TRX/Martial Arts Functional Workout

A Functional Workout comprised of suspension trainer exercises and kickboxing moves on the heavy bag for Endurance, Power, Strength, and Mobility

Introduction

Welcome to our TRX/Martial Arts Functional Workout. This functional workout is combined with martial arts drills from boxing and Muay Thai. Suspension training and martial arts on the heavy bag may seem like an odd combination. I began to incorporate suspension training into my weekly workouts as I find they can target areas of my muscles that weights cannot. With regards to heavy bag-work, I have found it useful for helping get rid of lactic acid build-up post heavy lifting. Furthermore combining the two makes for a great HIIT conditioning workout.

I have chosen 16 Exercises for the TRX/Martial Arts Functional Workout. 8 TRX and 8 from kickboxing to challenge your mobility, muscular strength, core stability, and coordination. Personally, with this type of workout, I like to go straight through the four rounds with little rest, perhaps 30 seconds between rounds. However, I have staged it below to help make it more accessible for those new to this type of training. I hope you enjoy it.

The Stations

To assist with the exercises found in the TRX/Martial Arts Functional Workout, I have described the various stations below. The actual complete workout is found below them.

Station 1:

Front kicks (Teep kicks) on the bag for 1 minute.

Push up on the balls of your post foot.
Bring your front knee to your chest/shoulder.
Thrust out your front leg towards the bag.
Drive the hips forward to power the kick, you may also ’skip’ forward on your back leg to add power.
Return the front foot back to its start position.
Guard up to protect your face.

Station 2:

Suspension trainer chest press.

Face away from the TRX anchor with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Grab the handles with an overhand grip and extend arms in front of you at shoulder height.
Lean forward so that your body is at a 45-degree angle to the anchor and the floor.
Bend your elbows and lower your chest until it is in line with your hands.
Engage your chest and arms to push yourself back up to the start position.

Station 3:

Uppercuts to the bag for 1 minute.

Bend your legs and slightly dip your shoulders to generate power.
Explode up with your legs. Your power comes from your legs, not your arms!
Slightly pivot using the same side leg of the arm is throwing the uppercut with.
Don’t drop your hand too low to power the blow. The movement will do the damage, taking your fist too far from your chin leaves you open.
Deliver the blow aiming for the ‘chin’ or ‘body’ of the punchbag using hips and legs to drive the punch.
Return to the fighter’s stance and bring your fist back to guard your face.

Station 4:

Suspension trainer back rows.

Face the TRX anchor.
Grab the handles with your palms facing one another.
Lean all the way back until the weight is on your heels, arms extended out in front of you, and your body forms a diagonal.
Squeeze shoulder blades together and keep your core tight as you bend your elbows and pull your torso up to meet your hands.
Keep your elbows in tight.
Lower to return to start.

Station 5:

Muay Thai knees to the bag for 1 minute. (Alternate legs).

Step forward on your front foot and fully extend your front leg to generate power into your hips
Push your hips forward
Throw the knee diagonally at the abdomen of the opponent
Lean your body back and drive your hips forward to generate more power into the knee.
Throw the arm down that is the same side as your knee to generate more power.
Return to fighters stance.

Station 6:

Suspension trainer squats.

Start off by holding both handles in front of your waist, elbows bent by sides.
Lower down into a deep squat, extending arms in front of you at eye level.
Using your leg muscles drive yourself back up to the start position.
Try not to let the TRX take your weight, don’t lean back. Use the TRX as a way to help you reach a deeper squat.

Station 7:

Combination to the bag for 1 minute (One-two punch).

From the fighter’s stance, throw a sharp jab with your lead hand as you step forward slightly with your front foot.
Throw the backhand straightforward as you rotate your shoulders, hips, and back foot to power the movement. Recover immediately back into the fighter’s stance.

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Station 8:

Suspension trainer pistol dips.

