You may have heard the term ‘Functional Training’ in regards to fitness lately but what exactly is it?
Having worked in the Fitness Business for over 15 years now I believe that this type of training is the future of fitness!
Everyone should be incorporating Functional Training into their exercise routines.
Functional training is Movements that are specific to one’s activities of daily living. This can be applied to sports people or people who just want to be better able to carry out their daily tasks: at work, leisure activities or simply carrying shopping or lifting your child etc! Functional training refers to the type of exercises that contribute to better, more efficient and safer performance of real world activities or sports movements.
Traditional “weightlifting” exercises generally target isolate one muscle or one small group of muscles for each exercise. Functional training exercises generally target several body parts (often ALL the muscles in the body) with one movement or exercise.
This type of training is great for:
• Weight Loss
• Fat Burning
• Strength
• Toning
• Power
• Speed
• Flexibility and range of motion
• Muscular endurance
• Cardio vascular fitness
Functional training allows you to work your muscles on different planes (hitting different angles) and building strength in those “stabilizer” muscles as well as the main target muscle. Machines are pre-set using only the muscle and angle that the machine allows. Multi-plane exercises are more complex movements and more closely mimic movements that are used in everyday life.
Not that I believe we should stop using weights machines, barbells & dumbbells but that everyone, even body builders, could benefit from incorporating this type of training into their exercise routines.
The type of exercises used for this can involve:
Kettlebells
Suspension Training
Power Bags
Bulgarian Bags
Body resistance Exercises
As with all forms of training the most important aspect is knowing how to perform these exercises properly and use the equipment in a safe & effective manner.
Often by just investing in an inexpensive piece of equipment, such as one kettlebell, you can train your whole body in just 3 short 20 minute workouts per week at home to achieve all your health & weight loss goals. (Yes, that’s just ONE HOUR PER WEEK!)
Talk to us here at Lifegym if you wish to explore Functional Training or to discuss how we can assist you in achieving your Health & Fitness Goals.
Lifegym, 13 Anne Street, Dundalk: 086-8598954
