Fit Not Fad: Functional Training

Join Bianca as she discusses the origins, goals and benefits of functional training in the fifth episode of the Fit Not Fad podcast.

Bianca: Hi guys and welcome to episode five of the Fit Not Fad podcast. I decided to write this episode about one of my favorite topics, Functional Training. So today we’ll cover the origins of functional training, the elements it focuses on, why it’s great and why you should give it a try.

I’d like to begin this conversation by talking a little bit about my experience with functional training and how I decided I wanted to incorporate it in my training. 

Even before getting certified as a Personal Trainer - and later as an Exercise Physiologist - I knew I wanted some sort of specialty. I wanted something to focus on and be good at. You can imagine most personal trainers focus on weight loss and building muscle because that’s what sells, and that’s fine, but I wanted something I identify with.

I did an internship in cardiac rehab for about 6 months, and realized how many people had trouble moving properly or moving without some sort of pain. Granted, these were older adults who’ve been through a lot, but it made me think. 

At that point I was a certified personal trainer, but didn’t really have an area of focus. What I did know for sure, is that I wanted to work with special considerations. For example, people suffering from chronic pain, bad knees, cardiovascular disease, etc. I had the knowledge because of my college education and a little bit of experience, but I needed more. 

Once I graduated college, I continued to train clients but I also got a job working with Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists - and for a year and a half - I absorbed all the information I could. I got to work with stroke survivors, pulmonary patients, people who’ve had amputations, paralysis, physical deconditioning, obese people… you name it. I got to have conversations with these people and understand where they were coming from and what a day in their life was like. 

I watched how physical therapy and occupational therapy helped them tremendously on their path to rehabilitation. I watched people who could not get out of bed by themselves, be able to regain functionality and only need minimal assistance.

I quickly realized that it was all about functionality. From then on, I wanted to focus on functional training. I wanted to get people more functional and help them age gracefully, to be strong and prevent - or at least lower - their chances of finding themselves in need of therapy. 

Origins of Functional Training

I guess this is a good spot to make the first connection, the origins of functional training. Functional training does originate from rehabilitation. Therapists would create exercises that mimicked activities of daily living like getting into the car, squatting to pick up a box, using a blowdryer... anything you could think of. Whatever got their patients to be a little better prepared to go home and complete these activities with as little help as possible. And while some exercises might look silly, even the smallest change can make a great impact in someone’s life.

But functional training isn’t limited to rehab and post-rehab. We all benefit from functional training, for obvious reasons. People lose functionality for all sorts of reasons. Some common examples are: repetitive motions, awkward postures, work environment, physical activity level, poor exercise technique, imbalanced training programs, pathologies, structural deviations, congenital conditions...dysfunction can happen to anyone.

All these elements can compromise very important factors like mobility, stability, strength and flexibility. And I did mention this before, strictly regarding exercise, poor exercise technique and imbalanced training programs will leave people with acute or chronic pain, certain muscle groups overpowering others and sometimes injury. 

Movement is complex. It can involve one joint or multiple joints at the same time, it can be rotation, bending and lifting, squatting, lunging, pushing or pulling. It is important to include as much variety in your training sessions and train beyond just strength and weight loss. 

Aim to build a strong, stable body you can move with through as much range of motion as you can.

Training for Stability & Mobility

I always advocate for well-rounded training. I recently completed another specialist program I was very excited about and one quote stood out. “Mobility without stability is laxity. Stability without mobility is rigidity”. It makes sense. Way too often we are focused on getting stronger, having more endurance, or just finishing that last set - that we overlook the importance of stability and mobility.

When I think of functional training I also think “train effectively”. Every exercise selected should be very intentional and have a clear purpose. We all have favorite exercises - and exercises we don’t like as much - but when we want to improve certain aspects of our  health and fitness, we must do the exercises that make the greatest impact. For example, certain joints and parts of our bodies are more stable or more mobile than others. Take the lower body for example: our hips are mobile, allowing considerable range of motion.

For this reason, we need to maintain mobility in the hips with training. But if we take a look at the knee joint, we have a completely different story. Our knees are meant for stability. We can only flex and extend our knees. Our ankles are built to be more mobile, allowing for adaptation to difficult terrain. Our feet provide us with stability. We must keep them flat on the ground because the entire body depends on us standing in balance. We have to pay attention to those little things.

Assessing & Monitoring

When it comes to training individuals who come to me with certain limitations, I take my time assessing their posture, range of motion and movement pattern. But observing movement doesn’t stop there. I continue observing how people move outside of the assessment as well, and I make connections between what I observe and what I am told.

If you’ve never tried functional training I highly recommend you do; even if you don’t have limitations or chronic pain. Remaining functional as you age will help prevent those limitations and pains from happening.

It’s a chance to become more efficient in your movement and maybe even learn something new about yourself. Everything in our bodies is connected and usually if one thing is wrong, depending on what that is of course, something else ends up being affected. Our bodies tend to compensate for incorrect patterns and muscular weakness, and correcting that should be a priority.

Hopefully I gave you some food for thought with this episode and made you consider functional training as part of your training routine. And if you’re not physically active yet, starting with functional training would be a great start!

As always, make sure you share this episode if you’ve enjoyed it, especially if you think someone in your life is struggling with chronic pain and or orthopedic limitations. Stay strong and stay functional. Until next time!