Start by holding both handles in front of your waist, elbows bent by your sides.
Lift one leg off the floor, and slightly in front of your rooted leg.
Lower down into a squat on your supporting leg, extending arms in front of you at eye level.
Extend the leg off the floor in front of you, preventing it from touching the ground.
Push yourself back up to the start position.

Station 9:

Roundhouse kicks to the bag for 1 minute (Alternate legs).

Don’t tense the muscles, keep nice and loose. Your kicking leg should almost be like a dead tree trunk you are ready to use.
Power for the move comes from your hips, shoulders, and torso.
Push up on the balls of your back foot. This will help you generate more hip action.
Thrust your hips forward into the air.
Pivot your leg powerfully on the rooted foot using your hips.
Swing the same side arm down to power the move and open up the hips.
Imagine as if you are kicking through your opponent. Continue the motion once you make contact! Stopping short on contact means less power.
Keep guard up and your chin tucked in.

Station 10:

Bulgarian split squats (30 seconds each leg).

Adjust the TRX to around knee height. Loop the cradle around ONE of your feet.
Get into a forward lunge position with torso upright, core braced and hips square to your body, with your back foot elevated in the TRX cradle. The front leg should be roughly half a meter or so in front of your back leg.
Lower your torso until your front thigh is almost horizontal to the floor.
Remember to keep your knee in line with your foot and not to let your front knee travel over your toes.
Using the front leg muscles, drive up through your front heel back to the starting position.

Station 11:

Combination to the bag for 1 minute (One-two punch, uppercut, roundhouse kick).

A combination of the three techniques outlined above. Finish the combination and then start again for the time.

Station 12:

Hip bridges.

To start, lie on your back and hook your ankles in the cradles.
Bring heels close to your hips until your legs form a 90-degree angle.
Extend your arms out beside you and lift your hips up until the upper body is diagonal.
Lower back down to start.

Station 13:

Combination to the bag for 1 minute (Jab, jab, straight, hook, front kick, knee).

A combination of the techniques outlined above. Finish the combination and then start again for the duration of the round.

Station 14:

Suspension trainer mountain climbers.

Slip your feet into the TRX cradles and assume a plank position.
Alternate between bringing each knee in towards your chest, speeding up without losing control over your movements.

Station 15:

All out, anything goes bag-work for 1 minute.

(Literally hit the bag continually for an entire minute, any combination of boxing/kickboxing moves that you choose! Keep Going!!) Be creative, see examples below.

Station 16:

Plank for 1 minute or pendulum swings.

Plank

Face away from the anchor and slip your toes into the cradles of your TRX.
Choose to rest on your forearms or on your hands. Or alternate between the two.
Hold the position for the time without compromising your form.

Pendulum/Pendulum Obliques

With your feet in the cradles, assume a plank position.
Keeping them together throughout the movement, swing your legs over to the left side
Swing your legs back into plank position and then over to the right elbow in one fluid motion.
You may choose to make the move more difficult by making them Pendulum oblique crunches. To undertake one of these, after swinging the legs to either side, bend the knees toward your elbow, engaging obliques. Then return to plank pose.
Repeat on the other side.

The Circuit

Warm Up

Undertake 5 minutes of mobility drills and dynamic movements and stretches to prepare you for the TRX/Martial Arts Functional Workout. Spend at least 3 minutes on the mobility drills to loosen up the joints of the spine, neck, wrists, shoulders, hips, elbows, ankles, and feet. Following the dynamic movements move onto moves such as jumping jacks, air squats, press-ups, bear crawls, inchworms, light lunges. The last few minutes you can progress the warm-up further with skipping and even more dynamic movements such as burpees.

The Main Event

Work: 1-minute work on individual stations.
Break between stations: Beginners 45 seconds rest between stations. Intermediate 30 seconds rest. Advanced:15 seconds rest.
Rounds: Beginners X2 rounds (Complete the entire circuit twice), 2 minutes rest after round completion. Intermediate X3 rounds with 1-minute rest after round completion of the entire round. Advanced X4 rounds with 30 seconds rest after completion of the entire round.