why I enjoyed P90X, don't severely dislike my trainer or treadmills, and can get a decent workout in from a DVD.  Suspension trainers, like the TRX, are a new addition to the "home gym" equipment world.  There are no weights, bars, balls, or resistance bands.  Just you and some straps.  And possibly a door or pull-up bar.

As soon as I got home, I checked out online the pricing for the TRX, and WAS BLOWN AWAY!  Needless to say, it was WAY out of my price range.  I was kinda bummed, but found out from ANOTHER co-worker ( I work with some very active and fit people) that making your own is a possibility.  Again, I ran home, and did a little research via google, and found out how!

I found several blog posts describing what you needed, how you built it, and how you could use it. Mainly, though, I followed one video:

I followed this video to a tee, using 3 truck tie downs, a piece of PVC pipe, and an old carabineer I had.  15 minutes later, I had a suspension trainer!  It's that easy!  Granted, there are some differences between my homemade version and the TRX, but I am able to do just about everything I can think of!  I attached my trainer to a over-the-door pull-up bar I have, mainly because I am scared to put it over a door.  But really, you can attach it to many different things.  Several videos I watched show people attaching it to trees, decks, basketball goals, their ceiling, etc.

Please excuse my dirty laundry...

I really like using this.  I have done 5 full body workouts with it, each lasting 45 minutes, and I have been DEAD after.  Because the suspension trainer is so incredibly versatile, I have been able to do LONG circuits on it, without much rest between exercises.  You can move between exercises in about 10 seconds, and that's only if you need to adjust the straps.

My first try at suspension training!

I will be posting my circuit routine in the coming days, and will try to get into the specifics of how you use it, and why this is such a great training tool for athletes!  

Thanks for reading!