Introduction
Nowadays, many athletes glance at their smartwatches to face a familiar choice: traditional strength training or functional training? With tech wearables like Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy packed with fitness apps, this practical approach to training has gained momentum.
But what is functional strength training? Is it better than traditional strength workouts? While fitness influencers have certainly popularized the term, many still don’t fully grasp what sets it apart.
Let’s clear things up: functional strength training is more than just a trending option on your Apple Watch. It’s a dynamic way of training that emphasizes movements over isolated muscle groups, aiming to improve performance in everyday life and sports.
But aren’t all training methods already practical? Well, let’s explain better.
In this guide, we’ll break down what functional strength training is, explore specific exercises, highlight its benefits, and explain how it differs from traditional strength training.
What is Functional Strength Training?
Functional strength training is all about practical, real-world movement. Instead of focusing on isolated muscle groups, it works around movement patterns we use in our daily exercise routines, such as:
- Lifting
- Bending
- Pushing
- Pulling
So, what’s the meaning of functional strength training? It means training movements, not just muscles.
Functional strength exercises are designed to improve your ability to perform daily tasks and moves specific to your sport of choice. Exercises like squats, lunges, and kettlebell swings aren’t just about building strength; they focus on creating a stronger, more efficient body that works better in real life.
Functional strength training combines three key principles:
- Goal-oriented movements
- Safety with low injury risk
- Efficient, time-saving workouts
Why is this popular type of training beneficial? Functional strength training offers a practical path to fitness, built on how our bodies naturally move.
Let’s dive deeper into why this matters and how you can benefit.
Benefits of Functional Strength Training
If we had to highlight one standout benefit of functional strength training, it’s that it makes daily activities easier. Functional training enhances neuromuscular coordination, improving how your nervous system and muscles work together in specific scenarios, like playing in a football match, competing in a running event, or tackling everyday tasks.
So, does this mean functional training offers more advantages than traditional training? While influencers might hype up the benefits, they usually get the meaning wrong, as we will see.
Functional strength training uses compound movement patterns that mirror real-life actions—like lifting, pushing, and twisting. Training with a purpose is always beneficial because it provides a clear picture of why you’re training the way you do. This focus compound movements that are specific to each sport is another key benefit of functional strength workouts.
All this expands the benefits of functional training for athletes:
Enhancing athletic performance
Functional training improves your body’s ability to work as a cohesive unit. This approach allows athletes to mimic sport-specific movements, whether it’s running, swimming, basketball, or football.
Improving core stability and balance
Every physical activity requires a solid foundation. By targeting the muscles that stabilize your core, functional training helps you maintain better balance and posture during both workouts and daily life.
Reducing the risk of injuries
Functional exercises promote safer movement patterns, reducing the risk of injuries during workouts and everyday activities. Our personal training team at P1 always emphasizes this benefit—not just for individual health but also for team performance.
Preventing injuries isn’t just a benefit; it’s a professional commitment for every athlete.
Promoting flexibility and mobility
Finally, functional training enhances your range of motion. Staying agile and flexible is always beneficial for athletes and non-athletes, really. Functional training prepares your body for the various physical demands of your sport.
Key Components of Functional Strength Training
As mentioned earlier, functional strength training exercises mirror everyday movements. These compound exercises make you stronger and apply to nearly every task we perform in daily life.
Here are the key components and how each exercise type fits into real life:
Core Exercises
Core exercises are essential to any sport or daily task, as they help stabilize your body during most movements. For example, when twisting to grab something or reaching for an object overhead, you engage muscles that often go unnoticed but are crucial for stability and control.
Here are some functional strength training core exercises and how to do them:
Planks
Start in a push-up position, keeping your body in a straight line from head to heels. Hold your core tight and avoid sagging your hips. This strengthens your abs and back, improving posture and overall stability.
Russian Twists
Sit on the floor with your knees bent, lean back slightly, and twist your torso side to side. This exercise mimics the twisting motion you use when reaching behind or turning quickly.
Compound Movements
Compound movements engage multiple muscle groups at once, making them effective for building overall strength. For example, squatting is something you do every time you sit down and get up, making it a highly practical movement.
- Squat: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, lower your hips back as if sitting into a chair, and then push through your heels to stand up. Squats strengthen your legs and core, and they make lifting items easier.
- Deadlift: Stand with feet hip-width apart, hinge at your hips, and lower down to grab the bar or weights, then drive your hips forward to stand up. This exercise mimics the action of picking up something heavy off the floor, strengthening your back, glutes, and hamstrings.
Stability and Balance Drills
Stability and balance exercises help improve your control during movements, which is crucial for tasks like reaching on tiptoes or maintaining balance on uneven ground.
- Single-Leg Deadlift: Stand on one leg, hinge forward at your hips while extending your other leg back, and then return to standing. This exercise builds balance and leg strength, similar to when you reach down while standing on one foot.
- Bosu Ball Squats: This exercise challenges your stability, enhancing your balance in activities that involve uneven surfaces or quick movements.
