Functional Exercise

by Catherine Rose

What is functional exercise and what are the benefits of using it over other exercise techniques?

Functional exercise techniques describe those which recruit large groups of muscles, utilize multiple planes of motion and employ many differing patterns of movement. They thereby place more of a challenge upon the Central Nervous System than exercises that are performed in isolation, which in turn promotes greater muscular and neural adaptation. Put simply, the whole body including those smaller muscles we need for balance and stability, as well as the brain, is given an effective work out with each exercise. This results in a stronger and more evenly balanced body capable of carrying out complex movements with less risk of injury.

Who can benefit from a program like this?

Basically everyone! Exercise prescription will depend on client goals but programs can be tailored to enhance any activity from golf, tennis, wakeboarding or rugby, to housework, gardening and  even looking after small children! Never underestimate the strains put on the body when running around after active youngsters!

What are the basic elements of a functional exercise program?

Think of the movements we use every day, bending down to pick things up, reaching for objects, pushing prams, lunging for the ball in tennis etc. We can break these movements down into the simple exercises squat, lunge, bend, pull, push and twist. By adding different movent patterns, eg. side to side and up and down, utilizing multiple joints within one exercise or using the body to provide support or resistance against outside factors, we can effectively mimic the actions  we want to within a controlled environment. By asking the muscles to recruit in different ways and at different speeds, we are able to achieve the exact conditioning required to improve our performance, strength and flexibility.

The above shows a simple forward lunge with bi-ceps curl. Lunges can be walked, jumped, performed in every direction and combined with a multitude of upper body movements. Balance can be challenged by providing an unstable surface such as an air disc to work on and core stabilty improved even more, by using cables to provide an extra resistance to work against.

For more information contact Catherine: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it