Functional Strength Training — What Makes For Good Functional Training Exercises?

Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about “functional training” in the fitness world… and if you’ve ever wondered what functional strength training is… or what makes for a “good” functional training exercise — then you’re going to love this article!

Functional Strength Training — What is it?

Functional strength training is a new buzzword for training in a manner so that your strength gains “carry over” to real life functions. Basically, you are training for the sake of improving the rest of your life — instead of just for vanity reasons or with no real goal in mind.

Often functional training helps you…

• Perform better at athletics…
• Be stronger for everyday life and situations…
• Stay healthy, lean, and better performing longer in life…

What Makes An Exercise “Functional”?

In a nutshell, any exercise you are doing that is going to…

1. Train Your Whole Body — because your body always works as a “unit” in real life…
2. Builds Many Physical Attributes Simultaneously…

Is considered a functional exercise.

Examples? Sure

The leg extension machine is not considered a functional exercise because there is no movement in your everyday life… or in athletics… when you “isolate” JUST your quadricep muscle and don’t involve your hamstrings/hip muscles at all to extend your leg from the knee joint down… The Leg Extension is an EPIC FAIL when it comes to being functional.

The Squat – is a VERY functional exercise because it involves your entire body musculature. The legs provide the majority of the movement for the exercise, the entire leg too — hamstrings, glutes, and hips — while the muscles of the torso stabilize the bar on the shoulders.

Plus, the squat “movement” is a functional movement pattern because you’re always squatting down to pick stuff off the floor… sitting… and going into and out of this position in daily life. You’ll stay more mobile, flexible and strong into your older age the more adapt at this exercise you are.

And finally, the squat builds coordination, balance and mental fortitude (20 rep squats are legendary for their “mental toughness” training). For all these reasons (and probably more I forgot) the squat is a HIGHLY functional exercise.

Get it?

How To Always Pick Functional Training Exercises

Stop focusing on exercises and instead focus on movement patterns. My philosophy, the philosophy the DoubleYourGains’ 3-5 Beginner’s Strength Training Program is built on is the idea of movement patterns.

For strength training every session MUST train these movement patterns:

• A Push/Press Movement
• A Pull Movement
• A Squat Movement
• An Explosive/Hip Dominant Movement

By focusing on these movement patterns you’ll find you’re training in a highly functional manner… you’re training your body in the movement patterns it ACTUALLY moves every day in real life… and you’re forced to not waste time with isolation exercises and instead focus on getting the biggest “bang for your buck” by training compound exercises almost exclusively. (except for the case of rehabilitating injuries and addressing muscle inbalances).

So get on the DoubleYourGains’ 3-5 Program and Get training functional TODAY!