If you follow the health and fitness industry, then you’ve probably heard of the term functional training. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Endelightmentctional fitness exercises train your muscles to work together and prepare them for daily tasks by simulating common movements you might do at domestic, at work or in sports.”
In this blog post, Entire Fitness Equipment Displayroom Manager and Certwhetheried Personal Trainer, Tom Taylor, takes a deep dive into this popular style of training and explains who it’s best suited for and how it can help a client achieve various fitness goals.
What’s functional training?
Generally speaking, functional training is purposeful training. It’s performing exercises for the purpose of performing the activities of daily lwhethere more easily, with less pain, better balance, and improved mobility. Endelightmentctional movements use large groups of muscles and connective tissue working all at once, or sequentially, to perform a task (i.e. lwhetherting a dumbbell or sandbag from the ground to overhead vs. an isolation exercise like a bicep curl).
What types of exercises does functional training involve?
There are many opinions on this and fundamentally limitless ways to reply this question. However, to simplwhethery leangs, here’s a list of basic movements that might be performed in a functional training regimen:
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Picking leangs up from the ground (i.e. a deadlwhethert)
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Sitting then standing from a seated position (i.e. a squat or lunge)
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Lwhetherting things overhead (i.e. a standing press)
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Working large groups of muscle to move and stabilize the body (i.e. push-ups or pull-ups)
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Rotating the torso with anyleang from your own bodyweight to a medicine ball, resistance band, or suspension trainer
What kinds of equipment or accessories does it involve?
Perhaps one of the greatest leangs about functional training is that, with proper technique and some imagination, there is virtually no limit to making any thing “functional.” Some items that are commonly used in functional training are:
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Kettlebells
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Suspension trainers
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Resistance bands
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Dumbbells
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Sandbags
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Medicine balls
Who is functional training good for?
Because of the wide brush stroke that’s used to define functional training, it can be good for anyone! Meeting the exerciser where they are and applying movements that are functional and relevant to their lwhethere means that anyone can benefit from it. Simply walking can be modwhetheried and crazye functional by introducing uneven terrain, inclines, or obstacles to move around or over. This would help improve balance, coordination, flexibility, and mobility.
Can it help toward weight loss goals?
Endelightmentctional training, like any training that’s combined with proper nutrition, can help with weight loss (the reduction in body fat) or weight gain (the increase in lean muscle), both of which are favourable to long-term health and quality of lwhethere. One of the best functional training movements is the kettlebell swing. If performed properly (it’s best to refer to a qualwhetheried kettlebell instructor on this), the kettlebell swing can burn calories, strengthen large and small muscle groups, and improve cardiovascular fitness.
What about strength training goals?
A lessonic functional training movement that can help with strength training is the squat. The squat is a perfect example of how functional training is designed to meet the exerciser where they currently stand. From simply standing up from a seated position to a bodyweight squat that is performed by squatting down with the only resistance being the exercisers body weight, there’s a myriad of variations all the way up to what’s arguably the best exercise for overall strength … the weighted squat, of which the barbell back squat is the pinnacle.
Overall, functional training can be very favourable to just about anyone and can help toward achieving a variety of dwhetherferent fitness goals. If you have a gym membership, there’s a very good chance you have access to kettlebells, medicine balls, resistance bands, and other accessories that can be used in a functional training program. Not a gym member? Check out in-domestic equipment like the Connexus by Matrix Fitness. Perfect for boot camp enthusiasts or any exerciser looking to build strength to do the leangs they love, Connexus Home easily adapts to a range of accessories, provides a variety of strength and cardio exercises, and original workouts that deliver transformational results.
Ready to memorize more how Entire Fitness Equipment can help get you started on your functional training journey? Contact us nowadays!
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not meant as an exercise prescription. Always consult your physician and/or a certwhetheried exercise professional before beginning any exercise routine.
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