Functional Training

Functional Training – classes aimed at developing healthy mobility and strengthening the body. Such activity is useful and accessible to everyone, from professional athletes to people who lead a sedentary lifestyle.

Difficulty level: For experienced

Functional Training is a special kind of group exercise. This direction in fitness does not pursue such goals as losing weight, gaining mass or building a beautiful figure and muscles. Functional training is aimed at general strengthening of the body, the development of motor activity and endurance. They will help the athlete become faster and more agile, develop coordination and increase strength.

The main objective of functional training is to minimize the risk of injury, both in sports and at home. For professional athletes, exercises are selected individually. For example, for football players it can be barbell jumping.

• For beginners, functional training has a specific set of exercises that promote healthy mobility from the ground up. Such exercises involve an integrated approach and study of all the muscles of the body.
• They do not require special equipment and can be carried out without additional load (or using dumbbells, bodybar).

Reasons to Start Functional Training

Functional training has benefits for both professional athletes and non-athletes alike. Such exercises will allow athletes to work out their muscles, improve their flexibility and avoid injury. 

• Healthy Mobility Functional training is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Such exercises will strengthen muscles and improve household activity, as well as reduce the risk of injuries and sprains in everyday life and when playing sports.
• Recovery from injuries – Functional training is often used as a physiotherapy exercise to restore body mobility after injuries, surgery and other circumstances. The main rule of such treatment is a competent choice of exercises under the supervision of a trainer or exercise therapy doctor.
• Strengthening the body and health – Functional training is not aimed at eliminating and correcting aesthetic flaws. They do not imply overload, they can effectively improve health. Such exercises can easily replace cardio training, strengthening the work of the cardiovascular system. Experts recommend combining this type of activity with daily walks in the fresh air.
• saving of time – Functional training is designed for people who do not have time for many hours of sports, as well as for those who lead a sedentary lifestyle. Being engaged in several hours a week, the athlete can get a full physical load.
• Improved metabolism – Even though functional training is not considered a means of losing weight, it burns calories and speeds up metabolism. In combination with proper nutrition, classes will allow you to get not only good health, but also a beautiful body.

For beginners, functional training can become the main activity.

Basic functional training exercises

Functional training classes can involve a wide variety of exercises. In particular, they vary depending on the fitness level of the group.

The initial level includes such exercises as: squats; lunges; traction; pull-ups; bench press standing and lying down. In general, the lesson is given from 45 to 60 minutes, including a warm-up before performing the main load.

• Squat – For beginners, do squats with your own weight. As the load increases for squats, dumbbells, kettlebells, and rubber shock absorbers for deep squats can be used.
• Lunge – The training program includes lunges forward and to the sides. Experienced athletes supplement them with arm breeding with weights: dumbbells or a bodybar (barbell).
• Traction – This part of the workout includes pull-ups on the bar (Australian deadlift) and forward bend (without weight and with weight).
• Pull ups – These are classic pull-ups on the crossbar. For beginner athletes, they can be replaced with a hang.
• Standing and lying press – Must be performed only during men’s training. Can be replaced with classic push-ups from the floor. For girls, bench push-ups are included in the functional training program.

Functional training has practically no contraindications. This type of activity is suitable even for people with obesity, hypertension or disorders of the musculoskeletal system.

Recommendations for functional training

The main advantage of classes is that the exercises can be adjusted to the level of any person, taking into account the characteristics of his health. However, people with the following ailments are not allowed to attend classes:

• severe chronic diseases of the cardiovascular or respiratory system;
• active injuries that have not yet healed;
• pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, serious curvature of the spine;
• joint diseases that limit their mobility.

Functional training consists in the cyclical performance of simple exercises that are available to people with any physical fitness. Such classes can be not only group, but also individual. You can also do workouts at home.