10 Minute TRX Workout For Back And Core
Follow Along Bodyweight TRX Partner Workout
On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, we’re doing a follow along bodyweight 10 minute TRX workout for back and core.
TRX suspension training is a great way to build strength and core stability, using just your bodyweight.
Finding the right exercises to target your back muscles during home bodyweight workouts can be challenging.
If you struggle with this issue, TRX suspension training straps can be your best friend.
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Let’s get into the workout.
10 Minute TRX Workout For Back And Core
You can complete this TRX workout on your own, or complete it as a couples workout with your husband, wife, or friend.
Here’s how this 10 minute TRX workout for back and core is structured.
Duration Of The Workout:
- 10 minutes
Since this is only a 10 minute workout, you have to hit every exercise hard and give it your all.
Workout Goals:
This bodyweight workout consists of 5 back exercises and 1 core exercise to strengthen the muscles in your back and core.
Required Equipment:
- TRX suspension trainer
- Optional: here’s a link to the tabata interval timer to keep track of the timed sets.
Workout Instructions:
During this TRX back and core workout, you’ll complete 5 different TRX back exercises for 1 set each, followed by a TRX forearm plank.
In addition to hitting your back muscles with these exercises, you will also hitting your core and glutes, as well.
Therefore, you could classify these as total body exercises.
If you are completing this as a couples workout, while one person completes the 40 second back exercise on the TRX, the other person will complete a 40 second TRX forearm plank.
If you only have access to one TRX, the other person can complete the forearm plank on the floor
After the 40 second set is up, the person who completed the back exercise will move to the forearm plank, and the other person will complete the back exercise.
Continue to rotate back and forth throughout the workout.
Trust me, the planks with the TRX are no joke, so get ready for this workout to really work your core and back.
10 Minute TRX Workout For Back And Core
To learn the exercises, click the links below for step-by-step exercise demonstrations.
Set your interval timer for:
- 40 seconds of work per set
- 20 seconds of rest to recover
The 20 second rest period is just enough time to move from one position to the other.
Once you are ready to go, push the start button on your interval timer.
Let’s get to work.
A1. TRX Face Pull
The first exercise is the TRX face pull.
- Reps: 40 seconds
- Rest: 20 seconds
- Sets: 1
- Tempo: 2011
The TRX face pull is a bodyweight exercise that strengthens the rotator cuff muscles, as well as the upper back, and rear deltoids on the back of the shoulders.
To get started:
- While facing the TRX anchor point, hold the TRX handles with an overhand grip.
- Lean back with your arms fully extended, while contracting your core and glutes to maintain a straight line with your body.
- Positioning your feet closer to the TRX anchor will place your body at a greater angle, thus making the move more difficult.
- To make it easier, position your feet further away from the TRX anchor, thus making you more upright.
- While keeping your hands at face level, pull your body up towards the handles by bending and flaring your elbows out as you externally rotate your shoulders to create a close to 90 degree angle with your elbows.
- Contract your upper back muscles as you pull yourself towards the handles.
- At the end of the movement, your hands should be close to in alignment with your eyes.
- Pause at the top as you retract and squeeze your shoulder blades together
- Under control, slowly extend your arms to lower your body back down to the starting position, while ensuring your body remains in a straight line.
- After completing 40 seconds of reps, take a 20 second rest while switching positions to the TRX forearm plank.
TRX Face Pull Coaching Cues:
- Since the TRX is anchored to a door or into the ceiling, the greater the angle of your body, the more difficult it will be.
- When coming up into the face pull, contract the muscles in your back as much as possible.
- At the top, pause to squeeze your shoulder blades together, with the goal of getting every single inch of the full range of motion.
- To keep your body in a straight line, focus on pulling your shoulders back, contract your core, and turn on your glutes.
Beginner Variation: TRX High Row
Partner: TRX Forearm Plank
The TRX forearm plank is an isometric core strengthening exercise that creates more instability as your feet are hanging rather than planted into the floor.
After completing every TRX back exercise, rest 20 seconds, then complete 1 set of the TRX forearm plank.
- Reps: 40 seconds
- Rest: 20 seconds
- Sets: 5
Before the timer starts, make sure you already have your feet in the TRX cradles.
TRX Forearm Plank Coaching Cues:
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- With the TRX set to a low length, kneel down on the floor facing away from the TRX.
- Bend your knees and place both feet into each TRX strap cradle with the top of your feet pressing on the bottom of the cradles.
- Walk your hands out to extend your body, then get into a plank position by bending your elbows and and planting your forearms into the floor, with your elbows directly below your shoulders.
- Once you’re in the forearm plank position, your body should be in a straight line from your feet to your head.
- If you notice your hips are sagging or your butt is higher in the air, make sure you’re contracting your abs as if you’re bracing for someone to punch you in the stomach, as well as turning on and contracting your glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings.
- When your glutes are loose and easy, your hips will drop.
- Focus on pressing your forearms into the ground to turn your body into a straight line like a board.
- Hold this position for 40 seconds.
Notes:
- It’s ok if your legs are lightly swaying back and forth, however make sure you are keeping your core, hamstrings, and quadriceps contracted to help keep your legs in place.
- While you hold this movement for 40 seconds, it will feel so good on your abs, however you will eventually begin to feel a burning sensation in your abs, but don’t worry, it is a good sensation, so keep it going.
- If 40 seconds sounds like a long and boring time to hold a plank, I like to think about happy thoughts to take my mind elsewhere.
