Functional Strength Training has become more popular as strength training has evolved to match different goals and lifestyles. If you’ve heard the term and aren’t sure what it means, or how to apply it, here’s what you need to know.
What Is Strength Training In General
Strength training as a whole is used to describe exercises and workouts that use resistance to stimulate muscles.
This can be done with all sorts of equipment (dumbbells, resistance bands, kettlebells etc) and even your own bodyweight so long as the muscles are being exercised against an opposing force (gravity can be an opposing force when used correctly)
This kind of training helps build muscle mass (and prevents the loss of it as we age).
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What Is Functional Strength Training
For the last decade, I've seen quite the evolution of fitness goals, now there are multiple forms of strength training.
Whereas before everyone would train from an everyday life perspective, nowadays people train for different reasons (think of bodybuilders).
Functional training is a type of resistance training that uses exercises that mimic the movements we do every day so that we can get stronger.
It's the premise I use when designing the 6-weeks to STRONG program.
These exercises will still be done with some sort of resistance in order to stimulate your muscles. Most of the time, functional exercises use multiple muscle groups (instead of isolation exercises like bicep curls).
The idea behind functional training is that if you train the stuff you do every day, naturally, you get stronger at those movements.
The Benefits
Reduced injury risk: the stronger you are at basic movements, the less chance you’ll injure yourself when performing them.
Higher metabolism: building muscle mass means that you naturally burn more calories and your metabolism is higher.. fuel your gains! This is one of the biggest weight loss tips for women.
Weight loss: people who use functional training tend to lose weight and have a better physique because of the increase in muscle.
Better mobility: most functional exercises require a good range of motion to perform them. And the more you perform them the better this gets. Better mobility means less injury.
Stress relief: this goes for any kind of workout but strength training helps elevate your mood and decrease your stress.
These benefits are just the tip of the ice burg. Learn more about the benefits of resistance training as well as how to start working out as a mom.
Functional Strength Training Exercises
As mentioned, most functional strength exercises mimic movements you do each and every day. Thus, some of the common exercises I use in my home workout programs are:
- Squats and all variations
- Lunges for glute strength
- Deadlifts (learn how to hip hinge first)
- Push Ups
- Pull Ups & Rows
- Hip thrusts and variations
Know that these are the basics and each exercise has multiple variations.
You could also argue that most core exercises like deadbugs, bird dogs, etc are also functional exercises as they teach the body to work as one and do not target just one individual muscle.
Functional Fitness Training FAQs
Traditional strength training tends to focus more on building strength regardless of how the muscles work together or mimic movements. Functional training prioritizes exercises that use multiple muscle groups at once and mimic daily life movements.
Not quite, though Crossfit uses a lot of functional training exercises, there is no one style of workout that defines a functional training workout. In fact, functional training can be used with HIIT workouts, Crossfit, calisthenics or basic strength workouts.
At the very core, the description of functional exercise refers to the movement, not the load. This means that exercises can be done with body weight, bands, dumbbells, barbells or any other apparatus. It's the movement that's referred to, not the load.
Workouts To Increase Strength
Below are a few at home workouts to increase strength and make daily tasks easier! First, master these best exercises for moms.
If you want a structured plan that tells you exactly what to do workout-wise (and keeps you consistent), my 6 Weeks to STRONG program builds on this with simple, progressive workouts you can follow at home
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