The Truth About Functional Training

What if I let you in on a little secret that the fitness industry is keeping from you?

What if I told you that:

All training is “Functional Training” (Ok, not quite all, but a vast majority is… and it’s a better headline)

Or to put it this way, by doing what we might call “Traditional Strength Training” you can improve your muscular strength, size, endurance, flexibility and mobility, reduce injury risk, improve your quality of life, and make tasks of daily living easier.

All of that sounds pretty functional to me.

A Quick Definition Detour

In exercise, when we are talking about Function, we are referring to the body’s ability to move and perform tasks such as sprinting, lifting, carrying, etc. This also ties in closely with muscle strength, endurance, flexibility, and mobility.

On the other side of this coin, we have Structure. This refers to the physical components of our body, muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments. Think of bodybuilders here, they are chasing the structural change of increasing muscle size.

All caught up?

Good, onwards!

The Rise of Functional Training

If you are on social media or within the fitness industry, you’ve no doubt seen the rise of the functional training or functional fitness trends online.

This concept of “functional” fitness first gained noteriety in the 1990s thanks to Greg Glassman - the former owner of CrossFit.

It was likely a shift away from the bodybuilding style of training (a heavy focus on machine-based exercises with the goal to build muscle mass) that dominated through the 70s to early 90s.

Functional training or CrossFit (re)introduced a method of training that used more free-weights (using barbells/dumbbells) to build muscle strength, coupled with high-intensity intervals to build aerobic fitness.

And as you’ve no doubt seen this style of training is still powering on, with the latest evolution of the functional fitness movement being Hyrox. This competition has exploded into mainstream over the last few years, with events being held worldwide, catering to novices to full professional athletes.

Touching Base:

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None of This Sounds Bad

Ok, so what’s the issue with functional training/fitness then?

We’ve established that it’s a method of training that emphasises building muscular strength, endurance, flexbility, mobility as well as aerobic capacity… How’s that a bad thing.

Well, nothing. In fact, most of the population would probably see improvements in strength and fitness if they trained like this.

The real issue the term “functional training” has caused, is confusion.

A Term Without Definition

Every website article you read about “functional training” or “functional fitness” or “functional patterns” repeats the same mantra:

“By using your full body, moving in different planes, it makes daily activites easier and reduces your injury risk.”

Which is a great sales pitch.

BUT

There never seems to be a clear definition on what it actually is.

AND

That is no different to regular strength training.

The other issue is that this mantra above of moving your full body and making daily life easier and you less injury prone, is that regular strength training provides all these benefits.

It doesn’t have to be kettlebell swings and burpees.

It can be back squats and broad jumps. In fact, given last newsletters topic of Back Squats, I’d argue that a back squat is a very functional exercise as it builds strength and improves activities of daily living.

A Better Option

Rather than operating under this murky water term of functional training, we should give more specifics about what the training/program entails:

“A strength program that incorporates high-intensity intervals with the goal to improve your strength and fitness.”

Or “A power program that utilises Olympic Weightlifting derivatives and plyometrics to help you run faster and jump higher.”

This leaves out any ambiguity of what the program might entail.

And, if designed and implemented properly by a professional, will improve how your body functions and change it’s structure positively.

I hope you enjoyed this Fridays’ newsletter.

It’s something a bit different from what I typically do, so let me know if you want more exercise trends or fads to be broken down.

Chat soon,

Jono