I consider FUNCTIONAL TRAINING to be the foundation of my approach as a personal trainer. Unfortunately the term Functional Training has a lot of different, often incorrect, connotations.
Unfortunately, many people think of it as being associated with performing strange circus acts on wobble boards, stability balls or BOSUs. This has caused some people to bash anything to do with the idea of functional training based on this common misconception.
While I do utilize some of those tools, they are not used in a way that resembles a Barnum and Bailey’s routine.
So What IS FUNCTIONAL TRAINING you ask?
Rather, to me, FUNCTIONAL TRAINING is about using your body in a more integrated, synergistic fashion. Juan Carlos Santana, one of the most well known and respected proponents of Functional Training speaks of it simply as “Training movements not muscles”.
Basically, Functional Training is distinguished from the more isolated “Bodybuilding” approach that was in vogue for so many years and still used by the majority of people in gyms today.
For example, if you compare doing a seated overhead shoulder press to a squat-push press, you can see that the second exercise is much more functional in nature. The Squat-Push-Press is similar to squatting down to lift something off the ground, then picking it up and using combined actions of the lower and upper body to bring it overhead (for example lifting a box off the ground and placing it on a high shelf).
Compare that to the seated overhead press which doesn’t resemble an activity one might encounter in the course of their day. Therefore it’s not related to how someone is likely to actually function in daily life.
Is there room for various types training in the FUNCTIONAL continuum?
Now certainly there is a place for more isolated types of training in order to build “Prime Mover” strength or Hypertrophy (i.e. increase in muscle size) and it all comes down to context.
If you have someone who has muscular atrophy in their thighs, then building back the size and strength of those muscles is critical in order to help the body function normally.
So in this instance, even a seated leg extension or leg curl would have a functional purpose. However, once those muscles get sufficient size and strength, those types of exercises wouldn’t continue to have much functional benefit (after all, how often does one sit and need to lift something up by extending or flexing their knees?).
On the other side of the physical spectrum, a football player who needs to build lean body mass and maximal strength will get functional benefit from doing exercises like a Bench Press.
Ideally they would get the best all around benefit by combining that with exercises that use their body in a more functional position as well. These might be exercises such as a standing split stance cable chest press, or explosive medicine ball throws, which closer resemble the way they would utilize strength and power in a game situation.
Staying Balanced
Balance is another element that one must consider in order to function well, then certainly that is an element that needs to be practiced. Typically I prefer to work on balance with the feet on the floor and often adding perturbations (such as having clients catch and toss a medicine ball, or holding the medicine ball and moving it right, left and center).
Stability balls and BOSUs have their place as well, but again this doesn’t mean spending excessive amounts of time learning tricks such as standing on a stability ball and doing squats. That really doesn’t have any functional application that translates well to any activity (unless you are going to need to actually stand on a stability ball and squat. :)).
However, being able to sit on a stability ball, with good pelvic alignment can help train the core musculature to work in balanced manner, utilizing the muscles surrounding the hips, abdominals, and lower back region to contribute to proper posture.
Does it always look Functional?
There are also exercises such as planks and side planks that don’t look like actual “real life” situations, but still they may train the muscles to be stronger in the way they will function on a daily basis. A plank for example allows one to put the body in a position where you are working the stabilizing function of the core musculature. So although looking “non-functional”, there is functional benefit to be derived from this type of activity.
Doing a Split stance unilateral cable (or tubing) row is certainly a lot more functional looking. As you row, the resistance would rotate your torso if you didn’t stabilize through the Oblique musculature, but by resisting the rotation you are creating static strength in those muscles. This is more functional because you would actually use a similar movement for example when starting a lawnmower.
What about the Crunch?
Compare the above two exercises to doing an abdominal crunch. Aside from getting out of bed in the morning, there isn’t too much use for doing spinal flexion against resistance. When you bend over to pick something up you are actually using the muscles of the back (erector spinae and other muscles) to lower you into that position.
This doesn’t mean you must never do crunches, but it’s better, from a “functional” perspective, to work the abdominal and other core muscles as stabilizers as that’s how they can best serve you in most activities you are likely to encounter both in life as well as sport.
If one's goal is strictly aesthetics then the crunch would have more of a place in an exercise program, but do be careful with overdoing them because according to well known lower back expert, Stuart McGill, too much spinal flexion can put the intervertebral discs under excessive stress which can lead to debilitating injuries.
If you feel you "must" crunch, then I suggest using caution and avoid using momentum when crunching. But still, I would limit the amount of crunching one does overall (ideally from a "risk vrs reward" perspective, I'd all but eliminate crunching almost completely).
In Closing
I hope this provides at least a brief clarification surrounding some of the misconceptions that abound when it comes to understanding what FUNCTIONAL TRAINING training is all about.
Scott Fishkind
http://www.time4youfitness.com
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