If you’re new to suspension training, most workouts will teach you to mindlessly move through the exercises…
Not to mindfully build lean muscle and strength from them.
And THAT’s the massive difference in the results you will get.
Maybe you’ve got a suspension trainer already, or you’re about to get one, and you don’t want to just wing it…
You want to know you’re doing it right from day one, not guessing your way through reps that go nowhere.
That’s exactly what this TRX Workout Series is built for.
So after coaching over 8,000 busy men and women to build lean muscle with a suspension trainer (complete beginners included)…
…I’m going to give you the starting point I wish more people had…
In this post you’ll find:
- FORGE: a free 30-workout TRX beginner workout series, right here on this page, to forge a strong body.
- The key TRX exercises broken down with the ‘muscle-centric technique’ that actually builds lean muscle
- How to turn it into a routine you can stick to
Whether you’re brand new to suspension training or you’ve dabbled before, this is your foundation.
But first, you need to understand why the technique matters more than the exercise if you want great results…
Table Of Contents
Why a TRX works for building muscle (when used correctly)
Most people use a suspension trainer the way they’d do an aerobics class, mindlessly…
You push, you pull, you move your bodyweight around, work up a little sweat…
But never actually see any changes in the mirror.
That’s movement-centric suspension trainer technique…
And it’s what 99% of people (and most apps) teach.
The problem with that technique is that your bodyweight load is shared across multiple muscles…
So no single muscle is ever put under enough strain to get the “grow stronger” stimulus it needs to grow and adapt.
Take a TRX chest press for example…
Your chest is the target, but when you mindlessly just press forward (movement-centric)…
Your shoulders, triceps, back, and biceps are all helping out.
So your chest never receives a strong enough signal to grow.
Muscle-centric technique suspension trainer technique flips that….
By…
- controlling the angle…
- slowing the tempo…
- and deliberately squeezing the target muscle through a full range of motion…
…you shift the load onto one muscle at a time.
That muscle then gets properly overloaded, and a powerful ‘growth stimulus ‘ happens…
So your muscle develops and your body changes.
All while your joints stay safe because you’re loading the muscle in control, rather than swinging through the joint with momentum…
It’s the same principle behind time-under-tension training in the wider strength literature…
You’re simply using your own bodyweight and a strap to apply it, anywhere.
Now you understand the technique, next you’re ready for the workouts…
The FORGE follow-along workouts
FORGE is 30 full-body TRX workouts for beginners.
Every single one trains your whole body: back, legs, chest, shoulders, arms and core.
But no two workouts repeat the same combination of exercises, so your body keeps adapting instead of plateauing.
There’s no set order. Dive into whichever one you fancy, whenever you’ve got 35–40 minutes.
You can also grab the full YouTube Playlist here
Start here:
Workout 1: Build Full Body Strength in 40 Min TRX Workout – 39:49
Your welcome and introduction and first workout (make sure to do the warm-up below), I’ll walk you through the muscle-centric technique from scratch before your first full session.
6 Min Full Body Warm Up
Do this before every FORGE workout, it’s non-negotiable prep for loading your joints safely.
8 Min Full Body Cool Down
And this after, helps your recovery and keeps you consistent session to session.
Once you’re warmed up, work through the full library below.
Each one is a complete, standalone full-body session, pick any one and go:
You can also access the full YouTube Playlist for them all here.
Complete FORGE Workout Library
Workout 2: Build Full Body Strength in 40 Min TRX Workout – 39:49
Workout 3: Gain Muscle & Strength in 38 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 38:41
Workout 4: Develop Functional Strength in 37 Min TRX Full Body Workout 3- 7:25
Workout 5: Build Athletic Muscle in 35 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 35:50
Workout 6: Build Muscle & Strength in 35 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 34:48
Workout 7: Sculpt Lean Muscle in 37 Min TRX Workout – 37:26
Workout 8: Build Full Body Muscle in 38 Min TRX Workout – 38:14
Workout 9: Gain Lean Muscle & Strength in 39 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 9:15
Workout 10: Build Functional Muscle in 36 Min TRX Workout – 36:38
Workout 11: Build Lean Muscle in 34 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 33:54
Workout 12: Gain Muscle & Strength in 37 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 37:37
Workout 13: Build Muscle & Functional Strength in 38 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 38:10
Workout 14: Build Full Body Muscle in 40 Min TRX Workout – 42:32
Workout 15: Build Strength in 40 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 43:19
Workout 16: Sculpt Lean Muscle in 37 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 37:04
Workout 17: Build Full Body Muscle in 36 Min TRX Workout – 36:45
Workout 18: Gain Lean Muscle in 35 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 35:42
Workout 19: Build Muscle & Strength in 40 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 40:54
Workout 20: Build Full Body Strength in 38 Min TRX Workout – 38:46
Workout 21: Build Lean Muscle in 38 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 38:53
Workout 22: Sculpt Full Body Muscle in 37 Min TRX Workout – 37:06
Workout 23: Build Functional Muscle in 34 Min TRX Full Body Workout 3- 4:26
Workout 24: Build Full Body Strength in 40 Min TRX Workout – 40:33
Workout 25: Sculpt Lean Muscle in 35 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 35:29
Workout 26: Build Muscle in 38 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 38:55
Workout 27: Build Muscle & Strength in 33 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 33:21
Workout 28: Sculpt Full Body Muscle in 35 Min TRX Full Body Workout – 36:02
Workout 29: Build Full Body Lean Muscle in 36 Min TRX Workout – 36:27
Workout 30: Gain Muscle & Strength in 30 Min TRX Full Body Workout — FINALE – 32:56
The key exercises broken down
Every FORGE workout is built from the same family of exercises, done with muscle-centric technique.
