THE QUICK READ
• Healthy male and female volunteers
undertook a suspension training
program, either alone at home or
supervised
• Each group completed eight weeks
of nine suspension training
exercises, twice weekly, which
targeted all of the major muscle
groups
• Body composition was assessed
via BodPod and functional
movement was assessed via the
functional movement screen (FMS)
• Both groups increased their lean
mass by similar amounts (i.e., +0.9
kg) over the course of the 8 weeks
and although both groups improved
their FMS scores, only the
supervised exercise group did so
significantly.
to conserve leg strength – no point fatiguing
them climbing stairs (even after a workout,
as recovery started as soon as the last rep
was completed!).
Now, despite having a very muscular
upper body, Paul had no leg mass, so we
bagged the hell out of him about his lack
of strength. Eventually, his patience grew
thin and he invited us up to his domain for
a demonstration. Suffice to say, it was a
very steep learning curve. To this day, no
lie, I remember him showing me an inverted
iron cross on the rings (click here to check
out what this is if you aren’t familiar with it).
I had never even seen a regular iron cross in
gymnastics before, let alone an inverted one,
but hey, I was an elite lifter and a heck of a
lot stronger (this is being very modest) than
Paul, so how hard could it really be? Feeling
confident, I gave it a go... Fool be me!
On the plus side, I quickly realised that
bodyweight training did significantly benefit
muscular strength and endurance. As a side
point, Paul also showed me how to do ‘high
bar giants’ (again, click here to check out
what this is if you aren’t familiar with it). I
peeled off the high bar in the blink of an eye
and hit the mat full force on my back. Yes,
it was karma (and I’m lucky I didn’t damage
my spine.)
Suspension training has been around for
a very long time, with documented evidence
dating back to at least the 1800s. The
modern style of suspension training, familiar
to most personal trainers, was popularised
in the mid 2000’s, when total resistance
exercise (referred to as TRX) started,
invented by a US Navy Seal. (Click here to
listen to an episode of The Fitness Industry
Podcast in which Fraser Quelch chats about
the origins and evolution of TRX).
TRX was a type of suspension training
equipment that used only body weight to
develop muscular strength and muscular
endurance. The TRX principle of training is
simple, utilising gravity from body weight to
develop resistance using only non-elastic
bands. It is a great principle, and convenient
too, as suspension training requires very
little space and the suspension straps are
relatively cost effective at $100 to $200 a
set for good quality heavy duty equipment
(cheaper versions for $20 or so should
probably be avoided due to the potential for
injury in case of equipment failure).
Due to its portability and small footprint,
suspension equipment can be used in gyms,
studios, exercise classes and CrossFit
facilities, as well as outside or – aptly in
these times of increased home workouts
– inside the home, garage, basement
or balcony. Best of all, there are almost
limitless exercises that you can complete
with suspension training: upper body, lower
body, back, abs/core…
Long term readers of Network may recall
us previously reviewing a research article
that measured heart rate, blood pressure
and blood lactate during suspension
training. There is limited research relevant
to the fitness or strength and conditioning
fields investigating the effectiveness (i.e.
efficacy) of suspension training on body
composition and functional movement,
making Dr Kullman and colleagues’ paper of
particular interest.
In this study, healthy male and female
volunteers with no history of resistance
training were randomised to either a homebased
or supervised training group. Each
group completed eight weeks of nine
suspension training exercises (3 sets x 10 to
30 reps), two times per week, which targeted
all of the major muscle groups. The homebased
group did receive two supervised
sessions initially to become familiar with
the exercises and to learn how to use good
technique. The exercises included row,
hack squat, bicep curl, chest press, tricep
extension, Y-fly, lunge, hamstring curl and
side plank.
Body composition was assessed via
BodPod and functional movement was
assessed via the functional movement
screen (FMS). The FMS is designed to
identify any imbalances or asymmetries in
either mobility or stability during movement
patterns, which includes a deep squat, hurdle
46 | NETWORK WINTER 2020