Functional Strength Training

Functional strength training is training to perform daily activities more proficiently. Every day we require our bodies to move in a variety of ways: jogging, walking, lifting, pushing, pulling, twisting, standing, starting, stopping, bending, etc.

Therefore, rather than focusing on increasing the strength of an individual muscle, functional strength training focuses on the movement required to execute a task. For example, within a functional strength training program you may perform squats to improve your ability to rise from sitting on a sofa.

Machine-based exercises usually isolate an individual muscle in a controlled environment, and so are usually on the low-end of the functional strength training continuum. Whole body, multiple joint exercises that mimic the movements of daily activities are on the high-end of the functional strength training continuum.