The 30-second article
• The versatility and portability of
suspension training apparatus has
made it very popular among PTs who
can train clients with it both indoors
and outdoors
• Studies using EMG have found mixed
but generally favourable results with
regards muscle activation,
particularly in the trunk and torso
• Evidence suggests that suspension
training may help people with low back
pain by causing thicker contraction of
some abdominal muscles
• Results show that while suspension
training elicits a degree of cardio
benefit, it is not highly effective in
this area of fitness.
have a very real place in research, and as
long as you understand the limitations of
this type of research you will still find value
in reading these types of studies.
Many studies have utilised EMG
techniques with suspension training. Nearly
all studies have shown that when comparing
the use of a suspension training system to
traditional exercises, there is increased
surface muscle EMG activity, especially of
the trunk or torso muscles to support the
unstable nature of the activity. This has been
shown frequently in the following research:
• Comparing suspension push ups to
normal push ups; McGill et al. 2014
• Comparing EMG of Rectus Abdominis
across different exercises; Snarr et al.
2013
• Comparing EMG in inverted rows with
and without suspension devices; Snarr
and Esco 2013
• EMG of plank variations; Snarr and Esco
2014
• Core muscle activity during suspension
exercises; Mok et al. 2014
It would be easy to take this to infer that
suspension training exercises are more
effective
than
non-suspension-based
activities. However, a word of caution on
the generalisation of such studies and use
of EMG data: science still lacks consensus
regarding a precise methodology that can
be widely used to quantify muscle strength
based on EMG. In fact, very few EMG studies
actually measure muscle force output,
instead simply reporting the EMG activity
and comparing amplitude of the signals.
Further, the effect of gravity and the effects
of joint stiffness are also ignored, and these
can be significant.
The evidence does support the use of
suspension training to activate muscles of the trunk and torso in
developing increased tension of this area, and to offer variety of
exercises outside of the traditional approach to core training. Further,
through the use of the unstable environment, research has shown
that these muscles are more active during suspension training when
compared to traditional forms of the same exercises. Evidence does
suggest that to develop increased strength, traditional methods of
strength training are superior, but in my opinion suspension training
may be a great tool for simply adding variety or working clients who
do not have elite strength-based goals.
Effect on low back pain
A number of interesting studies have used subjects with low back pain
to compare the changes in thickness of the transverse abdominis
after performing exercises both in suspension equipment and on
stable surfaces. Very few studies included long term interventions,
so it’s hard to determine the effect of such a program outside of the
single session period used across most studies, which were often
contradictory to each other.
Guthrie et al (2012) found that neither traditional- nor suspensionexercise-bridge progression has an immediate clinical effect on
external oblique (EO), internal oblique (IO), or transverse abdominis
(TrA) activation immediately after a single exercise intervention. Saliba
et al (2010) showed the suspension exercise progression resulted
in higher TrA activation during exercise than the traditional-bridging
exercise. Min Yong Eom concluded that bridging exercises on a
sling support surface would increase the thickness of the transverse
abdominis and lower extremity muscle activities in rehabilitation
programs for patients with back pain, due to the increased thickness
of TrA contraction recorded in a single session of suspension training.
Overall this is still a relatively poorly supported field of study, and
while current evidence suggests use of suspension training may
cause thicker contraction of some abdominal muscles, the effect of
long term use has not been ve &