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Functional Strength Training Can Actually Change Your Life

Functional strength training has the potential to increase your full range of mobility and overall quality of life.

Functional strength training is often misunderstood and seldom properly executed. The fitness term that vaguely defines itself is something that you could ultimately benefit from. Functional modes of exercise offer health benefits that extend beyond the feel-good sensation of impressing your gym-mates in the squat rack and on the bench press. Functional strength training refers to exercise that strengthens parts of the body that are used to perform daily activities. It seems simple, right? But, you need to make a few changes to your workout routine to realize functional benefits.

What is Functional Strength?

Functional strength refers to the ability to perform daily tasks without enduring physical duress, or minor injury. For those who are fully able, everyday lifestyle activities consisting of walking, pulling, pushing and grasping are often taken for granted. Your abilities are not immune to the debilitating effects of aging, but your quality of life could be improved. Functional strength training emphasizes the performance of exercises that enhance normal body movements. This simple concept is derived from the idea of longevity; if you exercise in a fashion that enhances your ability to perform everyday activities, you are theoretically more likely to enjoy a more active lifestyle.

Goals of Functional Strength Training

The goals of functional strength training are to increase joint mobility and free range of motion, which ultimately enhances longevity and quality of life. Functional strength training incorporates a simple ideology: performance of exercises that focus movement on areas of the body that are utilized on a daily basis. Human beings were not designed to perform extreme heavy lifting exercises in seated positions, such as the leg press and leg extensions. Functional strength training places an emphasis on a variety of heavy lifting exercises, but each exercise serves a real-life purpose.

Functional Training Exercises

If you’d like to increase your functional viability in the real world, it’s important to master certain exercises that serve practical purposes, like the deadlift. This explosive lower body exercise places emphasis on the hamstrings and enhances the body’s ability to pick up heavy objects. The power clean is also an effective exercise for functional training. It increases the body’s ability to extend the hips, knees, and ankles. Other functional training exercises include the overhead press, which effectively enables greater pushing and throwing ability. Chin-ups increase strength in muscles used for climbing whereas front squats increase lower body explosiveness for activities that incorporate jumping. Incorporating these exercises into your weekly workout regimen will ultimately increase your overall functionality, and improve your full range of mobility.

[Image via Getty]

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