Functional fitness is a good way to help one with their daily activities. These exercises help you with better strength, muscular health and improve endurance as well.
In other words, functional training purpose is to translate an activity beyond your workout.
The functional training workout consists of compound exercises like squats, lunges, and deadlifts. Compound exercises like squat, deadlift, lunge, or push-ups require more than one muscle group to work together. The movements involve moving forward and backwards, side to side, and incorporating rotational movements.
The primary advantages of doing functional training are as follows:-
- It can be performed using body weights or using free weights too. Machines require you to move in a very specific and rigid way. For example, the leg extension machine involves a group of muscles glutes, hamstrings and core.
- Moreover, if you’re working out to be in shape or to improve health, then it should consist mainly of the compound and functional movements. By training multiple muscle groups at the same time, your body functions better as a whole.
- Your mind and muscles will learn how to recruit multiple muscle groups together to get a job done and potentially won’t put a strain on a typical muscle.
- It also improves coordination, balance and body awareness to avoid any unnecessary injuries. It works on your core muscles and helps increase metabolism, it works great for people with metabolic-related disorders.
There are various reasons to get into functional training, beginners can start with 3 times a week, the intensity and duration of the exercise can be progressed with time.
It can also help burn a good amount of calories, even when your body is at rest as it may help increase your RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate). Thus helps lose weight faster.
References
- ET, Poehlman. (1989). A review: exercise and its influence on resting energy metabolism in man. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 21(5), 515-525.
- Jetté, M., Sidney, K., & Blümchen, G. (1990). Metabolic equivalents (METS) in exercise testing, exercise prescription, and evaluation of functional capacity. Clinical cardiology, 13(8), 555–565. https://doi.org/10.1002/clc.4960130809
- Willbond, S. M., Laviolette, M. A., Duval, K., & Doucet, E. (2010). Normal weight men and women overestimate exercise energy expenditure. The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 50(4), 377–384.