- Think about sports, lunch, dinner, how fit you will be, or anything else that will stop you from thinking about how your abs and core are screaming at you.
- Remember, since this is a short workout, you need to challenge yourself, so go max effort and intensity.
- Once the 40 second buzzer goes off, take your feet out of the TRX foot cradle loops, then switch it up to the next exercise.
Beginner Variation: Forearm plank
- If you can’t hold it for the entire 40 seconds, you can take your feet out of the TRX strap cradles and go into a traditional forearm plank on the floor.
- You can also break up the 40 seconds into smaller mini sets.
- Drop down to your knees, take a mini rest, then get back into it.
- Remember, it’s better to modify the exercise rather than quitting the workout.
- Make the workout work for you.
A2. TRX Mid Row
The next exercise is the TRX Mid Row to target the muscles in the middle of the back.
- Reps: 40 seconds
- Rest: 20 seconds
- Sets: 1
- Tempo: 2011
To get started:
- While facing the TRX anchor point, hold the TRX handles with an overhand pronated palms facing down grip, then lean back with your arms fully extended.
- Moving your feet closer to the anchor point on the door or ceiling, will put your body at a greater incline, thus making the move more challenging.
- Contract your back muscles, bend your elbows, and rotate your arms to a palms in neutral grip as you pull your body back up, with your hands coming to the outside of your chest,
- Pause at the top to squeeze your back muscles, then under control, slowly extend your arms as your lower your body back down.
- Make sure you keep your glutes up and tight to ensure your glutes don’t sag.
- After completing 40 seconds of reps, take a 20 second rest while switching positions to the TRX forearm plank.
Partner: TRX Forearm Plank
A3. TRX Arm Sweeps
I used to call TRX Arm Sweeps the TRX half jack, since the arms follow a similar motion as the jumping jack.
- Reps: 40 seconds
- Rest: 20 seconds
- Sets: 1
- Tempo: 2020
To get started:
- Face away from the TRX anchor point, while holding the handles with an overhead grip.
- With a slight forward lean, extend your arms overhead, then in a slow wide arc, lower them back down to your sides.
- Your arms should follow the same motion as the top half of a jumping jack, without the jumping.
- As your arms slowly come up and down, focus on contracting your lat muscles, while keeping your core turned on to maintain a flat body.
- To feel the tension, focus on slow wide arcs.
- Do not raise and lower your arms in a fast motion.
- Since your weight is leaning forward, your abs and glute muscles have to be turned on and working hard to keep your body as straight as a board.
- This movement is harder than it looks.
- After completing 40 seconds of reps, take a 20 second rest while switching positions to the TRX forearm plank.
A4. TRX Y And T Raise
Now we are moving on to one of my favorite style of back exercises that you don’t see a lot of people doing.
This is called the TRX Y And T Raise.
- Reps: 40 seconds
- Rest: 20 seconds
- Sets: 1
- Tempo: 2011
To get started:
- While facing the TRX anchor point, hold the TRX handles with an overhand grip, then lean back with your arms fully extended, core contracted, and glutes turned on.
- Keeping your body in a straight line, squeeze your shoulder blades together to raise your extended arms up overhead to form the letter Y with your body.
- Pause at the top to contract your back muscles, then under control slowly lower your extended arms back in front of your body.
- This time, squeeze your shoulder blades together and extend your arms out to the sides to form the letter T with your body.
- Pause to contract your back muscles, then under control slowly bring your extended arms back in front of your body.
- Under control, slowly complete each Y and T with a full range of motion.
- Your back muscles will be screaming at you, but it’s going to feel good.
- After completing 40 seconds of reps, take a 20 second rest while switching positions to the TRX forearm plank.
A5. Standing TRX Pulldown
The last back exercise is the standing TRX pulldown, which is a beginner variation of the TRX pulldown.
- Reps: 40 seconds
- Rest: 20 seconds
- Sets: 1
- Tempo: 2011
Since we’re standing, it removes the weight of your body from the exercise, thus it is very important to focus on contracting your back muscles and squeezing your shoulder blades together at the bottom of the movement.
To get started:
- Face away from the TRX anchor point, while holding the handles with an overhand grip.
- With a slight forward lean, with your glutes and core turned on, extend your arms overhead, then pull your elbows out and down similar to the movement when completing a wide grip lat pulldown, then press back up.
- Since your body is angled, it creates tension in your lat muscles, even though you are not lifting your bodyweight.
- This movement is all about focusing on squeezing your shoulder blades together.
- Don’t just loosely go through the motion, with no tension in the muscles.
- It’s important to be contracting hard, in a slow and controlled tempo.
- Repeat for reps.
- At this point, you should be feeling your lats exploding.
Welcome To Gainzville
That’s what I’m talking about.
That was your 10 minute workout using the TRX suspension straps.
A few more seconds of that final TRX forearm plank and I was done.
If you like to workout at home, or you can’t get out to the gym, put this 10 minute workout to the test.
It’s going to crush the muscles in your back, while hitting your abs, as well as your full total body.
That’s the great thing about suspension training.
If you want to get a TRX for your home, here’s a link to get your own TRX suspension trainer.
Then come back, hit play on this follow along workout, and train with us for every single rep.
More TRX Workouts:
Here’s a few other TRX workouts:
- 10 Minute TRX Suspension Training Workout For Abs
- 15 Minute TRX Training Workout For Beginners
- Other TRX exercises
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Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.