How is this different from the TRX Pull-Up?

Here you start in a deep squat with your legs bent, so they can push you up as much as you need. In the TRX Pull-Up you sit with your legs straight and only pivot on your heels, so the back and arms lift more of your weight and it is the harder of the two.

Should I feel this exercise in my legs?

Only a little. Your legs are there to make up what your upper body cannot yet lift, so if your thighs tire before your back and arms, you are standing the weight up instead of pulling it.

How long should the straps be?

Adjust them so the handles hang at about chin height when you stand tall under the anchor. That lets you reach them with straight arms in a deep squat and finish with your hands beside your face when your legs are straight.

Is this the same as a TRX squat row?

No. A squat row pulls the handles toward the chest while leaning back from the anchor, which is a horizontal pull like the TRX Row. Here you stand directly under the anchor and pull the elbows down toward the ribs, which is the pull-up pattern.

When am I ready to move on?

A good sign is when you can do 8 to 10 controlled reps while barely pushing through your feet and lowering yourself slowly. At that point, move on to the TRX Pull-Up and add the Negative Pull-Up.

How many sets and reps should I do?

Three sets of 8 to 12 controlled reps is a good starting point. Once that feels easy, use less leg help on each rep rather than adding more reps.

TRX Self-Assisted Pull-Up

What Is the TRX Self-Assisted Pull-Up?

TRX Self-Assisted Pull-Up is a compound exercise that primarily targets the back, especially the latissimus dorsi, and also engages the biceps, the muscles around the shoulder blades and the legs, which supply part of the lift. It is a beginner-level movement performed on suspension straps hung directly overhead. You start in a deep squat holding the handles with straight arms, then pull your elbows down while you stand up, so your legs carry whatever share of your body weight your upper body cannot yet lift.

Its main use is as a first step toward the full Pull-Up. Your feet stay flat on the floor the whole time, so you can practice the entire pulling path, from straight arms overhead to hands beside your face, with as much or as little help as you need, and you can change that help from rep to rep as you tire. That makes it useful for beginners, for people returning after a layoff, and for anyone training at home or outdoors with only a suspension trainer and no bar.

It is the strap version of the Squat-Assisted Chin-Up, with a palms-forward grip instead of an underhand one. Like the TRX Kneeling Pull-Up, your legs are bent and can push you up, which makes it easier than the TRX Pull-Up, where the legs stay straight and the back and arms lift more of your weight. The less you push through your feet, the closer each rep comes to a real pull-up, so the quadriceps and glutes should stay helpers rather than the main drivers. Keep it separate in your head from the TRX Row: here the elbows travel down beside the ribs, not back past the torso.

If pulling yourself up even with full leg help is still too hard, build up first with the TRX Row, standing more upright to make it easier. Once you can finish your reps with only light pressure through your feet, move on to the TRX Pull-Up, the Negative Pull-Up and the Band-Assisted Pull-Up before trying a full pull-up. Thinking about driving the elbows down toward your back pockets, rather than bending the arms, helps you feel the lats do the work.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Latissimus Dorsi: Primary
Biceps Brachii: High
Teres Major: High
Brachialis: Medium
Brachioradialis: Medium
Infraspinatus: Medium
Lower Trapezius: Medium
Rhomboid Major: Medium
Gluteus Maximus: Low
Vastus Lateralis: Low

Instructions

Attach the TRX to a secure overhead anchor and adjust the straps so the handles hang at about chin height when you stand tall.
Stand directly under the anchor with your feet about hip-width apart and grab one handle in each hand, palms facing forward.
Sit down into a deep squat, feet flat on the floor and chest up, until your arms are fully straight overhead in line with the straps.
Pull your shoulder blades down away from your ears and brace your core.
Pull your elbows down toward your ribs while you stand up, pushing through your feet only as much as you need to keep moving.
Keep pulling as you rise until your legs are straight, your body is tall and your hands are beside your face at about chin height, with your elbows pointing down.
Pause briefly at the top.
Lower yourself slowly back into the deep squat until your arms are straight again, controlling the descent with your back and arms.
Repeat for the planned reps, using less leg drive as you get stronger.

Common Mistakes

Standing up before pulling
Driving out of the squat with your legs before your arms bend turns the rep into a squat while holding the straps and leaves your back and arms with little to do.
Shrugging toward the ears
Letting your shoulders ride up as you pull shifts strain onto the front of the shoulder and away from the lats.
Cutting the range short
Stopping before your arms are straight at the bottom or before your hands reach chin height at the top trains only part of the pull a full pull-up needs.
Dropping into the squat
Sinking quickly back down so your arms snap straight jolts the elbows and shoulders and skips the controlled lowering that builds pulling strength.
Standing off the anchor
Setting up in front of or behind the anchor angles the straps, so you either lean back into a row or get pulled off balance instead of pulling straight down.
Never reducing the leg help
Pushing through your feet just as hard week after week keeps the exercise easy, so it stops building toward an unassisted pull-up.

Injuries

TRX Self-Assisted Pull-Up is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. Your feet stay flat on the floor throughout, so you never hang with your full weight, and you can take load off your arms at any moment by pushing harder through your legs. The bigger hazard is the setup: the straps must hang from a secure overhead anchor that can take your weight, and a slipping strap or a door anchor on a door that swings open drops you onto the floor.

The usual strain points are the shoulders, the elbows and the knees. Sitting into the bottom with the shoulders shrugged up to the ears leaves the shoulder joint without muscular support, so set the shoulder blades down before every pull. Because the leg help makes long sets easy, adding lots of reps or sessions too quickly can irritate the tendons around the elbow, so build volume gradually. Lower yourself under control instead of dropping into the squat, which jolts both the elbows and the knees.

If the deep squat at the bottom hurts your knees, switch to the Band-Assisted Pull-Up or the Machine Lat Pulldown, which train the same pull without the squat. To progress, push less through your feet over the weeks, then move on to the TRX Pull-Up, the Negative Pull-Up and finally the full Pull-Up.

Stop the set if you feel sharp or pinching pain in the shoulder, pain at the inside or outside of the elbow, pain in the knees at the bottom of the squat, or if the anchor shifts or a strap starts to slide.

Overview

Primary Focus: Back
Equipment: Suspension trainer and body weight
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Beginner

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How is this different from the TRX Pull-Up?: Here you start in a deep squat with your legs bent, so they can push you up as much as you need. In the TRX Pull-Up you sit with your legs straight and only pivot on your heels, so the back and arms lift more of your weight and it is the harder of the two.
Q: Should I feel this exercise in my legs?: Only a little. Your legs are there to make up what your upper body cannot yet lift, so if your thighs tire before your back and arms, you are standing the weight up instead of pulling it.
Q: How long should the straps be?: Adjust them so the handles hang at about chin height when you stand tall under the anchor. That lets you reach them with straight arms in a deep squat and finish with your hands beside your face when your legs are straight.
Q: Is this the same as a TRX squat row?: No. A squat row pulls the handles toward the chest while leaning back from the anchor, which is a horizontal pull like the TRX Row. Here you stand directly under the anchor and pull the elbows down toward the ribs, which is the pull-up pattern.
Q: When am I ready to move on?: A good sign is when you can do 8 to 10 controlled reps while barely pushing through your feet and lowering yourself slowly. At that point, move on to the TRX Pull-Up and add the Negative Pull-Up.
Q: How many sets and reps should I do?: Three sets of 8 to 12 controlled reps is a good starting point. Once that feels easy, use less leg help on each rep rather than adding more reps.