Functional training is all the hype at the moment, especially since we found out that the actors of '300', fell victims to this method of exercise, but what is it? Functional Training involves training the movements in which the body would experience in real life. These are the movements we put our bodies through on a day to day basis, and the more dynamic real life movements we perform when playing sports. A functional movement usually consists of large muscle groups coordinating together to move the body through different planes to complete a task efficiently. Unfortunately, the fitness industry, especially the big gym names, have strayed away from these principles and the gym machines have taken over! Because they are on a fixed path (opposite to free weights), the machines have managed to cut out a massive amount of muscle involvement when doing that exercise, for instance, just sitting down, stops the core from taking any part!
It is rare for us to use a single muscle on its own, at any given time. So why should you train them on their own? The fixed path machines isolate single muscles and only them! Now this may be beneficial, for example maybe when returning from a specific injury, or if you are into bodybuilding, but for the rest of us they are fooling us in thinking that we are doing our bodies good. Infact we are causing muscle imbalances throughout our body and becoming less functional.
If you refer back to the caveman times (I often do), and think what kinds of movements (i.e. exercises) they would be doing? They would be sprinting after animals, throwing spears, dragging them home, jumping, climbing, lifting. Im not suggesting that you climb a tree, spear an animal and drag it home for your workout, just have a thought when you are training next, and how functional is what you are doing?
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