Mobility and Flexibility
Mobility and flexibility exercises ensure your joints and muscles work smoothly. They are a great workout for everyday actions like bending, reaching, or turning comfortably.
- Dynamic Stretching: Perform movements like leg swings or arm circles to prepare your muscles for activity. These stretches warm up your body and increase your range of motion, making them perfect before any workout or physical task.
- Foam Rolling: Use a foam roller on tight muscle groups, such as your quads, hamstrings, calves, glutes, and lower back. Roll slowly over each muscle, pausing on any tight spots to release tension.
How to Incorporate Functional Strength Training into Your Routine
As with every training style, it’s important to know where to start and how to progress. Whether it’s traditional or functional training, having a clear map for your fitness journey is essential—something we emphasize here at P1.
So, we asked our pro trainers how to get started with functional strength training. What have we got? An excellent, basic 30-minute routine, so athletes can progress from beginner to intermediate and finally to advanced levels.
Beginner Level
For beginners, a good functional strength training routine includes:
- Bodyweight Squat: 3 sets of 12 reps.
- Standard Plank: Hold for 20-30 seconds, gradually increasing as you get stronger. 3 sets, 20-30 seconds each.
- Single-Leg Balance: Balance on one foot for 20-30 seconds, switching sides. 2 sets, 20-30 seconds per leg.
- Arm Circles and Leg Swings: Perform for 5 minutes
As this is for beginners, you can start doing this 30 minute functional strength exercise routine that can be done 2 or 3 times per week.
Intermediate Level
Once you’ve mastered the basics of functional strength training, progress to the intermediate level with added resistance and more complex movements:
- Goblet Squat with Kettlebell: Adding a kettlebell will increase the challenge to your legs and core. 3 sets of 10 reps.
- Plank with Shoulder Taps: In a plank position, tap each shoulder, to challenge your core stability further. 3 sets of 12 taps per side.
- Bodyweight Single-Leg Deadlift: The single-leg movement engages your hamstrings, glutes, and core while enhancing balance and unilateral strength. 3 sets of 8 reps per leg.
- Foam Rolling: Target major muscle groups for 5 minutes.
This intermediate routine takes about 35 to 40 minutes. We recommend you do this 3 times per week at least.
Advanced Level
For advanced athletes, we add more dynamic movements and increase load to this exercise routine:
- Weighted Squat with Dumbbells: This mimics the action of lifting heavy objects. 4 sets of 8 reps.
- Plank with Leg Lifts: Alternate lifting each leg while holding a plank, to engage your glutes and lower back. 3 sets of 10 lifts per leg.
- Single-Leg Deadlift with Dumbbells: 3 sets of 6 reps per leg.
- Bosu Ball Squats with Weights: Perform squats on a Bosu ball while holding dumbbells. 3 sets of 8 reps.
This advanced routine is about 40-45 minutes and can be done 3 times weekly.
Functional Strength Training vs. Traditional Strength Training
So, back to the Apple Watch question: Traditional strength training or functional training? It’s easy to get caught up in the debate about which is better, and if you want to choose the best, you need to choose wisely.
As much as many functional fitness influencers talk about traditional strength training vs. functional strength training, here’s the truth: both offer their benefits, and it all comes down to your goals.
In a nutshell, functional training is all about improving the way you move in real life. It focuses on compound movements that enhance coordination, balance, and overall performance.
On the other hand, as we covered in our post about the benefits of strength training, the traditional approach zeroes in on muscle growth, strength, and endurance through isolated exercises.
Both methods have their place in a well-rounded fitness routine. So, let’s set the record straight about traditional strength training vs. functional strength training:
|
Functional Strength Training |
Traditional Strength Training |
|
|
Primary Goal |
Enhance real-life and sport-specific movements |
Build muscle size, strength, and endurance |
|
Movement Focus |
Full-body, compound movements |
Isolated muscle groups |
|
Benefits |
Improved coordination, balance, and injury prevention |
Increased muscle mass, strength, and bone density |
|
Typical Exercises |
Squats, deadlifts, planks, kettlebell swings |
Bench press, bicep curls, leg press, shoulder press |
|
Suitable For |
Athletes, those looking to improve functional movement |
Bodybuilders, strength athletes, those focusing on aesthetics |
Conclusion
Functional strength training is more than just a trendy option on your smartwatch. It’s not about one being better or worse than traditional. They are simply different approaches with different goals.
As we’ve discussed, functional strength training is ideal for improving coordination, balance, and core stability. It’s the way to go if you’re looking to practice real-life movements that boost your daily exercise routine and athletic performance.
If you’re ready to experience the benefits of functional strength training firsthand, here’s another question: why not book a session with one of our expert personal trainers at P1? We welcome athletes and non-athletes, all levels, so we hope you drop by our gym and give this training style a try.
And remember, it doesn’t matter what YouTube influencers tell you. It’s not the Apple Watch that’s important—it’s your workout that matters. So, let’s get moving!