Single Arm Suspension Row | Manhattan Personal Trainer

I’m a huge fan of the inverted row, a very underrated exercise that pretty much everyone should be doing. The inverted row hits the upper back but more importantly challenges the stability of scapula (the wing bone). This simply means that developing scapula stability can help with shoulder issues and upper back tightness.

Single Arm Suspension Row (TRX)

Some of you maybe saying, egh, been there done that. Well to up the ante, lets switch to the “Single Arm Suspension (TRX) Row”.

This one exercise can develop your upper back strength, symmetrical strength between your left and right arms and upper back, scapula stability, quadratus lumborum (helps stabilize the back- great to strengthen for those with lower back issues) Single Arm Suspension Row (TRX) , abs, and so on.

As a coach, using an exercise that can hit a multitude of different muscles in one, is a big win! I’m also a huge fan of exercises that really challenge the trunk/core and coordination of the athlete.

How to:

Simply lengthen the suspension rope to whatever length you feel comfortable with. Just a hint, the more slack there is the more difficult it is. The shorter the rope the higher you are = easier. I’d suggest to start higher and then work your way down.

Once you’re set up, all you need to do is grip both the handles, create tension on the suspension (TRX), lean back, and walk your feet forward. Slowly lower yourself down in a stable position, once you’re in the bottom make sure to keep your shoulder blades back, abs tight, and then pull up 🙂

Things to Watch Out For:

Fast Descent

With any inverted row variation you should make sure to slowly lower your self down. I’ve seen a lot of just drop on the descent, however this can potentially cause you to protract and aggravate the shoulder a bit. Make sure to have a nice slow descent and keep your shoulder blades back.

Hip Swing

If it’s a little too difficult, you may find yourself or the athlete to start lowering down their hip or swing their hip to help with the pull up. Generally speaking, you’ll want to make sure that the shoulder and hips are in one straight line, otherwise you may place undue stress on the lower back. To counter this, simply shorten the suspension to raise your body up a bit higher = easier.

Rotation

The single arm suspension row can be a bit difficult for some, so if you start to see yourself or the athlete rotating or showing lack of stability then it’s time either increase the heigh or revert back to the regular inverted row. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a step back, however it’s a terrible idea to keep attempting an advanced maneuver that you may not be prepared. This can easily lead to an injury due to the compensation pattern developed to complete a repetition.

Stable Footing

Your foot placement plays an important role with the inverted row since that’s basically your anchor. Make sure to clear the area of any type of dirt or debris. If the floor is still slippery you can place a heavy dumbbell, plate, or use a friends foot as the anchor.

Programming

The single arm suspension row is great for those that do a lot of weights, so switching to calisthenic work can be a great change of pace. For general strength or fitness we generally add them in for higher reps or part of a series.

Examples: