functional strength exercises

Functional Training refers to an approach to strength training that incorporates multiple muscle groups, movement patterns that reflect real human movement in the real world and place a high value on core musculature involvement in training exercises.
Multiple muscles are trainined at once, usually with a focus on entire muscle chains, in order to improve coordination between muscle groups alongside strength. Creating more stable and economical movement patterns that use the entire range of motion and strengthen the core are major goals.

Functional Strength Training is especially important because we want our clients and athletes to be able to use acquired strength for everyday movements and activity, or for the complex movement patterns necessary for any sport. This type of training is also appropriate for any age group and has applications in almost every type of sport, leisure activity, rehabilitation and injury prevention.

Some functional training methods utilize balance-challenging techniques and tools, small equipment that requires more core involvement for traditional movements, like medicine balls, sandbags and aquabags, or simply rely on bodyweight exercises.

In this course subject participants will learn about various training tools such as sling/TRX, gymnastics/balance ball, medicine and slam balls, sandbags, heavy/battle ropes and more. Bodyweight exercises are also a foundation of functional training, as certain bodyweight exercises can be used to expose functional weakness in even very "well-trained" athletes, and in order to build these abilities from the ground up. Muscle chains and some exercises which can be used to focus on specific ones are introduced.