Functional movement, what is it?
This has been the fitness industry buzzword for nearly 20 years. Yes, we have been working on it for that long.
Functional training is simply specific to the task/sport, or event you chose.
However, the fitness industry is effectively classifying “functional” training as that mimics life tasks – squatting, deadlifting, pushing and pulling; all allow us to get in and out of chairs, lift and shift things around the house, and move our bodies well.
The side benefits of functional movements compared to isolated movements are that they challenge all components of fitness in one go. When you perform a leg press, you are positioned in a seated and stable environment, allowing you to produce as much force and lift as heavy a weight as possible.
Consequently, you should be able to leg press more than you can squat. Whilst squatting, we have the element of balance, not the same way when you balance on one leg, but you have to be able to control your centre of mass and the position of the weight relative to the centre of mass. If you work hard to control this, the weight will be heavier due to increased leverage of the weight relative to the primary joint (hip) actions – meaning you fail the lift.
The squat challenges our flexibility as well. You can escape limited ankle range by your foot placement on the plate during a leg press. Increasing your flexibility or having strength through an increased / greater range of motion saves us in our daily tasks.
The simplicity of a step-up, tests our flexibility and strength within that range. Toddlers regularly climb up the stairs with every step requiring at least 90 degrees of hip flexion, the same as an adult walking up 20-24 inch steps. As we age and get taller, the challenge of our flexibility reduces, and we lose strength through these ranges of motion if we train it.
Do we lose flexibility from sitting (yes, we do) but get weaker through ranges because they are no longer challenging.
If you don’t own the range (have strength through it), then you lose the range, as our bodies will only allow us to get into positions that hit knows it is safe in. It is way more intelligent than we will ever be, which is why it adapts so well.
These are the many benefits of functional training, helping to make day-to-day tasks easier and all joint positions and motions familiar protecting us should we be forced into them unexpectedly. As we age, balance reduces and the likelihood of falling (risking injury) increases. Flexibility and strength allow us to continue to thrive, getting in and out of chairs and up and down stairs.
Training more functionally can increase your performance in a competitive landscape and, more importantly, as you age. A healthy body allows for a healthy mind and vice versa.
If you or somebody you know could do with some help getting moving, and working on the form and function, then try our JJ Perform programme HERE.
Using our signature movement mechanics philosophy, our total body programme is designed to prepare you for your daily movement and workouts.