Functional training is a type of exercise method that is aimed at improving your ability to perform movements and activities that are used in your day-to-day life. It often involves movements that imitate your real-life tasks or sports, and often requires the use of multiple muscle groups and planes of motion.
Functional training can promote weight loss and increase muscle toning in just a few weeks of consistent training. It employs several muscle groups at the same time, and can also boost metabolism, calorie burning, muscle resistance and your stamina.
Functional training can be implemented into your exercise routine to strengthen your core and back muscles, prevent injuries and reduce fatigue. It can range in intensity and can be organized into circuits consisting of a series of exercises without breaks in between.
Health benefits
The main benefits of functional training are:
- Improving physical conditioning and cardiorespiratory capacity
- Increasing muscle strength
- Promoting weight loss, as there is an increase in metabolism, which can promote fat burning even after training;
- Promoting muscle toning
- Improving motor coordination
- Improving posture and body balance
- Reducing the chance of injury
- Improving flexibility.
Functional training can offer several health benefits as it can be done at a high intensity, which boosts metabolism and calorie burning. However, to ensure you are obtaining these health benefits, it is important to perform functional training as guided by a personal trainer or qualified health care professional. He or she can show you the correct positioning and for certain exercises so that you can reach your health goals
How is functional training done?
Functional training can be performed in any space and can be organized in to 20 to 40 minute circuits, varying from the number of exercises and sets you perform. Organizing your exercises into circuits is beneficial for improving your cardiorespiratory and physical stamina.
Check out a list of functional training exercises to incorporate into your next workout.
Functional training can be performed by a wide variety of populations, including athletes, postpartum women, sedentary people or anyone interested in increasing their flexibility, losing weight and strengthening muscles.
There are no contraindications for functional training, as exercises can be adapted to an individual's needs. Functional training can even be performed by older adults with health conditions like arthritis, osteoarthritis, back pain, herniated discs and others.