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How Functional Training will Change Your Life
The HOW, not the what
Before we answer these questions, please take a second to think about your goals and how you have tried to achieve them in the past. If you want to look like a model on the cover of a fitness magazine, that is perfectly okay. Simply realize that there are many ways to reach that goal. And we have found that some work much better than others. We all want fast results and most of us struggle with motivation, yo-yo diets, and watching our weight rise and fall. We think you have to take a closer look at your goals and HOW you go about accomplishing them. You cannot do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. We are presenting you with a different method of achieving your goals, one that works better and has long term results.
The goal of functional training
Functional training literally means exercising your body so that your training mimics your daily movement patterns, but safely and with intensity, so you also lose weight and get toned. The goal of functional training is not only to change how the body looks, but to improve how the body moves. Muscles will develop naturally and beautifully through progressive exercises as different movement patterns are worked and trained.
Stabilization
Functional training is not simply for the advanced elite athletes. In fact, it is vitally important to the person of average or below average fitness. Doing exercises which require the stabilization mechanisms of the body to produce joint stability will enhance your ability to move more naturally and safely. Then, performing exercises outdoors or in slightly more unstable ground forces the body to recruit more muscles to stabilize itself and thus muscular coordination is enhanced. As your coordination, balance and strength increase, your body will be able to exercise, play, or work without the fear of injury or chronic pain.
Core
Functional training is also extremely “core” oriented. Why is this important? The core of the body is the beginning of all movement. The core is made up of more than just the abdominals. It actually is the entire trunk of the body, from the neck down to the groin, including the sides of your body too. Building solid core muscles will enhance and protect you from injury for virtually any kind of movement. Almost every exercise in the Dynamics of Motion System requires you to activate and strengthen your core. This doesn’t just mean great looking abs- it means protection for your lower back and the ability to move in life with a much lower risk of injury.
Balance and Coordination
Functional training works more than just the musculature of the body. It helps to retrain the body’s systems of balance and coordination. Balance is essential for safe movement patterns, yet it is almost never practiced. Balance can decline with age, which significantly increases the risk of injury and lowers your ability to move and function naturally. If an individual cannot balance well, their movements become awkward and unsafe. Over time this can cause a person to slow down and move less, making the risk of injury go up dramatically with age. By working with multi planar movement patterns that simulate real life, you build controlled strength. This provides stability around the joints during movement. By keeping joints stable while you maintain better posture and correct movement patters while exercising, you will be decreasing the risk of injury and helping to alleviate chronic pain. And, of course, balancing during some exercises dramatically increases the caloric burn of a workout, helping your lose body fat much faster.
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