Functional Fitness

What is Functional Fitness?

Functional fitness is a type of exercise that promotes movements necessary for your everyday life, such as walking, pushing, pulling, bending, squatting, lunging, and core strengthening exercises. By focusing on functional movements, you can improve your overall functional strength, which translates to improved daily activities.

Our bodies were designed to have all our muscles working together to accomplish tasks, rather than isolating certain muscle groups for mass gain. By incorporating functional fitness into your training, you can make daily movements such as walking, running, lifting, pushing, pulling, and bending easier and less strenuous.

Modern functional fitness has its roots in rehabilitation and therapy. Physical and occupational therapists, as well as chiropractors, have long used functional training to help patients with movement disorders. This approach is based on the individual’s unique condition, goals, and abilities, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

For example, if a patient has limited hip mobility due to surgery, exercises that mimic their everyday movements would be prescribed to help them return to their daily life without deficits. Similarly, if a patient has a child, their training would focus on moderate lifting and mobility through the injured area.

Incorporating functional fitness into your exercise routine can improve your cardiovascular and muscular strength, flexibility, and range of motion, making everyday tasks easier and improving your overall quality of life.