Functional training is a fitness approach created to upgrade, enhance and build the body’s endurance and ability to perform everyday tasks and daily movement with ease. As we get older our mobility and strength gets limited. Muscle mass and strength in an individual starts declining slowly in age 30’s and 40’s and rapidly after age 65 according to a study conducted by NIA’s(National Institute of Aging)Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging(BLSA). This decline makes it harder to maintain an active lifestyle and a healthy body making everyday simple tasks like carrying big bags of groceries or picking up heavy objects strenuous and physically taxing. Functional training is a highly beneficial solution to age related mobility issues. Unlike strength training exercises which focus on isolating specific muscle groups Functional training workouts are designed to mimic real life activities like climbing, lifting, squatting. It targets building endurance and can be modified to create exercises that people can carry out easily and without injuries.
Accessible exercises:
Functional training is extremely accessible, adaptable and can be timesaving as well. It can be easily modified to fit a person’s daily routine .In today’s fast paced life where everyone is busy with education, work and familial responsibilities it can some days be difficult to schedule in a long gym workout or a strength training class. Functional training can be practiced anywhere and anytime with or without tools. It can be performed with equipment like kettle bell, dumbbells and resistance bands or it can be performed with no tools and just bodyweight exercises like lunging, squatting, push ups, burpees, planks, etc. We can makeup several variations of these exercises to fit our needs. You can perform these exercises in a gym, a park, or even in the comfort of your own home.
Builds Endurance and Strength:
Functional training is crucial for muscle atrophy prevention (preventing loss of muscle mass) associated with age. A functional training program for any person can be individualized and tailored to specific goals, fitness level and state of health including previous or present injuries. Functional exercises are created to improve physical function in a way that has proven to enhance strength, speed, balance, coordination, flexibility and posture if practiced regularly. It doesn’t matter whether you are at a beginner level who has just started working out or an athlete who is used to a hard training routine, workouts can be adapted and modified to your need and fitness level. A good functional training program integrates exercises that work on core stability, strength building, balance and coordination. The difficulty level of the exercises and tasks can be modified and increased once your body has started to build strength and endurance. According to a study published in the MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute) the decrease of overall muscle strength due to age and neural changes can cause functional movement deficiencies that may lead to injuries as adults or even difficulties in walking, sitting and climbing. Various studies and tests that were conducted have proven that regular practice of Functional training has led to positive development of an individual’s mobility, strength and balance. Functional training mirrors real activities in our daily lives and includes movements that require coordination and focus so inculcating simple functional exercises in our daily routine can help maintain a health body, enhance our cognitive function and may help detect any early deficiencies in functional movement and strive to correct them leading to a sustainable healthy life especially as our age progresses.
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