Here are the ones you’ll come back to again and again…
TRX High Row (back)
- Set up with your feet shoulder-width and lean back into the straps.
- Drive your elbows up and out as you pull, and really squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top.
Common fault: letting the shoulders round forward and using bodyweight momentum instead of the squeeze to do the work.
Single-Leg Lunge (quads and glutes)
- One foot in the strap behind you, arms out for balance.
- Squeeze the working leg straight before you lower, then control the descent, track your knee over your toes.
Common fault: crashing into the bottom of the rep instead of lowering under control.
Push Up (chest)
- Whether you’re on your knees or in a full push-up in the straps, the technique is the same: push your hands together against the floor throughout the whole rep.
- That constant inward pressure is what isolates the chest rather than letting your shoulders and triceps take over.
Common fault: mindlessly pressing up and down without that squeeze, which turns it into a shoulder exercise.
Wide Squat (hamstrings and glutes)
- Feet wide, toes turned slightly out. Squeeze your hamstrings to pull your body down
- don’t just drop with gravity.
- Keep a slight bend in the knees at the top to keep tension on the hamstrings rather than the knees.
Common fault: straightening the legs fully at the top, which shifts the load onto the knee joint.
Y-Raise (mid-rear shoulders)
- Arms loose like hooks, shoulders centred, not too far forward, not too far back.
- The movement comes from your shoulder blades, not your arms.
- Squeeze hard at the top of the “Y.”
Common fault: yanking with the arms instead of driving the movement from the shoulders.
Close-Grip Press (triceps)
- Straps over your shoulders
- arms straight to start.
- Squeeze the triceps to push down, control the bend,
- then squeeze hard again at full extension.
Common fault: not squeezing hard at the bottom.
Hammer or Reverse Curl (biceps and forearm)
- Start at the top with the biceps already squeezed.
- Lower under control, but stop just before your arms fully straighten, this keeps tension on the muscle instead of losing it at the bottom.
Common fault: letting the arms hang loose between reps, which resets the tension every time.
TRX Crunch / Tuck (core)
- Feet in the straps
- Hands wide in a press-up position.
- Bring your knees to your chest and round your spine into a C-shape as you curl.
Common fault: keeping a flat back throughout, which turns it into a hip-flexor move rather than a core one.
You’ll notice a rhythm across every one of these:
- down for two seconds
- pause and stretch for two,
- squeeze back up for two.
That 2-2-2 tempo is the whole engine of muscle-centric technique…
It forces you to stay connected to the muscle instead of rushing through reps.
How to turn FORGE into a weekly routine
Because FORGE has no set order or blocks, building it into a routine is simple:
- Train 3–4 times a week, with at least one rest day between sessions so your muscles recover.
- Pick any workout from the library — go in order, or jump around. Since every session hits your whole body with a different combination of exercises, there’s no “wrong” one to choose.
- Always warm up first and cool down after, using the two videos above — this is what keeps your joints safe as you load them through a full range of motion.
- Rest 20–90 seconds between sets as shown in each video, and take longer if you need it — pause the video, there’s no rush.
- Once you’ve been through the library, simply start again. Because the emphasis is technique and mind-muscle connection rather than memorising a routine, you’ll get stronger and more connected to the muscle every time you repeat a workout.
How often, and who this is for
FORGE is a beginner-level series, which means it’s your foundation whether you’re brand new to suspension training or you’ve dabbled before without a clear system.
Three to four sessions a week is enough to see real change in strength and how your body feels…
You don’t need to train every day, and you don’t need any other equipment.
If you’re coming back from time off, or you’re not sure your form is right…
Slow everything down and focus purely on the squeeze rather than the rep count.
The technique matters far more than how many reps you do.
FAQ
Is TRX good for beginners?
Yes a suspension trainer lets you control exactly how much of your bodyweight you load, so you can make any exercise easier or harder just by changing your body angle. FORGE is built specifically for beginners for this reason.
How many times a week should a beginner do TRX?
3–4 full-body sessions a week, with rest days between, is a solid starting point for building strength and muscle without overtraining.
Do I need any experience to start FORGE?
No. The series is designed as a foundation the welcome video walks you through the muscle-centric technique from scratch before your first full workout.
How long are the FORGE workouts?
Most sessions run 33–43 minutes, including the exercises, sets and rest periods shown in the video.
What do I need besides a suspension trainer?
A door anchor or anchor point, and roughly the length of a yoga mat of space. That’s it, no gym, no extra kit.
Can a suspension trainer really build muscle, or is it just cardio?
With muscle-centric technique, yes, real muscle.
The difference is in how you use it: slow, controlled tension that isolates one muscle at a time builds strength and size the same way any resistance training does.
Members like Ben and Alfredo, both in their 40s, have built more muscle from a strap on a door with this technique than they did in a gym in their twenties.
Your next step: the free 7 Skills guide
If you’ve followed along with a workout or two above, you’ve already felt the difference muscle-centric technique makes….
The natural next step is learning the seven foundational skills that make every single FORGE exercise more effective…
Grab the free 7 Skills to Build Muscle with a Suspension Trainer guide below and I’ll send it straight to your inbox.
Get Your FREE Copy Of My ‘7 Skills To Build Muscle With A Suspension Trainer Handbook!’
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Once you’ve worked through a few FORGE sessions and want a structured, progressive plan rather than a library to dip in and out of…
Take a look at my Suspension Trainer Total Body Transformation Programs.
It builds on everything in this series with a proper beginner-to-advanced progression.
Here’s to your Fitness Freedom!
Coach Adam, aka TRX Traveller
Founder, Fitness Freedom Athletes
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