Functional training
Functional training builds strength and fitness through the movements you use in everyday life and sport: squatting, bending and lifting, pushing, pulling, carrying and turning. Instead of working one muscle on a machine, each exercise uses many muscles together. It is taught in small groups or one to one, with your own body weight and free equipment.
What it is for
Section titled “What it is for”- Strength you can use: lifting a child or a suitcase, carrying shopping, climbing stairs.
- Stamina, balance and coordination, trained together.
- A stable core, and control of the knees, hips and shoulders.
- A good base for other sports, and for staying active and independent as you get older.
Equipment
Section titled “Equipment”- Sports clothes and training shoes with a flat, stable sole; water and a towel.
- The studio provides the equipment: kettlebells, dumbbells, medicine balls, resistance bands, suspension straps, boxes and sandbags, and sometimes a sled or battle ropes.
- You need nothing at home, though many of the exercises can be done there with your body weight.
How a class goes
Section titled “How a class goes”- 45–60 minutes. A warm-up with mobility for the joints and activation for the muscles.
- The main part is often a circuit or a set of stations — a squat, a push, a pull, a carry, a jump — done for a number of repetitions or for time. See Circuit training.
- The trainer shows each movement and gives easier and harder versions, so people of different levels train in one group.
- It ends with core work and stretching.
- In a first class the trainer watches your technique closely. Go at your own pace.
Who it suits best
Section titled “Who it suits best”- Beginners and people coming back to exercise after a break.
- People who want general fitness rather than one sport.
- Older adults who want to keep their strength and balance.
- Athletes, as extra training alongside their sport. For more of one tool, see Kettlebell training and TRX.
- It is less suited to anybody whose goal is the biggest muscles or the heaviest single lift — that is work for the gym. With an injury, back pain or a heart condition, ask your doctor first and tell the trainer before class.