Functional Training/Fitness (also known as Body Weight Functional Training and Muscular Endurance type of Exercises) are those exercises, which train your muscles to work together. The exercises that are involved in this type of workout simulate common movements that you do in everyday life, work or sports.
These exercises use different muscles in the upper as well as lower body AT THE SAME TIME; thereby emphasising on core stability.
For instance, a squat is a very good example of a functional exercise as it trains the muscles that are used when you rise up and down from a chair or even pick up objects, which are on the floor or at a low level.
These exercises can be done at the gym or even at home. They may also be incorporated in functional fitness classes offered at gyms or even at boot camps. Weights, kettle balls and fitness balls are often used in functional fitness workouts.
Very often, these exercises are multi-joint and multi-muscle exercises; rather than focusing on specific muscles of the body. Thus by engaging in this type of a workout you can improve on your stability, strength, mobility, power, endurance and flexibility.
This type of training focuses on ‘building a body that is capable of doing real life exercises in real life positions rather then just lifting a certain amount of weight in one position, in a glorified posture created by a gym machine.
Some of the different exercises that fall under the functional fitness category include:
- Squats: An excellent upper & lower body workout, squats target the thighs & buttocks. However, they also work the hamstrings & lower back as well. It is the most common types of exercises that can be done in functional training and there are many different variations of the squat that can be done, with or without weights.
How to do the Traditional Squats
- Stand with your feet hip width apart and your arms down by your side
- Start to lower your body back as far as you can by pushing your hips back and bending your knees and pushing your body weight into your heels
- As you are lowering into the squat your arms will start to raise out in front of you for balance
- Keep a neutral spine at all times and never let your knees go over your toes. The lower body should be parallel with the floor and your chest lifted at all times, not rounded.
- Pause then lift back up in a controlled movement to the starting position
To know exactly how low you should go, it might be a good idea to stand in front of a chair as if you were about to sit. Lower yourself until your butt touches the chair; then stand back up.
- Lunges: A great exercise for strengthening, sculpting and building different several/muscles groups; lunges are excellent for shaping your quadriceps, hamstrings, buttocks and hips. These exercises are best done on a flat ground, rather than any exercise or yoga mat (so that the surface is even). It is always a better idea to do this exercise in front of the mirror, so that you can align your body properly and avoid any form of injury. While the most common type of lunges uses body weight, there are many different variations and weights can also be used to increase the difficulty. The most common type of lunges is the stationery lunge, but walking lunges are also very common.
How to do Lunges
- Stand up straight, with your legs hip-width apart. Place your hands on your hips. Flex your abdominal muscles inward and upward.
- Step forward with your right foot approximately 2 or 3 feet (0.6 to 0.9m). The taller you are, the further you will need to step forward. Keep your back straight as your body moves forward.
- Lift your left foot up slightly, so that the toe is in contact with the floor, but your heel is not.
- Bend both of your knees at the same time. The aim is to make both of your knees stop at a 90-degree angle. Make sure your right knee does not go over your toe line.
- Pause in this position for 1 to 5 seconds. Stopping your forward momentum will help you to put more effort into rising from the lunge.
- Push off of your right heel to rise. Return your right leg to its starting position.
Repeat with the left leg. Check your form in the mirror again and correct if needed. Repeat 10 times on each side, or do 2 to 3 sets of 10.
- Burpees: Known to be a full-body exercise, Burpees are exercises that are performed in four steps. It is therefore also known as four-count Burpees. These exercises are known to be extremely helpful in burning more calories in less time. They help to boost strength & endurance.
How to do Burpees
- Stand with your feet hip width apart and your arms down by your side
- Lower into a squat position with your hands flat on the floor in front of you
- Kick your legs backwards into a press up position and lower your chest to the floor
- Push your chest back up to the press up position thrust both feet forward so you are back in the squat position
Jump up and raise both hands over your head
- Inchworm: Targeting the muscles of the arms, chest, back & abs, the inchworm is an exercise, which works the entire body. It is called ‘Inchworm’ because it mimics the up-down movement of a worm moving across a flat surface. In this type of exercise, there is no requirement of any additional equipment or weights.
How to do the Inchworm
- Stand with your feet at hip width. Hinge forward at the waist and touch the floor with your palms. Bend your knees, if necessary.
- Walk your hands forward until you are supporting all your weight on your hands and toes. Your body should make a straight line and your hands should line up with your shoulders. Hold this position for 10 seconds.
- Walk your feet forward to meet your hands. Keep your palms on the floor and bend your knees, if necessary.
- Repeat the inchworm five times
- Jumping Jack: A great overall body exercise, jumping jacks is very good for strengthening & cardiovascular. The alternating action of the arms over head & legs stretched out increases the heart rate and helps to stimulate blood flow to a variety of muscle groups.
How to do a Jumping Jack
- Stand with your feet together and you’re hands down by your side.
- In one motion jump your feet out to the side and raise your arms above your head.
Immediately reverse that motion by jumping back to the starting position.
