Our exercise habits and gyms have changed a lot in the last couple of decades. Not so long ago, gyms were all pretty similar, with people focusing mainly on upper body workouts and more traditional bodybuilding exercises. A lot of the industry appeared to be promoting supplements and ‘bulking up’. But that has never been for everyone.
Now gyms vary quite a lot in what they offer as far as training options, including the introduction of Crossfit, F45 and powerlifting. Bodybuilding and supplements are still around of course, but things have shifted to focus more on functional training which is a very good thing.
What is Functional Training?
Functional training involves movements that mimic real-life movements and activities. It is focused on movements that have a purpose, such as those related to getting better at day-to-day activities – walking, getting in and out of a chair, squatting to pick something up from the floor or preparing to return to a particular sport. A functional workout strengthens the body in a way that translates to an activity outside the gym – with the aim to make everyday activities easier to perform.
What Does Functional Training Involve?
Compound exercises are those like squats, push-ups and deadlifts; they need more than one muscle group to work together and therefore they more closely resemble common daily movements like pushing, pulling and rotation. Consider how many times you stand still and just lift something from your waist up in front of you (think bicep curls) – it’s not really a common day to day movement. But think now about squats – it’s a common movement, used to pick something heavy up from the floor, pulling out weeds in the garden or getting down to give a pet a pat.
Gyms are incorporating functional training more and more. Free weights are used for functional training rather than machines as they are more rigid in the way the movements are performed. Free weights allow more muscle groups to be targeted at once, which is the aim of functional movement training.
Why is Functional Training So Important for Injury Rehab?
Injury rehabilitation needs to incorporate functional movements, rather than just isolated single-muscle or single-joint exercises.
While somebody with a particular injury, for instance a shoulder strain, will still require some shoulder-specific exercises to strengthen or improve stability in that particular area, they are also returning to their daily activities, or may be returning to a sport, which involves lifting, pushing and pulling, changing direction or throwing.
When the body moves using multiple muscle groups all at once, it requires coordination and core strength. So, when you do functional training on a regular basis, the better your body will work overall. It will also improve your balance and body awareness, which in turn will help you to move safely.
Good injury rehabilitation must ensure all these factors are taken into account when devising a program. Functional training helps your body function better as a whole, rather than treating it just as a lot of individual parts. It’s just common sense really, isn’t it?
Physiotherapy and Functional Training
The introduction of functional training into the fitness industry is very welcome by sports and exercise physiotherapists. Rehabilitation that includes both a focus on the injured area along with functional training will better prepare you for any activity or sport you undertake in your life.
A goodsports physiotherapist will return their client to pre-injury level safely and as quickly as possible. They will provide a rehab program that combines the exercises to best help your situation. Consider a tennis player with a shoulder injury. A physio program will use an assessment of the injury to devise a program that will provide some exercises in isolation to strengthen the area around the shoulder. Now think about the movement of a tennis player for a moment – swinging at the ball involves the whole body including the feet, legs, hips and trunk rotation, all needed to provide power to hit the ball. Therefore, a physio will also consider movement in these other areas of the body – if all parts are working well, it will take the pressure of the injured shoulder and help in the overall rehabilitation.
So, seek out an expert physiotherapist clinic such asMelbourne Sports Physiotherapy to get a tailored rehab program going now. They aim to get you pain free, stronger and back moving at your best, as soon as possible.
Image:https://www.pexels.com/photo/fashion-man-people-woman-4587359/