A Functional Approach to Training Next time you go to the gym ask yourself if you are training for function? Functional training is a huge buzzword within the fitness industry, and for me I define it as simply training for life’s activities. Unfortunately some people take things a little too far in the quest for “function”. Sometimes ego gets in the way of real world results as i found out almost 10 years ago. My worst example of ego getting in the way of function was standing on a swiss ball squatting in a smith machine. Using a smith machine is bad enough, but standing on a swiss ball was taking things a bit too far! Falling off that thing was the finest lesson learnt! When in life would i ever need to stand on a swiss ball? Never! When would i ever lift something in the one dimensional plane of a smith machine? Never! Unfortunately miseducation guides people along the wrong path. I have been there and it is not a pleasant journey especially if it involves over dominance on training anterior muscles - “pec deck” anyone?! Not once in my life can I think of a time where I have sat down and performed the “pec deck”…apart from many years ago in the gym before I learnt some more about training! The same goes for seated shoulder press, not once can I think of a time when I have sat down to press a weight over my head…other than in a gym many years ago! The first time I tried standing dumbbell press i was shocked I couldn’t lift the same weight! I now realise that I had de-trained my ability to stabilise. Joints around my shoulder did not want to know and even my abdominal musculature couldn’t keep up! I now know that sitting down to stabilise my body was very sacrificial. Every weight i lifted was done sat down! I could lift more weight sat down, at the expense of all the other muscles which need to be trained to lift a weight whilst standing. Back muscles? What were they? I sacrificed function for ego! At the time my thinking was that this would prevent injury yet now realise it was doing the complete opposite. In my mind i thought i must sit down to stop my back getting injured. How wrong i was! Human movement and anatomy go far deeper than traditionally taught. We learn what movements different muscles create, yet forget that in life an integrated collection of muscles work to achieve this movement. Our muscles work to increase force, reduce force and provide stability to create optimum movement allowing us to function effectively in our daily activities. I could apply the same rational thoughts to core stability training. Lets look at how most people train the core or the abdominal muscles. They do a few crunches on the floor and realise their neck hurts while doing them so they go and find an AB cradle or they pull their head almost chin to chest. With the head supported people probably think…”wow I can do hundreds of these, supporting the head makes it easier!” Many people reading this article probably have an ab crunch machine at home gathering dust under the bed. Best they stay there, unless you think there is a  functional need not to have stability within the neck. As for hundreds of repetitions, I could think of more productive ways to get a six pack or “life- proof" abs in less time than it takes to do hundreds of crunches. What about  internal and external obliques? Transverse abdominus? Multifidus? Or what about the role the abdominal wall has in activities that are done whilst standing? In fact what about all the other muscles which are vital to total body stability, that work with our abdominal muscles? I could even mention about the motor-learning effects of the training we do and how that can enhance our performance? Whilst isolating a muscle may have its place ultimately I need to integrate its use into more realistic movements. Our body is capable of squatting, bending, lunging, pushing, pulling, carrying, twisting and combinations of these movements! If you are not training these movements do you know why? If you were reading this hoping for the easy “functional 6 pack creating exercise” there isn’t one! If your doing hundreds of crunches in the gym you carry on, just don’t get in the way of the girl with the ripped abs doing squats and deadlifts! In another article I give a little insight into my thought process when designing training programs, and give you a few examples of when I may or may not include certain movements. Until then train smarter, not harder. Site design by Steve Bridgeman Sitemap - Fitness Articles - Tewkesbury Boxing - Circuit Training - Fitness Shop