What Exactly is Functional Fitness?
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Let's face it: when most people think of fitness, they think of the gym. But gyms are not the only place to get a workout. You can also do functional fitness—an exercise program that focuses on improving your everyday movements and activities. It’s different from traditional strength training because it requires you to use your body weight instead of machines or free weights. That means if you want to lift something heavy, you have to learn how to pick it up with good form and balance before adding more weight to it.
What is functional fitness?
Functional fitness is a concept that has taken off in recent years, with more and more people getting involved with it. But what exactly is functional fitness?
Functional fitness is any exercise that helps you perform daily tasks, like lifting boxes or carrying groceries. It also includes activities like running and jumping, which may not seem functional at first glance but are very much so when you consider how many times per day we jump for things on a daily basis.
The idea behind functional fitness is that we should be able to perform these movements without injury or pain. That's why most gyms now have barbells and dumbbells available for their members to use; they're trying to teach people how to move their bodies safely while also providing them with tools that will help them get stronger and fitter than ever before!
Is functional fitness effective?
Functional fitness is effective because it's based on real-world movements and actions, rather than exercises that only mimic these movements. Functional fitness workouts are designed to improve your overall health and performance, which means they can help you live a better quality of life. A functional fitness program will usually include both strength training exercises (like lifting weights) as well as aerobic activities like running or cycling. This combination allows the body to use all its muscles at once—including those in the core—to create a balance between muscle groups so that each one works together effectively during activity.
Types of functional fitness
Functional fitness is a broad term, but it can be broken down into different categories.
- Strength training: This is the kind of workout that builds muscle and helps you burn fat. It's based on the principle of lifting progressively heavier weights over time, so when you start out your workout, you might lift five pounds for one rep and by the end of the week you'll be able to lift 20 pounds for six reps. This kind of training increases your endurance and helps prevent injuries as well as gives your body a lean, toned look.
- Agility training: This type of functional fitness focuses on improving coordination, speed, and balance by using various agility exercises like leaping over hurdles or jumping rope while walking backward. The goal here is to improve performance in sports-related activities such as basketball or soccer—or maybe even just walking around without bumping into things!
What are the benefits of functional fitness?
Improves Posture
If you have poor posture, functional fitness can help. Functional training focuses on strengthening and stabilizing muscles in a way that creates a more natural, fluid movement pattern of the body. This results in better posture, as well as preventing back pain or neck pain by strengthening the muscles around your spine and neck. Functional training also helps with shoulder pain prevention by strengthening the muscles that support your shoulders; hip pain prevention by strengthening the gluteal muscles which support your pelvis; knee pain prevention through stronger quadriceps (the front thigh muscle); ankle stability through stronger hamstrings (the back thigh muscle).
Increases Flexibility
Flexibility is the amount of movement in a joint or series of joints. It’s important for many sports and activities, such as golf and tennis.
To increase your flexibility you can use static stretching techniques such as holding stretches for 10 to 30 seconds at a time.
Improves Strength & Endurance
The exercises used in functional training are designed to improve both of these aspects of your fitness. This means that you will be able to push yourself harder than ever before without worrying about injuring yourself or getting tired too quickly. You will also see an improvement in endurance because these moves are designed to be done repeatedly without causing fatigue or injury.
Decreases Risk of Injury
When you train for performance rather than appearance, your risk of injury decreases because you're working your body as a unit instead of isolating individual muscles or joints.
Purposeful Training
Purposeful training is training with a specific goal in mind. In addition to improving performance in the activity itself, functional fitness also helps us develop better movement patterns through our daily activities. For example, by practicing squats and lunges while lifting weights at the gym, we are able to transfer this improved strength into better squatting and lunging form when picking up items off the floor or climbing stairs at home!
Functional Training Equipment & Exercises
Steel Mace
Steel mace is a weighted ball on a handle. It's used for striking and throwing, as well as strength and conditioning, martial arts, cross-training, sports, fitness, and rehabilitation. The steel mace is also used in circuit training.
Slam Ball
A slam ball is a weighted ball that can be used as a tool in functional training. It is available in various sizes, usually ranging from 10 to 20 pounds. The main function of this piece of equipment is to increase upper body strength and explosive power through the development of rotational movements, which are critical for sports performance and injury prevention.
Kettlebells
Kettlebells are small weights with a handle that you can hold in your hand or on the floor behind you. You might recognize them as those round balls that you see people swinging around in the gym. Kettlebell workouts come in many forms but generally involve exercises like swings, snatches, and presses. These various movements build muscle mass all over your body while challenging your balance, mobility, and coordination at the same time (that's why kettlebells make great cross-training tools).
Kettlebells are also great because they take up minimal space—you don't need much room if you have one or two of these little guys hanging around somewhere in your house!
Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are a versatile piece of equipment that can be used to increase the difficulty of your workout. They allow you to perform a variety of exercises with added resistance, which will help build muscle, burn fat and improve cardiovascular endurance.
In order to make use of the benefits offered by resistance bands, it's important that you learn the proper form for each exercise so that you don't injure yourself or cause any damage to your body.
Battle Ropes
Battle ropes are one of the most versatile pieces of equipment for functional fitness. They offer a great way to build total body strength and endurance, develop core strength, and improve conditioning all in one workout.
Battle rope exercises should be used in circuit training workouts where you can perform multiple exercises with minimal rest between each exercise. This ensures you’re getting a full-body conditioning workout that will burn fat while building strength and power.
Power bands
Power bands are elastic resistance device that can be used for multiple purposes. The most common use is for strength training, but they can also be used to increase power and explosiveness through speed training, agility exercises, and more.
Power band exercises can target specific muscle groups depending on how you hold them or attach them to a fixed object. They allow you to perform exercises that wouldn't normally be possible with free weights because of their dynamic nature.
Plyometric Boxes
Plyometric boxes are used for explosive power training. They can be used for a variety of exercises, including speed and agility training, plyometric exercises, and bodyweight exercises. This equipment allows you to perform more dynamic movements that will increase your explosiveness when done correctly. It's important to use proper form when performing plyometric box jumps as injury can result if you don't follow the correct steps in order to prevent injury.
Jump Ropes
Jumping rope is a great way to improve cardiovascular fitness, agility, balance, and coordination.
Sand Bag
Sandbag exercises are a great way to add variety and challenge to your current routine. They're also a great way to get stronger, as well as work on mobility, transferable strength, and body awareness. Sandbags are also fairly easy to make yourself at home.
Stability Ball
A stability ball is a large, inflatable ball that's used to perform certain exercises. It can be used for abdominal work, core exercises, and lower body strength training. You can also use a stability ball for stretching.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to get the most out of your workout, functional fitness is a great place to start. The key is to find an approach that fits your needs and goals, and keep in mind that it takes time for your body to adapt!