What is functional training?
Functional training is a style of resistance training that targets the functional movements your body needs to be good at performing for everyday life or specific sporting requirements. This style of training is full body, and works towards ensuring your body can perform all of the normal movement patterns a healthy, strong body should be able to perform. The exercises have little to no use of seats or benches to force your body to rely on its own deep core for stability. Functional training is a focused workout that serves the purpose for which it was intended - thus it is really important that we determine your goals and intentions so we can design a tailored program for you.
How could functional training help me?
Increase cardiovascular fitness
Increase lean muscle
Increase bone density
Weight management
Improve mobility/balance
Prevent pain/dysfunction
Improve sporting performance
Acute injury prevention
Improve ability to perform daily tasks
Feel stronger and more confident
Ensure that my body doesn’t limit my life choices
Why is functional training better than traditional gym training?
If you are doing specific rehabilitation of an injured body part, or are body building, then isolating muscles is important. For everyone else, functional training is a superior style of resistance training, as it involves getting your muscles working together in a way that is functional and relevant to everyday life.
Traditional gym
Functional training
Commonly isolated exercises focusing on individual muscles
Compound whole body exercises with a focus on movement
Stability often from external supports (excessive use of seats and benches)
Relies on the internal stability
(Mostly no seats no benches)
Rarely mimics everyday activities or sporting activities
Mimics or supports activates of daily living
Rarely involve trunk rotation or limbs crossing the midline
Often involves controlled trunk rotation and limbs crossing the midline
Movements are typically in the sagittal plan
Multi-plane movements
Rarely required balance and proprioception
Enriches balance and proprioception
Rarely required coordination and concentration
Requires coordination and concentration
Is it tailored to my needs and my level of fitness?
Yes. Just like our Clinical Exercise group sessions, our new Functional Training group sessions will be tailored to your goals and fitness level. So everyone in the session will be doing their own program based on what we find you need in our assessment process.
What musculoskeletal conditions will this help?
This new style of resistance training can help with pretty well every musculoskeletal condition - because the program is designed to build up the strength of all movements of our body, in a controlled & gradual way. This resolves any muscular imbalances you might have, so that you become strong in each of the movements a healthy body should be able to perform.
Will this help me lose weight/get more toned?
Yes. The evidence tells us that resistance training is one of the best ways to lose weight. The beauty of functional training is that it is a full body workout that uses multiple muscle groups within each exercise, resulting in more energy being expended (& more calories being burnt!) Functional training in conjunction with the right nutrition is a great way to lose weight and build more lean muscle.
How do I get started?
To get started simply book in a Functional Training ‘Initial Assessment’ with one of the physios at Back In Motion Mitcham by calling our friendly reception team on 9872 5445. We can then do an assessment to determine your goals and what you need to work on! After that, we will need to do a couple of one-on-one seesions in our gym to teach you your program. After this can transition into our group sessions - our group session timetable is here (the sessions are labelled “Exercise Rehab”).