What is Functional Training and why is it Important for Everyone?

Over the past few years, human life has become more sedentary than ever. Human movement has become restricted and people are spending more time indoors. This has led to a generation of people who are less physically active. As a result, these people become more prone to lifestyle and cardiac-related diseases. Hence, there has been a constant need to make people more active and the most effective way is through exercise. There are various types of exercises and one of them is functional training.

What is Functional Training?

In simple terms, functional training is a workout designed to help perform daily tasks – like walking, squatting, and carrying objects with ease. The major difference between functional training and any other type of workout is that it engages almost all the muscles of the body. The main aim of the workout is motion. Thus, this type of workout can be done by anyone regardless of their age, fitness level, or training experience.

Here are the major benefits of functional training:

Increased Balance and Stability

As already stated, the main aim of functional exercise is movement. Therefore, as you are moving and performing the various functional workouts, you will be increasing your body’s overall functioning, flexibility, and endurance. Your range of motion will improve with time and make your daily tasks easier. Since functional exercises target many muscles at a go, you can improve your strength and natural balance.

Improved movement Patterns

The human body is naturally made to move. In functional training, exercises involve movement patterns and not isolated muscle groups. Thus, by targeting the movements we make every day, functional training provides a practical and useful style of fitness and is suitable for everyone. At some point in our lives, we all need ease in movement regardless of our age. Functional training makes this a reality and keeps our bodies ready for everyday tasks.

Reduced Injury Risk

Functional training can help to significantly reduce the risk of some minor injuries. Various daily tasks such as carrying heavy groceries, lifting soil bags, or carrying children can hurt our small muscles when we least expect it. Functional exercises, therefore, equip your body for such functional movements and thus lower the risk of injury. The training also improves your stamina reducing the risk of falling and tripping over. All these factors work to ensure our general well-being. As a matter of fact, functional training began as a way to prevent and rehabilitate people after injuries.

Increased Calorie Burn

Functional training is more effective in burning calories as compared to traditional strength training. The body burns about 5 calories to consume one liter of oxygen. Thus, the more the muscles involved in your workout, the more calories are burnt to consume oxygen. This is a plus on your side because your weight will be kept in check, and you will stay fit. This is one of the main reasons why you need to consider signing up for a functional training program.

Improved Physique

Functional training helps you build a more athletic body. No one wants a bent body; everyone wants a fit and lean body. Functional training can help us achieve that. The reason why athletes and dancers have good-looking bodies is that they perform movements using their entire bodies. Enrolling in a functional training program can help you develop a lean, and muscular body similar to that of a model. Regardless of your age, you need to consider functional training. If you are older, functional training is your kind of exercise.

Ease Joint Pain

As we grow older, our bodies become stiffer and we start developing some joint pains. Since functional training sits somewhere between physical therapy and personal training, it helps regenerate and restore the body. Functional training can help in managing back, muscle, and joint pains, especially for elderly people. It does this by strengthening the core and increasing mobility to enable better support and stability. As you exercise regularly, you get a broad range of movements, and tasks that used to be uncomfortable or painful become more manageable. Therefore, functional training should be included as an item on your to-do list.

Improved Coordination and Mobility

Mobility is the ability to control movement through an entire range of motion. That is, when a joint shortens, it may cause the muscles on the side to lengthen, resulting in integrated movement patterns which improve joint mobility while enhancing overall muscle coordination. Again, because there are no machines to support our bodies in real life, we need to rely on our balance while coordinating the movements. Functional training helps us get there by ensuring that our coordination and mobility are at their best.

Improved Aerobic Capacity

Aerobic capacity can be defined as the maximum amount of oxygen that the heart and lungs are able to take to the muscles. Functional training helps improve this capacity by increasing the aerobic activity of the body and ensuring more oxygen flows. A good example is high-intensity interval training, which can be considered functional training for cardio. Because of its high-intensity nature, it increases the aerobic activities of the body and, in turn, increases the aerobic capacity of the body. As a result, a person is able to complete difficult tasks with ease.

In conclusion, functional training can be a one-size fits all kind of training. This is because regardless of your fitness level or age, you can comfortably sign up for the program. The training also focuses on equipping us with experience that makes our daily lives more manageable. Furthermore, a stable and functional body will help you stay in shape, reduce injury risk, and make your future life easy and free. Next Level Fitness is a great fitness company that offers world-class fitness programs. We at Next Level Fitness aim to incorporate functional fitness exercises into every workout. To find out more about our programs, book an appointment with one of our trainers.