Functional Training

Fitness For The Everyday Warrior

Functional training has been the buzzword that's been around in the fitness industry these days, and this type of training makes so much sense you'd wonder how we took so long to start it! Here's the premise: take the movements that you do everyday and create exercises that mimic those movements. The benefits are huge, so much so that many high level professional athletes employ functional movements into their routines to take their playing to much higher levels.

A few of the greatest benefits to functional training are:

• strengthens the muscles your body calls on everyday
• prevent injuries that you might encounter in routine activities
• develop good form that will make daily activities safer and easier to perform
• increase your energy levels so you are more productive all the time

Still not convinced? One of the most common problems that my clients face is back pain. It can be chronic pain that they think they just have to live with, or occasional pulls or strains that make the next few days very uncomfortable. By looking at what kinds of movements they do everyday we first focus on improving their form and then come up with strength exercises that will re-enforce the smaller, often weak muscles that are responsible for stabilizing the body while it performs tasks. This has been shown time and again to not just prevent the occasional injury, but the chronic pain group has been able to finally be relieved of the pain that has hindered them for years!

Functional workouts aren't just for the "everyday warrior" either . The Toronto Maple Leafs' Gary Roberts credits functional training for his injury come back when he joined the Leafs. For you golfers, any successful golf program must include function specific movements that strengthen the core (think "abs"and back) which is where the power should be generated for your swing. One of my own clients who is an avid cyclist was amazed by the new speed and stamina he found through a routine that included functional training.

Some examples of functional movements include:

• squats
• lunges
• pulling
• pushing
• rotation exercises

When implementing a functional training program, keep in mind these important considerations:

• use all planes of movements (don't just stand straight forward)
• create instability
• use gravity as resistance
• include speed and reactive training

Some examples of functional movements are:

Squats with a medicine ball

• You can add rotations, change the speed and even go on one leg.

Push Ups

• You can use gravity to your advantage here. You can try walking pushups or try putting a quick clap in between each push up performed.

So if you are an athlete looking to improve your sport or simply someone wanting to improve their health, look and feel better then put some functional exercises in your training program and watch for some amazing results!

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