The TRX muscle up is an advanced bodyweight exercise that combines elements of both a traditional muscle up and the use of TRX suspension straps. This exercise primarily targets the upper body muscles, particularly the chest, shoulders, back, and triceps. It's an effective way to build strength, improve stability, and enhance overall muscle coordination.
To make the exercise more accessible to beginners, we also introduce a modified TRX muscle up that is less challenging than the standard form, and from there we proceed to the original form.
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TRX Muscle Up Prep
Since the TRX muscle up requires considerable strength, you’ll want to prepare properly before attempting it. Make sure you can confidently perform regular TRX pull ups with proper form first. Work on building your pulling strength by doing TRX back exercises, TRX pull-ups, and lat pull downs. TRX dip is the second part of this move that you should master before attempting for TRX muscle up.
Although we can do TRX muscle up with both single anchor and double anchor points, double anchor point is more convenient for this movement. Alternatively, we can use gymnastic rings.
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How to Do a TRX Muscle Up?
- Initial Pull: Initiate the movement by pulling your body upward, bending your elbows, and bringing your chest towards the handles.
- Transition Phase: As you reach the top of the pull, use your momentum to transition your body from being underneath the straps to being on top of them. This involves a simultaneous motion of pushing the handles down and getting your chest above the handles.
- Dip and Push: Once you're on top of the straps, perform a dip by engaging triceps and taking your body upwards. Push through your arms to extend your elbows and lift your body higher.
- Lowering Phase: Reverse the movement by bending your elbows and lowering your body back down, controlled and with proper form.
As explained before, take your time to practice the different stages of the movement, especially TRX pull ups and dip. As you build strength and coordination, work on putting it all together into one smooth muscle up. Stay focused on technique, and you'll be conquering muscle ups in no time!
Modified TRX Muscle up
The modified TRX muscle up is a variation of the traditional TRX strap muscle up that is designed to provide a slightly less intense yet effective workout for individuals who are working on building their upper body strength and technique. This exercise targets similar muscle groups as the standard TRX muscle up, including the chest, shoulders, back, and triceps, but with a focus on controlled movement and gradual progression.
Modified TRX muscle up is a two-step process, and we always keep feet on the floor.
TRX lat pull-down– The TRX lat pull-down is a variation that makes the standard pull-up more accessible. With this modification, your feet are placed on the floor rather than dangling. This decreases the amount of bodyweight you have to lift, taking pressure off the pulling muscles. Pushing through the feet can further aid the movement. Because it reduces resistance, the TRX seated pull-up is also referred to as an assisted pull-up.
TRX tricep press down- To perform the TRX press down, place your body in an inclined position. Start with elbows bent and body leaned back. Then, extend your elbows and move your body forward into a straight position.
Now combine the two movements and perform the modified TRX muscle up smoothly. We can use intelligent weight techniques in this exercise to adjust the level of difficulty. For example, by adjusting the assistance of feet or by lifting one foot off the ground.
Related: TRX Front Lever Progression.
