What is Functional Fitness?

What is Functional Fitness?

November 3, 2022

The importance of functional fitness

There are a million different workouts across a million different machines, tools, and methods. This can make choosing a workout that is suited for your needs a bit overwhelming and confusing. The concept of functional fitness, also referred to as functional training, is a framework of exercise that in many ways simplifies the entire approach to fitness. This article will equip you with the knowledge to understand and incorporate functional fitness in a way that fits your lifestyle.

 

Functional fitness is characterized by exercises that resemble movements your body makes in the course of everyday life. By focusing on movements that enhance strength, range of motion, mobility, and balance you will enhance your ability to perform everyday tasks while greatly reducing the risk of injury.

What does functional fitness look like?

Functional training differs from other workouts in a few key ways. It's common practice for weightlifters to perform exercises that target one specific muscle. For example, bicep curls are intended to target just the bicep in order to increase the strength, size, and appearance of that single muscle. Similarly, people often go to the gym for a ‘leg day’ or an ‘arms day’. This targeting of isolated muscles is an entirely different approach than functional training. 

 

Functional training tends to target multiple muscle groups within a single exercise. For example, performing a series of lunges with a twist of the torso at the end mimics the everyday task of picking up an object from the ground and twisting to set it down. Functional fitness recognizes that simply being able to deadlift 300 lb weights at the gym isn’t all that impressive if you go to move an object from the shopping cart to your car and blow out your back. By prioritizing and training for movements that you need to perform in everyday life, functional training enhances your abilities and reduces your risk of injury while performing common tasks. As a result, many functional exercises target multiple muscles and muscle groups rather than isolating muscles.

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Incorporating functional training into your life

When exercises are tailored to help you perform movements of everyday life, the benefits are immediately obvious. But how exactly do these exercises translate into greater abilities to tackle the day? The following list shows some of the specific benefits of functional training that aid you in your daily life.

Reduction in stress Exercise of kinds has been shown to reduce the levels of stress hormones including cortisol and adrenaline. In addition to reducing stress, exercise stimulates the production of endorphins which act as the body’s natural pain killers and mood boosters. Aside from functional training’s reduction of stress at the chemical level, training for physical tasks you will have to face fosters a positive outlook knowing you’ll be prepared to take on the demands of life.

 

Increased stability, balance, and coordination. Because the exercises in functional training mimic real life motions, a focus on smooth movement that engages multiple muscle groups results in an increase of balance and stability. This is especially useful for older populations to prevent falls. Likewise, those rehabilitating injuries can greatly benefit from the smooth body movements which activate surrounding muscles to support injured areas.

 

Improve mobility for hobbies & athletic pursuits. Matching your exercise training to the movements required for your hobby or athletic endeavor enhance performance and ability for that activity. For example, if you play racquetball, lunges with a torso twist will mimic the running and swinging motion required for the sport. Even an activity like gardening could benefit from functional training by increasing the ability to go from a low position (while digging in the dirt for example), to a standing position by practicing burpees, or simple chair squats. 

 

Protection from injury. Physical stressors cause injury. Amongst the many potential stressors of life, this might take the form of lifting something heavy, moving from a bent over to an upright position, or moving from sitting to standing. Functional training prepares you for these exact movements and in doing so, increases your body’s capability to withstand stressors. The smooth movements inherent in functional training target both muscles and ligaments which are especially susceptible to injury. The idea is that when you give yourself the opportunity to practice lifting a weight off of the floor with perfect form, through muscle memory you will also lift a heavy bag of groceries with that same proper form, thus reducing the risk of injury.

 

An understanding of the general theory and benefits of functional fitness training may be enough to entice anyone to begin their functional fitness journey, but where would be a good place to start? In relation to the word ‘functional’, it is useful to become aware of which categories of physical health you would like to enhance in order to best serve the functions of your daily life. For some of us, this may be as simple as wanting to increase mobility around the house. Simple chair squats can be an extremely effective method to help yourself move from a seated to standing position more safely and effectively. Cubii Studio+ functional fitness classes  provide safe demonstrations of such exercises and are available for free through the Cubii mobile app or website. Cubii Studio+ gives you access to over 300 expert guided, on demand video exercise classes to walk you through an endless variety of workouts. Choose classes based on exercise types, instructors, and durations to find that perfect exercise to match the unique needs of your ability and lifestyle. Cubii has dedicated itself to provide the tools, information, and instruction for approachable fitness that allows you to do things you love, and functional training is one our most effective means to deliver these results. 

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