The Real Definition of Functional Exercise
Throughout 2017, without a doubt- you will see the scene pictured above inside a gym. The functional training craze is well and truly still upon us. Apart from being a great way to pick up girls, and rehab people with serious issues, balance and âfunctionalâ training really isnât all its talked up to be. Whatâs funny is if you go up to one of those people, or if you are one yourself and ask what theyâre doing, theyâll respond with a catch phrase involving the words core, functional or real world transfer. Itâs funny to think, I mean if you really sit down and view the functional training craze objectively, youâll see that any funky exercise any trainer comes up with involving a piece of equipment thatâs not a barbell- will be given a functional training sticker of approval because it somehow transfers to everyday life. Maybe if you thought a little further, and had a think about training for what it really is, and the principles it sits upon- youâd see what functional training really is.
The principle of specificity:
This is the principle at the heart of functional training- mimicking a âreal-lifeâ movement in the gym, so that you can improve at the same movement outside of the gym. Sounds good, and sounds like it would work. But maybe think of the last time you were late to go somewhere and you needed to pick something up off the floor or take something out of a low cupboard in a real hurry, did you think about all the technique cues you did in the gym like keep your weight on your heels and keep your back straight? I know I donât. This is because when weâre not thinking about moving, our body will move in the way it wants to. Functional training claims that the motor patterns you do in the gym will be incorporated into the way you move day-to-day, but Iâm yet to see this happen.
The principle of specificity states that an activity must be specific to an intended skill in order to produce a maximal transfer of learning. In plain English, this means that an exercise or drill needs to specifically include the same movement as the real one, for there to be an actual transfer of the skill into a real life or game situation. Notice the word specific. Not similar. In other words, the âfunctionalâ movement patterns youâll learn by balancing on a bosu ball for example arenât functional at all, in the sense that they wonât have that âdirect transferâ into day to day activity that functional training depends upon.
This leaves the question then - how does training in general transfer into day to day activity?
The real principle behind any sort of training is the golden rule; progressive overload. This means that the aim of any program should be to increase the resistance, finish faster or add volume over the course of the program. What this in turn gives you is an increased raw ability to perform a skill better, not instantly get better at the skill itself. In other words, training gives your body the raw capacity to run faster, strike harder or catch more waves.. But the only way youâll actually get better at that skill is by practising THAT specific skill, not by doing something similar in the gym.
How do I train for balance, coordination and rotational strength then?
Easy. For balance and coordination, add unilateral (one side at a time exercises), like split squats. If this is easy, try adding load or elevating the back leg (Bulgarian split squat). This will give you the raw ability to balance properly and help train structural balance on the muscle acting on the knee and hip too. Rotational strength exercises are a must for athletic conditioning in particular, and to get the most raw ability out of the exercise you sure wonât be balancing on a bosu on one foot, leaning forward with a dumbbell in one hand. Youâll be doing something along the lines of rotational work with your two feet planted with an appropriate load, or hanging from a bar and using bodyweight for resistance.
Why have so many people claimed such awesome results and claimed functional training as gospel then?
Put simply- because its fun for some people and it gets them into the gym when they wouldnât usually go. The people who see results out of functional training are people who would usually be a little intimidated in the gym and as a result donât really exercise much. So in this aspect, I guess its awesome - because any movement and any training, provided itâs not a big injury risk - is better than none. But in saying that, there are so many better ways to train and those same people would do so much better on an actual strength and conditioning program, with just a single pair of dumbbells or even just bodyweight rather than doing slow, unnatural movements.
Build the raw capability and THEN practice the skill, donât try and do both at the same time. Youâll be training smarter and harder, I promise!
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