Functional fitness training is a type of strength training that readies your body for daily activities. These exercises prepare you for the most important type of physical fitness, the kind that preps you for real-life and daily living stuff. Most functional training programmes contain multi-joint movement patterns involving your knees, hips, spine, elbows, wrists and shoulders.
Even though all forms of exercise benefit daily functioning, not all fit into the functional fitness definition. That leaves many wondering what functional fitness is all about. A good example of one of the best functional fitness exercises would be a simple squat. How often do you squat to get into your car? To sit down and stand up? Well, a squat may arguable be the most functional strength training movement.
So, why should I try functional fitness training? First and foremost, it plays a vital role when it comes to increasing balance and stability. Keep in mind a truly fit lifestyle is not about how fit we look, it’s about how fit we live. What good is working out if it doesn’t prepare us and strengthen us for everyday activities?
A perfect functional exercise that increases stability is a lunge with a shoulder press. If you ever find yourself reaching for a box on a shelf, then moon walking away, arms aloft, until you can pivot and find a spot to place the box, rest in knowing you’ll be glad you practiced this exercise.
If this is not enough, functional training increase your overall strength. This is because most functional movement can improve your core and stability. The more stable your foundation, the stronger you are. When you want to increase your strength, it’s a good idea to engage in a training program that builds all the stability muscles.
We can never conclude without mentioning the fact that functional exercises can greatly reduce your risk of everyday life injuries. Remember, most everyday life activities can injure your smaller muscles when you least expect it. A great exercise to equip you for these functional movements is a Lateral Shuffle Bar Pickup. After all, it helps you train for the simple motion of picking something up off the floor or a table, and setting it aside.
There you have it, some of the things you need to know about functional training programmes before you finally make up your mind to leverage them.
