Functional training has been the buzzword that’s been around in the fitness industry these days, and
this type of training makes so much sense you’d wonder how we took so long
to start it! Here’s the premise: take the movements that you do everyday and create
exercises that mimic those movements. The benefits are huge, so much so that many high
level professional athletes employ functional movements into their routines
to take their playing to much higher levels.

A few of the greatest benefits to functional training are:

Strengthens the muscles your body calls on everyday
Prevent injuries that you might encounter in routine activities
Develop good form that will make daily activities safer and easier to perform
Increase your energy levels so

you are more productive all the time

Still not convinced? One of the most common problems that my clients face is back pain.
It can be chronic pain that they think they just have to live with, or occasional pulls or
strains that make the next few days very uncomfortable. By looking at what kinds of
movements they do everyday we first focus on improving their form and then come up with
strength exercises that will re-enforce the smaller, often weak muscles that are responsible
for stabilizing the body while it performs tasks. This has been shown time and again to not
just prevent the occasional injury, but the chronic pain group has been able to finally
be

relieved of the pain that has hindered them for years!

Functional workouts aren’t just for the “everyday warrior” either. The Toronto
Maple Leafs’ Gary Roberts credits functional training for his injury come back when he joined the Leafs. For you golfers, any successful golf program must include function specific movements that strengthen the core (think “abs”and back) which is where the power should be generated for your swing. One of my own clients who is an avid cyclist was amazed by the new speed and stamina he found through a routine that included functional training.

Some examples of functional movements include:

Squats
Lunges
Pulling
Pushing
Rotation exercises

When implementing a functional training program, keep in mind these important considerations:

Use all planes

of movements (don’t just stand straight forward)
Create instability
Use gravity as resistance
Include speed and reactive training

Some examples of functional movements are:

Squats with a medicine ball

You can add rotations, change the speed and even go on one leg.

Push Ups

You can use gravity to your advantage here. You can try walking pushups or try putting a quick
clap in between each push up performed.

Functional exercises are really quite endless. The best part is you generally don’t need a lot of
equipment. This type of training can be done literally anywhere.

So if you are an athlete looking to improve your sport or simply someone wanting to improve their health, look and feel better then put some functional exercises

in your training program and watch for some amazing results!

Kelly Parker is an ACE and Can-Fit Pro certified fitness professional and has been helping people reach their health and fitness goals for over 11 years.

Visit http://www.how-to-get-fit.com to learn more on how to burn fat and get the toned body you’ve been striving for.