If we don’t train with a purpose, we will get nowhere. Functional training, then, is rooted in this idea of functionality/purpose. It prepares you for real-life situations and everyday tasks. It seeks to mimic typical life situations–like carrying groceries, holding a child, picking something off the ground, getting up–and prepare the individual for accomplishing what they need to.
This form of physical training and exercise is suitable for every single client; whether they are an elite athlete, a working mother, or a 65 year old who has never trained their entire life. It empowers people to have independence and capability as they age. It also doesn’t require fancy or expensive equipment, as a lot of it can be done with just body weight, especially starting out.
Functional training emphasizes foundational movement patterns like squats, pushes, and pulls, rather than isolating muscles. Instead of working one movement (think a bicep curl) in isolation, it pulls together many joints and movements that typically work together to accomplish a movement pattern.
| Functional Fitness | Traditional Training |
| Trains movement patterns (using multiple joints) | Isolates individual muscles (most often using only one joint) |
| Emphasizes functional movements: squats, hinges, push, pull, rotation | Focuses on specific muscle groups (chest day, leg day are examples) |
| Mimics everyday actions to improve capability and performance in real-life | Has a low transfer to daily activity |
| Often performed standing or moving, requiring core stability/engagement and balance | Often seated and supported by machines, not requiring the core to engage to maintain stability |
| Utilizes unilateral exercises (only one side at a time), requiring core stability and coordination | Often incorporate bilateral exercises, where balance is distributed throughout the body and less stabilization is required |
| Builds strength, mobility, coordination, and stability all together at a time | Builds muscle size and strength in isolated areas of the body |
How do we assess functional fitness? Through Functional Movement Screens, which assess the quality of movement patterns in individuals by evaluating key movements, including squat, lunge, and reach. This can identify imbalances or limits to range of motion and mobility, and it could identify areas that are at a higher risk for injury if not addressed. We offer functional movement screens in our General Fitness Assessment package for these reasons. You can receive more information on them here.