TRX Retraction Variation

by Mitch Hauschildt, MA, ATC, CSCS

I’ve been a big fan over the years of the TRX suspension trainer for injury rehabilitation, injury prevention, and performance training.  It allows us to layer complexity onto some pretty standard movements and it also provides us with the ability to regress movements to meet the needs of everyone that enters my door.  

One exercise that I have used often with my shoulder patients is a cross arm retraction exercise.  I like it because it isolates that scapular stabilizers while keeping the biceps out of it the movement.  If you perform TRX retractions with the arms straight, many people with dominant biceps will allow them to take over the exercise.  

By assuming this “I dream of Genie” pose, you can load up the posterior aspect of the shoulder complex while training stability throughout the kinetic chain and keeping the biceps out of it. 

One caution with this exercise, however, is that if you aren’t careful, the upper traps will become dominant, causing people to shrug their shoulders when they should be depressing and retracting them.  

After discussing this movement with some brilliant movement specialists in Tennessee last week, we have found that by changing the hand position, we can essentially remove the upper traps from the exercise.  If you take the hands and clasp them in front of your face, it will bring the elbows down a bit and the end user will be more likely to utilize the mid and lower traps, as well as the rhomboids.  It is a simple variation, but worth trying.  

For a better understanding of the movement, watch the video below: