What is Functional Fitness?
Functional fitness is a physical training program designed to prepare the body to perform real-life movements and activities. The program is also commonly referred to as “functional movement” or “functional training”. It includes exercises that train the muscles in your body to work together.
Functional fitness prepares your body for everyday life. It simulates the most common movements that you frequently do at home, when working or when engaged in sports. The exercises included in this regimen mimic the real-world movements that are accomplished in real-life positions. They help keep your body strong and capable of performing simple activities like doing the house chores, cooking a meal, bending over to tie your shoelaces and more.
Functional Fitness vs. CrossFit
Functional fitness is usually compared to CrossFit. Although both of them are designed to help a person achieve a healthy body, they are different in the following aspects.
1. Approach
The approach used in functional fitness and CrossFit is different. Those engaged in functional fitness are trained by their instructors individually, whilst those who do CrossFit are usually exposed to small group exercises.
2. Nature of exercises
The nature, number, type and intensity of exercises prescribed by functional fitness instructors vary from one person to another. This is because the exercises used in this training program are based on a person’s daily movement and routine. Thus, each exercise routine is unique and tailored according to a single person’s needs.
On the other hand, the exercises prescribed to a group of CrossFit participants are usually patterned depending on their fitness level. Thus, a set of CrossFit exercises can be used by multiple groups.
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Functional Fitness Components
Functional fitness can help improve your well-being. It comes with various components that you need to master first before moving freely without the need to worry about incurring injuries. The most common of these components are the following:
Strength: Strength training allows you to build and tone your muscles. This is also helpful in boosting your body’s metabolism, increasing its fat-burning mechanism and improving bone density. Finally, the training can help improve your energy levels and mood.
Agility: Agility allows your body to move in various directions conveniently. This also enables you to do stop and start movements suddenly and quickly respond to sudden changes. So, if your level of agility is low, you are prone to straining or tearing your muscles when caught in situations that require quick responses.
Balance: Balance exercises are proven helpful in stabilising your body, improving your alignment or posture and strengthening your core muscles. Unfortunately, balance becomes a pressing concern as you age. However, with regular proper exercises, you can still reduce your risk of incurring injuries
Functional Fitness Benefits
Functional fitness is currently a popular training program offered by fitness gyms in Australia. For years, this regimen has been a popular trend among fitness enthusiasts because it effectively boosts one’s health, athletic performance and everyday life. Other reasons to love functional fitness are as follows:
1. Improved daily life
Functional fitness is credited for improving the lives of those who are engaged in it. It significantly enhances the body’s overall function by effectively relieving stress and promoting muscle strength and endurance. Also, it promotes muscle development and body stability.
Functional fitness offers more positive effects compared with other training programs. This is because it involves the movements that individuals do regularly in real life. It also allows a person to have fun while learning.
2. Better muscle memory
Functional fitness causes a person to develop better muscle memory. Doing the fitness exercises included in the training program builds muscle and boosts a person’s core strength. A regular exercise routine also enhances the brain’s memory.
3. Increased mobility
Functional fitness is also proven to improve a person’s flexibility, balance, muscle strength, agility and coordination. Doing the exercises associated with this training program helps make a person more mobile.
4. Improved posture
Functional fitness trains the muscles to work together. As a result, it is effective in boosting the body’s overall strength and balance. Training the muscles also enables the body to achieve proper weight management, reduced bodily stress and eventually improved posture.
5. Lesser risk of injuries
Doing regular functional fitness exercises decreases the risk of incurring injuries when engaging in various day-to-day activities. As these exercises mimic the usual movements that a person does, they allow the body to withstand stressors. They also help increase ligament and muscle strength.
Functional Fitness Exercises
Although functional fitness exercises are commonly performed in fitness gyms, many fitness enthusiasts also do these exercises at home. The most common of these are the following.
1. Incline chest press
The incline chest press provides almost the same set of benefits that a push up does. The only difference is that the press is less challenging and can be used by beginners who wish to train their muscles to become resilient to stressors.
2. Squat
A squat is always included in functional fitness exercises because it involves similar movements used when sitting on a chair.
3. Wall Squat
Wall squat is an excellent functional fitness exercise. It provides more support compared to a regular squat and effectively eliminates lower back pain.
4. Plank
Plank is a good muscle exercise. It is a great way to build your overall strength and make the usual get up off the floor movement more convenient.
5. Row
A row is an exercise that targets your arms and back. It effectively trains your body to conveniently execute various daily movements, such as getting a heavy object out of your car’s trunk.
Planning to start your functional fitness journey? Let the experts at Rapture Fitness help you out. Call us at 0411 839 942 or 0423 459 984 or book your free trial today!