3 TRX Exercises That Finally Built My Legs (After Years of Trying)

I’ve had chicken legs for years…

Then three TRX exercises changed that…

If you’ve been doing all the exercises and your legs still aren’t growing, it’s not the effort that’s the problem…

So in this post, I’m going to show you:

1. The exact 3 TRX exercises that built my legs
2. Why they worked when others didn’t
3. Exactly how to do them for real leg muscle growth

Let’s start with the quads, because on paper, mine should’ve already been big.

Don’t have time to read the post in full? Then watch the video below to learn the 3 TRX exercises that finally built my legs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee_tkhsQEe8

TRX Exercises for the Quads (Front Thigh)

For years, my go-to quad exercises were narrow squats and pistol squats.

My quads looked defined when I was lean, the separation was there, and my athletic performance was good.

But I could never get them bigger and thicker overall.

And when i dug into the science, I figured out why…

Narrow squats have a depth limit, so the quad muscles never get into a deep stretch where the real muscle growth happens.

And pistol squats are an impressive movement,

But the deeper you get the more they become about balance, which brings in your hamstrings and glutes to compensate…

So the load gets shared rather than maxing out the quads through isolation.

So I swapped them for two exercises that load the quad exactly where it grows.

And I do them back-to-back as a superset…

TRX Leg Exercise 1 (Quads)

The first one was the reverse lunge but on a step, which is key.

Raising the front foot gives you more range through the hip and knee…

So the quad gets loaded in a deeper, stretched position, exactly where the growth is.

And here’s how I do every rep for maximum effectiveness…

1. Slowly over 4 seconds and tap your knee to the floor…
2. Then squeeze the quads hard and drive up powerfully through the front heel…
3. And squeeze the quads extra hard at the top, holding it for two seconds…
4. That’s what keeps the tension on the muscle instead of just going through the motion.

Then I go straight into this next exercise to finish the quads off and get a bonus activation on the hamstrings…

TRX Leg Exercise 2 (Quads)

With your back foot elevated, you can get into a much deeper position…

Which gives an even bigger loaded stretch right where the growth happens.

This one’s known as a Bulgarian split squat or front lunge variation.

Now here’s that bonus activation I mentioned…

Your hamstrings have to work hard to control the descent and help stabilise the knee and hip…

And if you pause down there, they’re held under tension in a lengthened position.

So while the quads are the main target, the hamstrings are getting a genuine growth stimulus too.

Then drive up through the heel and squeeze the quad really hard again at the top.

I do these two back to back no rest, so the quads are already pre-exhausted going into the second move.

That’s where the real burn kicks in.

But if you’re just starting out, I’d keep it to only one of these exercises per workout first.

Build your technique and strength up before pairing them or using a weighted vest,

Start with 8-10 reps on the first, then if you superset straight into the second, 4-8 is plenty…

Your legs will already be on fire.

A lot of getting this right comes down to core skills like muscular endurance and stability;

…I’ve put the 7 that matter most in my free suspension training handbook below.

Now onto hamstrings…

TRX Exercise for the Hamstrings (Back Thigh)

Those split squats hit them harder than you’d think, I’ll prove that to you in a minute.

But it isn’t enough on its own.

To actually grow them, you need one move of real isolated hamstring work…

and I used to get this completely wrong…

You see, I had three exercises doing my hamstring work

• Wide squats with a hamstring-focused squeeze
• Straight-leg hip hinges with a deep paused stretch
• And hamstring curls.

They built great mobility and performance.

But the size never came.

Here’s the problem with spreading it across three moves like that…

The wide squats spread the tension across my glutes and quads too, as a shared load

no matter how much I tried to limit it with technique and the squeeze.

And the straight-leg hinge is a hip-extension pattern, which means the glutes and spinal erectors take a lot of the work.

So I cut those two out and put all that volume into the one move that hits the hamstrings most directly…

The hamstring curl…

And here’s why it’s the most direct hamstring exercise you can do for growth…

TRX Leg Exercise 3 (Hamstrings)

It’s the only move that directly trains their main job: Bending the knee.

BUT under continuous tension.

So the load is isolated directly onto the hamstring muscle, with nothing else sharing the load.

Here’s how I do them for maximum effectiveness.

1. With your hips raised, squeeze your hamstrings super had to slowly pull your heels toward your glutes
2. Pause at the top for two seconds and squeeze even harder.
3. Now this is the bit most people get wrong…
4. Go even slower on the way back down BUT stop just before your legs straighten.

Don’t lock out and rest, because you’ll lose all tension on the hamstring muscle.

Continuous tension is the number one driver of muscle growth.

Here’s the crazy part…

The Pre-Exhaustion Benefit

 If I do these curls fresh, I can hit about 12 reps.

But if I do them after the Bulgarian split squats, I can only manage 6.

Which proves the hamstrings are getting real work from the split squats

Once you’ve got these three locked in and you want to push hamstring development even further down the line…

Progressing Your TRX Leg Training

That’s when you add the hinge back in as a fourth…

Curls and hinges complement each other

• The curl hits knee flexion
• The hinge hits hip extension

So together they cover the hamstring’s full job.

But that’s an upgrade for later.

Right now, these three are what grow them

And Everything I just showed you:

• the slow tempo
• the constant tension
• the squeeze at the top

… those aren’t just cues, they’re skills.

And they’re all in the handbook below…

So there are the three moves that finally built my legs

But legs are only one piece of a body that looks and performs great.

The thing that actually makes you look athletic, with or without a shirt, is that V-shape taper on your back…

So checkout this post next, and I’ll show you the only two TRX exercises you need for a wide back…

…and exactly why your current exercises aren’t building it.

Here’s to your Fitness Freedom.

Coach Adam
aka TRX Traveller
Founder, Fitness Freedom Athletes