Functional training is definitely thrown around in the industry a lot these days. I thought it would be a great thing to talk about it and clarify what it means.

I see people with great bodies all the time. To the naked eye, they look fantastic with their defined muscles and chiselled abs. However, when I get them moving in the gym it is quickly apparent that all their strength is lost when they perform basic functional movements. Most of the time the client will reveal to me that they struggle with aches and pains in various parts of their body. One of the quickest ways for me to assess a client’s movement is to watch them perform a very basic exercise such as balancing on one leg. This tells me a lot about how the person’s system is working.

The body is a fantastic machine with many complex layers. To explain the layers of muscles and mechanics in a simple form I like to explain to my clients that our body has three layers of muscle. We have our deep intrinsic muscles which help stabilise our joints, move the spine segmentally, inflate the lungs and stretch the ribcage out from the inside. These are muscles that help hold our skeleton up, and we cannot see from the outside. The second layer is what you see on the outer layer of the body. It is the big muscles (our global system) which include muscles such as the bicep, the quadriceps, the glutes ect. The last layer is the fascia system which encapsulates the entirety of the body. This is a network of tissue that is extremely strong and has no beginning and no end. To train the fascia system effectively we must load it across multiple joints. If a body works correctly, these three layers work in unison with each other. If a body is lacking in one of these layers then it will overcompensate with one of the other two, this is most commonly the global layer.

Once the body has adopted compensatory patterns, which might have been caused by an imbalance in one of these layers, from an injury, or merely doing too much of one thing. This could be too much sitting or too much repetitive movement in one direction eg tennis, golf ect…

How do we balance the body out and gain the best movement, strength, and performance that we can?

Step 1: Stimulate the whole system in isometric contractions: This means to put the body under stress without movement. This will stimulate the diaphragm (our breathing), stretch the rib cage, activate stability of the joints, and load the fascia system (the whole body).

Choose an isometric Anterior chain exercise: The network of muscles down the front of the body

Loaded Beast Rock:

Maintain position and work slowly through 10-20 repetitions

Loaded plank with band: Increase band load to progress

Maintain position and hold for 30 seconds to 3 minutes

Choose an Isometric Posterior chain exercises: The network of muscles down the back of the body

The Crab:

Maintain position for 30 seconds to 1 minute

Assisted reverse plank:

Hold 4 – 6 times 30 seconds

Choose an isometric Lateran chain exercises: The network of muscles that run down the side of your body. These are responsible for helping your walk straight, balance.

Basic bent knee side plank:

Hold position and feel the full lateral line engage before progressing

Intermediate side plank: only try this if you have mastered the previous one

Hold position and feel the full lateral line working (bottom side of the body) for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Working towards achieving success in the above exercises activates the inner intrinsic muscles, the diaphragm, the global system, and the fascia all at once. You will know which plane of the body is weakest because you will struggle to sustain the movement. I find my clients will be dominant on one plane, so they might find the anterior chain exercises easy but then really struggle with the posterior chain exercises. If this is the case then you spend more time on the posterior chain exercises and work towards mastering those. This will improve your posture, improve the position of your joints, and improve your overall strength.

Step 2: Improve upright balance

Balance is the first building block in all movement. You never see a baby walk before they can balance, however once we start moving we forget about balance all together. From a functional perspective balance is the first port of call to master before adding load and speed. I like to get all my clients simple holding a static lunge until they can hold steady, feeling the right muscles, and staying balanced. Once they can do this I know that if I give them a dumbbell or add an extra layer of movement such as an upper body rotation or arm movement it will challenge them without throwing them into a compensatory pattern.

Below are a series of good balance exercises to master.

Bosu basic balance:

Work to find relaxation of the whole body while balancing.

To progress this exercise head to the accessories section for find the more advanced versions.

Static lunge with soft ball:

Hold position for 1-3 minutes.

Step 3: Add load, Add range of movement, add speed

This is the fun part. I am always really surprised at the strength gains my clients get in their global system when they master the basics first. A lot of the time I will remove global exercises while I balance out a clients body, then gradually start introducing the targeted strength exercises back in. The improvement in the strength after the break is always astonishing. This is purely because function has been brought back into the body, so the whole system can work in unison again.

Try doing one of the strength exercises you usually do after finishing step one and two and see how you go with it.

If you have any questions about the above topic or want to know more about it please send me an email below and include the topic.