Functional fitness focuses on continuous movement exercises to prevent the chance of injury while doing everyday activities.
What is Functional Fitness?
Have you ever wondered why no matter how fit you are when it comes to weight lifting and cardio, you still manage to throw out your back while vacuuming or lifting a basket of laundry, or tweak a hamstring chasing your child across the yard? The fact is that most weight lifting exercises along with cardio regimens do not actually prepare you for functional or everyday movements. Functional fitness aims to prepare the body for everyday movements by creating exercises that are the same as or similar to movements you might go through in regular activities. Functional fitness focuses on developing a body that is capable of doing real-life activities in real-life positions. The exercises done in functional fitness regimens include movements that are designed to practice safe bending and lifting so as to minimize the potential for injury.
Functional fitness is a series of exercises that focuses on fluid or continuous movement. Unlike working with machines or concentrated movements, functional fitness aims to increase stability and strength holistically and throughout the entire body, rather than individually.
What are the benefits of Functional Fitness?
Like many exercise methods, functional fitness focuses on exposing even the smallest muscles to stabilization and development. As well, functional fitness exposes several muscle groups and joints to each exercise instead of isolating muscles. Exercises like multidirectional lunges that mimic the same motions made when vacuuming or mowing the lawn work out most of the lower body. If an extended arm is added to that exercise, it becomes a full-body exercise utilizing most of the major muscle groups and preparing the body for realistic movements outside of the gym or exercise class. With functional fitness, muscles are trained to work together as exercises are repeated and proper form is a primary focus.
According to the philosophy behind functional fitness, the movements made in exercise should assimilate the actions made in real life in order to avoid injury both in the gym and in real-life activities. The theory, of course, is that if one performs exercises that mimic real-life movements, stretches and activities in general, injuries are less likely to occur in during those everyday activities like carrying in the groceries, playing with your children or changing the water bottle on the water cooler.
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