Functional training is not new, it has been around for decades, you have likely heard of it but may be wondering what it is. However, sometimes terms used to describe a workout become trendy and when that happens, they become used too broadly.
What is functional training?
Functional training is a type of compound workout that mimics everyday movements to improve your body’s ability to perform daily tasks. Functional training is a fitness approach that is designed to help you build your strength, improve coordination and balance, and reduce the risk of injury.
Functional training exercises often involve multiple muscles and joints working together, such as in squats, lunges, push-ups, and planks. You can use tools like kettlebells, resistance bands, and medicine balls or everyday items like a bag full of soup cans in functional training workouts.
Here are some benefits of functional training:
Improved movement: Functional training in each movement that your body was designed to use will help avoid creating muscle imbalances that can result in pain and restricted mobility.
Injury prevention: Functional training can help you avoid injuries by strengthening the muscles and joints you use in everyday life.
Improved posture: Functional exercises like planks help you engage your core muscles, which can improve your posture and stability.
Better performance: Functional training can help you perform better in the gym as well as when doing daily tasks.
Time efficiency: Functional training targets multiple muscle groups at once, making it a time-efficient workout.
No equipment required: Functional training often uses body weight, however, you can grab household items to add resistance if desired, however, no equipment is required.
Overall health and fitness: Functional training, when done regularly, will help you to get stronger, boost your endurance, and improve your overall fitness while burning more calories which is also a win-win for weight management goals.
Functional training teaches your body to work as a whole rather than training specific parts to provide many benefits for your health and daily life. It originated as a form of physical therapy for injured athletes. It’s now used by the military and athletes and is accessible to people of all fitness levels. It is a type of workout geared towards better function when doing everyday tasks, such as putting a heavy object on a high shelf or bending to pick an item off the floor.
Frequency
Functional training is a great way to stay fit, healthy, and strong. Regular exercise is needed for at least two days a week for both muscle and bone health. However, you can utilize functional training up to 4 days a week if your body recovers well and you feel energized every time that you work out. Keep in mind that rest and recovery are essential to seeing results. Additionally, our genetics, muscle fiber makeup, and quality of workouts affect your strength if you are already well-conditioned. However, for most people, it is more than likely that you will see noticeable changes within a few months to your muscle tone and weight.
Weight management
Functional training is believed to burn more fat than steady-state cardio or bodybuilding because it keeps your whole body moving, making it an effective approach to weight loss. For weight management, functional training works by combining full-body movements with high-intensity, and cardiovascular exercises, as well as engaging multiple muscle groups to build metabolic rate and promote fat loss.
Common functional exercises include:
- Deadlifts
- Dumbbell plank row
- Dumbbell chest press
- Forward lunge with rotation
- Lateral bound
- High knee sprint
- Hip hinges
- Broad jump to backpedal
- Incline push-ups
- Walking lunges
- Jump squats
- Bodyweight squats
- Jumping jacks
- Movements done while balancing on one leg
- Lateral bounds
- Jumping, lunging or stepping onto an elevated surface
Use it or lose it
Humans are meant to push and pull with the upper body, hinge at the hips, bend into squats, lunge, or set up and rotate. The point of functional training is to keep our muscles functioning the way they were designed to. If you think about the way you move throughout the day, you probably aren’t moving in the patterns that you should be, especially if you sit at a desk all day. Functional training highlights why we need to train to use these movements intentionally because the saying “if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it” is actually true.
As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN does not agree or disagree with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement. Additionally, it is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
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References/Sources/Materials provided by:
This article was written by TJ Webber at the WHN News Desk
https://blog.nasm.org/functional-training-compound-workouts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_training#:.
https://worldhealth.net/news/include-functional-training-in-your-workouts/
