late

I have had the TRX for a couple weeks now.

At first I didn't like it. For one thing it smelled awful.
It's better but I still leave it in the garage.

I can't get the angles I want in the house.

I prefer exercising in the house, esp. in the winter.

But... I've ordered an extension strap so I can use it in the garage.
It's a lot easier to get steep angles with an overhead attachment.

so the negatives, it's expensive. It is pretty limited, you're better off
to do a lot of exercises a different way.

but where it's good, it's very good.

Small changes in angle provide good increases in weight. It's terrific
for working the upper torso. You can mover like you are throwing a bag over your shoulder. Or swinging your body around the handles against gravity.

It's easier on my shoulders than most hard shoulder exercises. I can't bench any more, but I can do a push up with this.

So I like it.

I can imagine most wouldn't, doubly so for cyclists..

You can find videos of TRX exercises on Youtube.
Compare them with the exercises at PerformanceU on Youtube.
For most of us, traditional lifts like the squat or deadlift, or modern variants
of the sort you can find at PerformanceU are going to be significantly better
for legs and butt than TRX.

They also imply it's good for shoulder therapy exercises. It's not.
If you need those exercises, your shoulder is compromised, and body weight is
too much. Use resistance bands. If you don't need shoulder therapy, you don't really need the
therapeutic exercises. You can do the regular ones.

It's very good for arms and core. It's especially good for
working the torso in a number of ways. I like that a lot, it's adding some
muscle in my shoulders.

It's definitely a niche product.

thenomad

Made my own for $25
Got my money's worth and some. Seems ok for some exersises, worth having as a tool to "mix it up" with core work.
I do think there are some things that you can do on it that may overtax the smaller stabilizers if you are not ready for it. Seems like you need to have a good "feel" for what is the right position.

Just grabbing and going to town on it may be bad for some people.

Dave P

My trainer puts me on the TRX every now and then. I really don't like the thing. It's very easy to injure one's self if not extremely careful.

Of course, it's all subjective.

Dave

late

I think it's easier on you than free weights, especially bench presses.

I've got it out in the garage now, hanging off a beam.

My shoulders have been a little sore, but not as bad as when I go to the gym.

And yes, it puts an intense load on some of the core muscles.

Eventually I need to work out a plan for the winter exercising. But at the moment,
I'm just having fun. Nice to see my musckles getting bigger again. I'm one of those guys
where it's like sticking a pin in a balloon when I stop working out.