Functional training is a classification of
exercise
Exercise or workout is physical activity that enhances or maintains fitness and overall health. It is performed for various reasons, including weight loss or maintenance, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardio ...
which involves training the body for the activities performed in
daily life
Everyday life, daily life or routine life comprises the ways in which people typically act, think, and feel on a daily basis. Everyday life may be described as mundane, routine, natural, habitual, or normal.
Human diurnality means most peop ...
.
Functional Strength Training
Functional Strength Training is a fitness approach designed to enhance the body's ability to perform everyday movements with ease and efficiency. Unlike traditional strength training that isolates specific muscle groups, functional training focuses on exercises that mimic real-life activities, such as
lifting,
squatting
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...
, and
climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders) to small boulders. Climbing is done for locom ...
. By engaging multiple muscles and joints simultaneously, functional strength training aims to improve overall body coordination, stability, and strength. Core exercises like squats, lunges, push-ups, and planks are commonly used, as well as tools like kettlebells, resistance bands, and medicine balls.
Functional
strength training
Strength training, also known as weight training or resistance training, is exercise designed to improve physical strength. It is often associated with the lifting of Weightlifting, weights. It can also incorporate techniques such as bodyweigh ...
is highly beneficial for improving daily life performance, reducing the risk of injury, and increasing flexibility and balance. It also provides a time-efficient workout by targeting multiple muscle groups at once, making it ideal for individuals seeking practical fitness solutions. This form of training is accessible to all fitness levels, from beginners to athletes, and can be adapted with
bodyweight or added resistance, offering a comprehensive way to enhance functional fitness and overall health.
Origins
Functional training has its origins in
rehabilitation.
Physical and
occupational therapists and
chiropractors often use this approach to retrain patients with movement disorders. Interventions are designed to incorporate task and context-specific practice in areas meaningful to each patient, with an overall goal of functional independence. For example, exercises that mimic what patients did at home or work may be included in treatment in order to help them return to their lives or jobs after an injury or surgery. Thus if a patient's job required repeatedly heavy lifting, rehabilitation would be targeted towards heavy lifting, if the patient were a parent of young children, it would be targeted towards moderate lifting and endurance, and if the patient were a
marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...
runner, training would be targeted towards re-building endurance. However, treatments are designed after careful consideration of the patient's condition, what he or she would like to achieve, and ensuring the goals of treatment are realistic and achievable.
The goal of functional training is to modify or create workouts that make it easier and without injuries for people to carry out daily tasks. When more muscles are utilized during a functional training activity, the body uses more oxygen—roughly one liter for every five calories of energy burned.
In the context of bodybuilding, functional training involves mainly
weight bearing activities targeted at the core
muscle
Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the four basic types of animal tissue. There are three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to muscle contra ...
s of the
abdomen
The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...
and lower
back
The human back, also called the dorsum (: dorsa), is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral c ...
. Fabio Martella wrote that most fitness facilities have a variety of
weight training machines that target and isolate specific muscles. As a result, the movements do not necessarily bear any relationship to the movements people make in their regular activities or sports.
In rehabilitation, training does not necessarily have to involve weight-bearing activities but can target any task or a combination of tasks that a patient is having difficulty with.
Balance
Balance may refer to:
Common meanings
* Balance (ability) in biomechanics
* Balance (accounting)
* Balance or weighing scale
* Balance, as in equality (mathematics) or equilibrium
Arts and entertainment Film
* Balance (1983 film), ''Balance'' ( ...
training, for example, is often incorporated into a patient's treatment plan if it has been impaired after injury or disease.
Evidence
Rehabilitation after
stroke
Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
has evolved over the past 15 years from conventional treatment techniques to task specific training techniques which involve training of basic functions, skills and endurance (muscular and cardiovascular).
Functional training has been well supported in evidence-based research for rehabilitation of this population.
["Upper extremity interventions"]
, Evidence-based review of stroke rehabilitation It has been shown that task specific training yields long-lasting cortical reorganization which is specific to the areas of the brain being used with each task.
[ Studies have also shown that patients make larger gains in functional tasks used in their rehabilitation and since they are more likely to continue practicing these tasks in everyday living, better results during follow-up are obtained.]
Equipment
Some options include:
* Clubbells
* Macebells
* Cable machines
* Barbell
A barbell is a piece of exercise equipment used in weight training, bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, weightlifting, powerlifting and strongman, consisting of a long bar, usually with weights attached at each end.
Barbells range in length ...
s
* Dumbbells
* Medicine balls
* Kettlebells
* Bodyweight training
* Physioballs (also called Swiss balls or exercise balls)
* Resistance band
A resistance band is an rubber band, elastic band used for strength training. They are also commonly used in physical therapy, specifically by convalescents of muscular injuries, including Cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, cardiac rehab patients, t ...
s
* Rocker and wobble boards
* Whole Body Vibration equipment (also called WBV or Acceleration Training)
* Balance disks
* Sandbags
* Suspension system
* Slideboard
* Redcord
* Ropes
In rehabilitation however, equipment is mainly chosen by its relevance to the patient. In many cases equipment needs are minimal and include things that are familiar and useful to the patient.
Cable machines
When creating a piece of Universal Gym Equipment in the 1950s, Harold Zinkin improved Jack LaLanne’s invention of the cable machine. Cable machines, also known as pulley machines, are large upright machines, either with a single pulley, or else a pulley attached to both sides. They allow an athlete to recruit all major muscle groups while moving in multiple planes. Cable machines also provide a smooth, continuous action which reduces the need for momentum to start repetitions, provide a constant tension on the muscle, peak-contraction is possible at the top of each rep, a safe means of performing negative repetitions, and a variety of attachments that allow great flexibility in the exercises performed and body parts targeted.
Components of a functional exercise program
To be effective, a functional exercise program should include a number of different elements which can be adapted to an individual's needs or goals:
* Based on functional tasks directed toward everyday life activities.
* Individualized – a training program should be tailored to each individual. Any program must be specific to the goals of an individual, focusing on meaningful tasks. It must also be specific to the individual state of health, including presence or history of injury. An assessment should be performed to help guide exercise selection and training load.
* Integrated – It should include a variety of exercises that work on flexibility, core
Core or cores may refer to:
Science and technology
* Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages
* Core (laboratory), a highly specialized shared research resource
* Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding
* Core (optical fiber ...
, balance, strength and power, focusing on multiple movement planes.
* Progressive – Progressive training steadily increases the difficulty of the task.
* Periodized – mainly by training with distributed practice and varying the tasks.
* Repeated frequently.
* Use of real life object manipulation.
* Performed in context-specific environments.
* Feedback should be incorporated following performance (self-feedback of success is used as well as trainer/therapist feedback).
See also
*Direct visual feedback
Direct Visual Feedback is a method of training used in both practical and rehabilitative settings where the attention of the trainee is tied to an external visual cue in reference to the particular movement, motor function or exercise that is bein ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Functional Training
Physical exercise
Weight training
Aerobic exercise