Bodyweight training is strength training that allows an effective increase in muscle mass [1]. Suspension training, a new type of instability training, has become popular in athletics and fitness training in recent years [2], [3], [4]. Suspension training provides bodyweight exercises using two separately moving slings suspended by two straps with a fixed anchor position above the exerciser [5]. Suspension training is deemed a helpful method for enhancing neuromuscular activation that reviewed the use of heavy loads in traditional exercises [6]. Sports specificity increases with the addition of instability to bodyweight exercises and a high level of functional performance and gains are supported in suspension training [7]. The unstable nature of suspension training puts more strain on the neuromuscular system than traditional resistance exercises performed on stable surfaces and provides a strength increase, which may result from changes in muscle cross-sectional area and neuromuscular coordination [5], [8], [9], [10]. Suspension training requires high motor control demands and the generation of muscle force necessary to overcome the load and maintain stability, which may contribute to the promotion of functional performance [11]. Suspension training has been added to traditional exercises to promote neuromuscular coordination and muscle recruitment, but there is debate concerning the effects of this combination on physical performance [6].

Push-up training has been studied previously for the exercises of the upper extremities and the trunk-stabilizing muscle performance [4], [6], [12], [13]. Push-up is a traditional exercise that can be performed with a suspension device and used to train the shoulder musculature [12]. Challenge in maintaining the dynamic balance and stabilization in the suspension push-up, and also because of the exposure to the greater loads by the upper extremity, suspension push-up might be harder to perform [14]. Unstable surface training was previously carried out for rehabilitation and prevention programs; this type of training is currently included in strength and endurance programs due to the proprioceptive and neuromuscular gains they provide [6]. Unstable surfaces used during push-up training may also trigger motor learning adaptations to improve dynamic balance and strength output [11], and this forms the basis of clinical information supporting the use of suspension systems [15]. It is possible that suspension training promotes greater improvement in functional performance compared to traditional training because of its higher instability [16]. Most studies comparing traditional strength training and suspension strengthening training have executed protocols on athletes and non-athletes because of the need for high-level of strength [17]. A previous systematic analysis reported that unstable surface training led to changes in muscle strength, power, and muscular speed parameters in young adults compared to traditional training [6]. Using unstable surfaces during strength training without any disadvantages compared to stable surfaces is strongly recommended for healthy young people [18] and untrained young people [19]. Since the results in the literature are heterogeneous, and there is no criterion for assessing it in different populations, it seems necessary to expand the unstable surface training with performance variables [6]. For this purpose, a previous systematic analysis suggested that to improve physical performance parameters such as strength and balance, future studies should focus on the suspension systems in non-athletes healthy individuals [17].

The controversy in literature concerning the use and outcomes provided by suspension training, the individuals, and exercises created a dispute on physical performance outcomes. It is needed to determine whether performing exercises with an unstable surface presents further impacts on muscle strength and power measures compared to a stable surface [6]. Therefore, this study aimed to to compare the effects of 10-week suspension and traditional push-up training on physical performance in healthy young men. We hypothesized that suspension push-up training would improve physical performance better than traditional push-up.