Most current gyms now have a vast amount of equipment and areas that you can do your training. What we’re seeing more and more of, is the rise in functional areas. The sectioned off areas are where you’ll mostly see people doing things like prowler pushes, battle rope conditioning, kettlebell exercises, trx band training or even plyo box box-jumps. Now that most gym chains are going the route of total fitness (a blend of weights, cardio and conditioning), here’s some benefits to why you should introduce some functional training into your routine.
Move Better
Functional strength training methods are used to enhance movement patterns to help you perform better in the gym, no matter the exercise. Functional training is best characterized by exercises done with the feet in contact with the ground and without the aid of machines. Where most exercise will move in one fixed plane of motion, functional movement patterns such as pushing, crawling, jumping etc. will get your body moving much more effectively, which has a great carry over to your other exercises. The human body is made to move, not just stay stationary!
Improved calorie burn & physique changes
Functional training can help burn more calories when compared to traditional strength training. The body burns about 5 calories of energy to consume 1 litre of oxygen. Any time you are using more muscles (such as those used in functional movements), you are consuming more oxygen and burning more calories. Blending a combination of functional conditioning work with your weights and cardio will have dramatic effects on the look of your body and overall tone.
It’s challenging-fun
Most people aren’t used to this style of working out, but it can be a great getaway from a usual workout pattern that you’re starting to find boring and a ‘chore’ to do. If you’ve also found that you’ve hit a plateau in the gym and haven’t seen many results from going…try mixing it up and add in some functional conditioning to challenge your body, but have fun while doing so. The fact gyms are investing in these unique pieces of equipment are because they want people to enjoy working out there…mix it up…train the way you enjoy.
Top 5 functional exercises to try
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