What is functional
strength training?
Provided
by American
Council on Exercise
Functional strength
training has become a popular buzzword in the fitness industry. Unfortunately,
it is also subject to wide interpretation. So, what is functional strength
training?
At
the extreme, some individuals believe that by mimicking the explosive,
ballistic activities of high-level competitive athletes, they are training in a
functional manner. All too often, however, such training programs greatly
exceed the physiological capabilities of the average exerciser, which
ultimately increases the possibility that an injury might occur.
Most
would agree that there is nothing functional about sustaining an injury due to
improper training.
In
many respects, functional strength training should
be thought of in terms of a movement continuum. As humans, we perform a wide
range of movement activities, such as walking, jogging, running, sprinting,
jumping, lifting, pushing, pulling, bending, twisting, turning, standing,
starting, stopping, climbing and lunging. All of these activities involve
smooth, rhythmic motions in the three cardinal planes of movement- sagittal,
frontal and transverse.
Training
to improve functional strength involves more than simply increasing the
force-producing capability of a muscle or group of muscles. Rather, it requires
training to enhance the coordinated working relationship between the nervous
and muscular systems.
Functional
strength training involves performing work against resistance in such a manner
that the improvements in strength directly enhance the performance of movements
so that an individual's activities of daily living are easier to perform.
Simply stated, the primary goal of functional training is to transfer the
improvements in strength achieved in one movement to enhancing the performance
of another movement by affecting the entire neuromuscular system.
In
functional training, it is as critical to train the specific movement as it is
to train the muscles involved in the movement. The brain, which controls
muscular movement, thinks in terms of whole motions, not individual muscles.
Exercises
that isolate joints and muscles are training muscles, not movements, which
results in less functional improvement. For example, squats will have a greater "transfer
effect" on improving an individual's ability to rise from a sofa than knee
extensions.
For
strength exercises to effectively transfer to other movements, several
components of the training movement need to be similar to the actual
performance movement. This includes coordination, types of muscular
contractions (concentric, eccentric, isometric), speed
of movement and range of motion.
Each
individual component of the training movement must be viewed as only a single
element of the entire movement. The exercises with the highest transfer effect
are those that are essentially similar to the actual movement or activity in
all four components. It is important to note, however, that individuals cannot
become expert at a particular movement or activity by training only with
similar movements. For optimal results, repeated practice of the precise
movement is required.
Exercises
performed on most traditional machines tend to be on the low-end of the
functional-training continuum because they isolate muscles in a stabilized,
controlled environment. While it may be true that traditional, machine-based exercises are
not the best way to transfer performance from the weight room to the real
world, it does not mean that such exercises should not be a part of a training
program.
For
example, "non-functional," single-joint exercise can play a critical
role in helping to strengthen a "weak link" that a person may have to
restore proper muscle balance. Furthermore, doing such an exercise can allow an
individual to more safely and effectively participate in functional-training
activities while also reducing the risk of injury.
In
the final analysis, it must be remembered that functional training is not an
all-or-nothing concept. A continuum of functionality exists. The only entirely
functional exercise is the actual activity one is training for.
Accordingly,
individuals shouldn't rely on any single group of exercises. Individuals should
use all the weapons in their training arsenal. Functional strength training
should serve as a supplement to traditional strength training, not as a
replacement.
Properly
applied, functional strength training may provide exercise variety and
additional training benefits that more directly transfer improvements to
real-life activities.
AUTHOR
Cedric X. Bryant
As President and Chief Science
Officer, Cedric X. Bryant, Ph.D., FACSM, stewards ACE's development of
strategies to deliver exercise-science and behavior-change education in ways
that are engaging and compelling, recruiting more people to become exercise professionals
and health coaches and equipping them for growth in their respective fields.
He's responsible for driving innovation in the area of behavior-change
programming, overseeing the development of programs that ACE-Certified
Professionals® can
utilize to help people adopt and sustain healthier lifestyles. Furthermore, he
leads ACE's exploration of how science-based programs and interventions
appropriately integrate into healthcare and public health. Dr. Bryant
represents ACE as a national and international presenter, writer and
subject-matter expert, and highly sought-after media spokesperson. He earned
both his doctorate in physiology and master's degree in exercise science from
Pennsylvania State University, where he received the Penn State Alumni Fellow
Award, the school's highest alumni honor that is given to select alumni who are
considered leaders in their professional fields.