What is Functional Training and how can I achieve my fitness goals with it?

Functional fitness may seem to be on the rise in the fitness community, but it is one of the oldest and most widely used types of training around. Functional training has its beginnings in the field of physical rehabilitation and was developed by physiotherapists to improve the recovery of patients after injury or disability.

Specific exercises were developed to help patients regain physical function and return to activities of daily living. From the beginning, Functional Training was embraced by fitness professionals and exercises were developed to simulate everyday movements and target core strength.

Think of it as training the whole body - not just a specific muscle. When you jump, you're not just working your leg muscles. It's a coordinated effort between your nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory and musculoskeletal systems that allows for fluid movement.

Experts emphasise that functional exercises change throughout our lives. They note that appropriate functional exercises for a teenager are very different from those for a 50- or 80-year-old.

A teenager does not need to focus on getting up from a chair, but this can be challenging for an older person. Also, a person with a disability needs a different functional focus than a person who does not face a disability. At every stage of life, the activities of daily living change, as do the functional exercises. Untrained athletes with a special focus on diet and nutrition exercise differently than trained athletes.

"HIIT", short for "High Intensity Interval Training", means "high intensity interval training" in German. It is an extremely important training method for those who want to achieve high performance goals and increase their fitness level, especially those who are pressed for time but have no health problems can achieve exceptional results.

During exercise there is a lot of pressure on the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal system. Therefore, it is a good idea to check your training history before trying such high-intensity exercises. Especially those who have no previous experience should have their workouts approved by expert trainers and doctors. HIIT is not a standard training programme - on the contrary, it would be appropriate for the athlete to determine their ideal levels, speed-rest intervals and increase them in a controlled manner.

The biggest mistake in functional training as well as in interval training is to keep the rest intervals too short. Especially those who want to achieve remarkable athletic results or lose weight quickly increase the risk of injury through overload. To reduce this risk, realise your training programme only a few days a week.

To achieve the best results, adapt your training programme with the help of a professional trainer. Depending on your fitness level, the duration of a workout varies between 20 and 45 minutes.

The duration of the movements can be between 8 and 10 seconds or up to 5 minutes, depending on your condition.

The key to effective functional fitness training is to simulate the actual activity you are training to improve. The focus should be on similar contractions (eccentric, concentric or isometric), speed, range of motion and coordination level.

The closer the exercise is to the actual activity, the more effective the training will be. For example, if you are an active person who spends a lot of time on a bike, functional training involves exercises that simulate the movements and strengthen the muscles used in cycling.

Although exercise equipment is a popular method for strength and fitness training, most, such as a leg extension, focus on one area of the body and do not reflect actual activity as well as a functional exercise.

Functional training encompasses the movement continuum, meaning it includes all the systems that work together to perform an activity. If you want to become a stronger biker, don't just work on your quads - they are just one component of the whole system recruited to pedal a bike.

Everyone can reap physical benefits from functional training. A few specific groups reap serious rewards from both the high-impact and low-impact styles of this training method.

Recently, the US military has incorporated a form of high-intensity functional training (HIFT) into soldier training. The programme is designed to promote better physical preparedness in a variety of situations through intense cardio, endurance and strength training.

A report that examined HIFT compared to traditional training programmes suggested that the lower volume and duration of HIFT can lead to fewer injuries compared to higher volume endurance training.

Although this type of training may work for very fit soldiers, this intensity may pose a greater risk of injury for the general population. So despite the promise of HIFT, more well-designed studies need to be conducted to draw meaningful conclusions about the safety of HIFT.

For high-intensity functional training, competent trainers will help guide you through each workout and thus help you stay on track.

A study conducted by exercise scientists and a physiotherapist compared two groups of people: one who performed a series of functional exercises and a control group who simply continued with their usual exercise routines.

After the four-week study, the functional training group showed greater improvements in strength, endurance, agility, balance and flexibility and were better able to maintain activities of daily living.

The type of exercises you perform should certainly depend on your functional fitness goals - here are some great exercise examples to incorporate into your routine.

Burpee to long jump

Bend down, place your hands on the floor and quickly bring your legs behind you into a push-up position. While doing a push-up, place your legs on your hands and then quickly jump up and forward.

Medicine Ball Twist

Lie on your back with a foam roller along your spine. Bend your knees while your feet rest on the floor. Grasp a medicine ball with both hands and lift it over your chest. While keeping your arms straight, lift the ball over your head and back to the centre. Then, keeping the arms straight, move to one side, then back to the centre and then to the other side. Repeat the entire sequence.

Single Leg Dumbbell Row

Stand with weights in each hand. Bend forward from the hips while lifting one leg behind you with the knee bent. Then bring the weights to your chest while balancing on one leg. Then repeat on the opposite side.

Wall sit with foam roller

Place a foam roller between your back and the wall. Then slowly lower into a squat and hold for up to five seconds. Increase the duration of the squat in the second and third rounds.

Foam Roller Fly

Lie on your back with a foam roller under the length of your spine. Bend your knees while your feet rest on the floor. Then grasp the weights in each hand and extend your arms at shoulder height with a bend at the elbows. Bring the weights overhead and then return to the starting position.

Pull-up

Use a mounted bar and your bodyweight. Grasp the bar with an underhand grip and pull your body up as far as possible and return to the start.

Planks

Place your forearms on the floor with your elbows aligned below your shoulders. Lift your body and balance on your forearms and toes. Keep your body straight while doing this and remain in this position for 30-60 seconds.

Step Overhead Press

Set up a bench in front of you that places your hips at a 90-degree angle - or lower - when you place one foot on it. Hold a weight in each hand at shoulder height with elbows bent. Then step onto the bench with one foot so that both feet are on the bench as you lift the weights above your head. Then repeat with the other leg.

Book your trial with us now and try out the functional exercises directly!