Remember how easy it was to run, jump, and climb when you were a kid? It would be nice to stay that spry and limber forever, but the reality is that most of us need to do some basic training to maintain the musculature, flexibility, and agility required to execute those same movements as adults.
That's where functional fitness comes in: these exercises are designed to develop your muscles in a way that makes it easier and safer to do the stuff you've got to do everyday, like reaching for something on the top shelf of your closet, carrying groceries, or playing on the floor with your kids.
What's the difference?
Functional exercises serve different purposes than the ones you might be used to doing at the gym. Many old school workouts focus on isolating individual muscles, working them separately from each other in an effort to enhance their tone and definition. Bicep curls are just one example: although they'll undeniably make your biceps bigger, a curl isn't a movement you're likely to need in your day-to-day life. By contrast, functional exercises focus on compound movements: exercises that use more than one joint and muscle together. This type of movement is better for promoting the strength, stamina, and stability you need to do practical activities - like gardening or carrying a backpack full of heavy stuff - without injuring yourself.
What is a functional exercise?
Squats are health educators' go-to example of a functional exercise. You actually do squats all the time (even if you've never heard of them!): when you sit down and get up from a chair, or bend down to pick something up, you're using all the muscles and performing the range of motions needed to do a squat. Sometimes, squats can look intimidating, especially if you've seen people doing them with a lot of weight. But even just squatting your own body weight for plenty of reps will fatigue and therefore build the muscles you rely on to get you through your day.
How can I try functional fitness training?
The Toronto Central Grosvenor St. YMCA has a dedicated training space for functional workouts. You’ll find bands, fitness balls, free-weights, kettlebells, and other equipment that lets you move freely and perform functional exercises like box jumps, wood-choppers, lunges and more. Most other YMCAs across the GTA have the same or similar resources.
But really, one of the best things about functional fitness is that you don't actually need any equipment. Again, movements like squats can be done without any weight, as can lunges and burpees. Any of these movements can be incorporated into a "portable" exercise routine that you can do anywhere (which makes them functional in the different sense that they can fit into even the busiest of schedules).
If you don't know where to start, take advantage of the expertise of a personal trainer, who can introduce you to some functional exercises you can add to your fitness program. Or try one of our group fitness classes, like bootcamp, that feature functional movements.
