Suspension trainers are like a gym that you can take anywhere. TRX, the current popular darling, is used in homes and boot camps for bodyweight workouts, but the monkii bars 2 gives it a run for its money in both aesthetics and features. Both add a ton more variety to your workouts and let you work out anywhere, but let\u2019s see how they stack up in the categories that count.
Over the past year and a half, I spent a lot of time following bodyweight workouts , mainly because I\u2019ve been away from home and don\u2019t always have access to a gym. Suspension trainers, which are basically a pair of straps with handles that you can attach to sturdy objects, allow me to keep up my fitness and get stronger, no matter where I am. I\u2019ve worked out at playgrounds, on beaches, on rooftops, under bridges\u2014you name it, as long as there was a safe place for me to set up, I\u2019d roll with it. While there are a lot of suspension trainers on the market, we decided to pit a perennial favorite against the new kid on the block.
Both are viable, awesome portable gyms, so to compare the two, I looked at their design, material quality, ease of setup, versatility, and portability.
As someone who travels frequently and considers daily workouts of some form as important as breathing, I take convenience and portability of my fitness gear very seriously. TRX has always felt pretty light, weighing no more than two or three pounds. The classic kit comes with a mesh bag that you can use to neatly transport your TRX and pack in your luggage without taking much space.
But when the TRX is not comfortably cozied up in its travel bag, it\u2019s basically a coiled-up hot mess, kind of like how earbuds get after just 20 seconds in your pocket. Contrast this with the monkii bars 2 Adventure Kit, which is all arranged in a really slick-looking bag that folds out like so:
The sleekness of monkii bars 2 makes me want to take it everywhere with me. You just roll the pack like a burrito, clasp it shut, shove it into your pack, and run wild. And when it\u2019s workout time, it\u2019s all ready for you to unpack. What\u2019s more, the monkii bars 2 Adventure Kit weighs less than the TRX\u2014just a bit over one and a half pounds. If you want to pack extra light, the original monkii bars or monkii bars 2 Ultralight Kit is extra compact and weighs even less.
Getting a workout with suspension trainers is easy…once you set them up. You can set them up at home or outside for some fun in the sun, but depending on where you want to work out, the setup process can be a little different. For indoor use, you use a special attachment called a door anchor, which you place on top of a door frame and hook your suspension trainers to. When you\u2019re outdoors, there\u2019s another attachment that you can toss over pull-up bars or wrap around vertical posts, and then attach your trainers.
I mention all this because setup is where the TRX and monkii bars 2 diverge a lot. The TRX straps and handles come as one whole piece. You just find somewhere\u2014a door, a pull-up bar, a high beam, and so on\u2014to secure the anchor, hook up your TRX trainers, and you\u2019re ready to rock. With the monkii bars 2, however, there\u2019s a little more work.
The monkii bars 2 handles are a completely separate unit so there\u2019s extra assembly required. In the Adventure Kit, the bag itself is the door anchor, making it less likely to chip or damage your door, and the straps that attach to your handles are also a part of the bag. That means you lay the bag halfway over a door frame, close the door, unfurl the pair of straps, and hook up your handles before you use it.
No doubt, the whole package of monkii bars 2 looks fly, but that cool factor is why it takes a tad longer to set up, and then break down and pack up again. It helps to take the time to neatly wrap up the straps to fit them snugly back in the pack and close it properly. That time was initially a bit of a turn-off. I\u2019m used to very little setup for the TRX other than establishing the anchor, and when I\u2019m done, I just shove the TRX back into its bag, tangled mess be damned!
Further, monkii bars 2’s straps for outdoors use are designed to be thrown over tree branches and other horizontal bars. They\u2019re not easy to set up on, say, street lamps, which is a huge drawback for me.
Whether you can tolerate the extra assembly and clean-up time depends on how often you have to set up and then pack up your suspension trainers in the first place. Since I work out 5-6 times a week, all of that time added up and started to wear on me. Chalk it up to my impatience, sure, but I can also predict myself wiggling out of a workout because it\u2019s an extra step before I can start.
The TRX\u2019s easy, breezy setup and arsenal of bodyweight exercises are geared toward beginners. You grab onto the straps, lean your weight into them, and depending on what you want to do, push, pull, squat, lunge, or twist. You can get an awesome workout if you\u2019re already super fit, too.
The monkii bars 2, meanwhile, can do what the TRX does and then some, as long as you have some imagination. Since the straps move independently, you can set them up at different heights for more challenging upper body exercises, like pull-ups, dips, or muscle-ups. In essence, they give you the functionality of muscle rings and the versatility of suspension trainers in one package. That means more bodyweight and gymnastic type movements. I already mentioned the door anchor, but monkii bars 2 also comes with much longer straps that I can easily toss over a high-hanging tree branch or goal post and set up pull-up bars. According to the website, the straps are designed to hold up to 250 pounds.
As much as I\u2019ve been faithful to my suspension trainers for years now, I\u2019m a big fan of the monkii bars 2 for their design and versatility (my own pull-up bars, you say? ) and might start using them as my main suspension trainers. That said, TRX trainers last a very long time, and you can feel confident that the straps can hold your weight. I admit there were times that I worried the monkii bars 2’s thinner straps would snap from the tension and I\u2019d fall hard on my face.
At such similar price points, though, it comes down to how you use your suspension trainers. The monkii bars 2 is designed for someone who\u2019s always on the move and works out on the road. But if you just want a no-hassle, simple bodyweight workout system at home while still having the option to take it elsewhere, TRX is a solid choice.<\/p>\n