Training for aesthetics is fun, but training for functionality changes lives. Functional training benefits go beyond looks or even the gym, helping you manage whatever life throws at you, whether that’s keeping up with your kids, a physically demanding job, or just the side effects of aging. Learn more about how functional training might be the training method for you.
What is Functional Training?
Functional training is all about making your body better at handling everyday life. Think exercises that mimic real-life movements, so you’re not just building muscle, you’re getting better at life. Unlike your typical gym routine that targets one muscle group at a time, functional training gets multiple muscles working together to perform real life tasks.
How Functional Training Differs from Traditional Workouts
Traditional workouts are great for building strength and increasing the size of your muscles or losing weight, but they often focus on isolated muscle groups at a time. Functional training, on the other hand, is all about compound moves and making your body work better as a whole. You’ll be improving your balance, coordination, strength, and endurance all at once. And you might notice some visible differences in yourself as well.
Benefit #1: Improved Daily Activities
One of the coolest functional training benefits is how it makes everyday tasks easier. Whether you’re lugging groceries, chasing after your kids, or just trying to get up off the couch, functional training helps you do it all more efficiently because you’ve trained and build stamina for the muscles and joints you use the most in your day-to-day life to handle heavier loads for extended periods.
Real-life Examples of Functional Strength
Picture yourself lifting a heavy box without straining your back or balancing on one leg to tie your shoe without toppling over. But functional training isn’t just about completing every day tasks. It’s also for your safety. Being able to stand up from any position, catch yourself when you trip, and jump are essential skills, not to be taken for granted, as you experience the aging process. Functional training preps your body for these real-life situations by making the muscles you use daily stronger and more coordinated.
Benefit #2: Better Balance and Coordination
Functional training really focuses in on core stability, but not just growing the muscles through situps and crunches. Functional training focuses on those small stabalizing muscles of your core, which is key for good balance and coordination, which means you’re less likely to take a tumble and more likely to move smoothly and confidently. It also improves your posture and makes you stand up taller and straighter. A strong core supports your back in more ways than one, and is especially important in preventing back injuries.
Core Exercises That Boost Balance
Unilateral workouts like single-leg deadlifts and squats, stability ball exercises, and rotational movements are functional training staples. These exercises challenge your balance and coordination, making you more agile and stable in everything you do on one or two legs.
Benefit #3: Injury Prevention
Functional training is also great for keeping injuries at bay. By focusing on movements that enhance joint stability and muscle resilience, you’re building a body that’s tougher and less prone to getting hurt. We mentioned back injury prevention and the benefits of improved balance, but functional training benefits go beyond those. Functional training helps strengthen your joints and ligaments to prevent injury during all sorts of activities, including sports. Professional athletes use functional training as a foundation for their sport-specific training to help prevent muscle strains and other injuries.
Why Functional Training Reduces the Risk of Injury
Functional exercises strengthen the supporting and most used muscle groups and joints in your body, which means fewer strains and sprains. This is super important for anyone who’s active, whether you’re an athlete or just enjoy a good workout.
Benefit #4: Enhanced Athletic Performance
Injury prevention isn’t the only functional training benefit athletes can expect. Athletes can really up their game and improve their overall performance with functional training. By working the movements they use in their sports with weights, they can enhance performance, cut down on injuries, and boost overall fitness.
Functional Training Benefits for Specific Sports
Take a soccer player, for example. They might focus on agility drills, while a basketball player works on explosive power and coordination. Functional training can be customized for any sport, leading to better performance on the field or court.
At X3 Sports, members who participate in Muay Thai often work with a personal trainer to strengthen key muscle groups that improve their coordination, balance, and power. Injury prevention in martial arts is very important and functional training is a large part of that.
Benefit #5: Efficient and Versatile Workouts
Functional training is super efficient and inclusive to everyone regardless of their fitness level or exercise experience.
Since functional training targets multiple muscle groups at once and incorporates various fitness elements into one workout, you get more done in less time, making it possible to get in a full body workout in less than an hour every time you go to the gym.
Versatility for All Fitness Levels
It’s also incredibly versatile. Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned athlete, you can tweak the intensity and complexity of the exercises to fit your level or your specific real-life agility concerns. This makes functional training perfect for everyone.
Where to Find Functional Training Benefits at X3 Sports
At X3 Sports, we’ve got a range of classes that use functional training movements, designed to help you get all these awesome benefits. Our experienced trainers will guide you through workouts that improve your strength, balance, coordination, and overall fitness.
Fast Track℠ Classes
X3 Sports’ Fast Track℠ is an easy way to experience functional training benefits in a group class. Our Fast Track classes include compound exercises that work multiple muscle groups at once. They also incorporate HIIT training practices to improve your muscle’s endurance and stamina. Each class includes some variation of functional movements, whether that’s box jumps, single leg squats, or burpees.
Power Track℠ Classes
While Fast Track℠ is all about endurance and fast muscle twitch, Power Track℠ is all about those heavy compound movements that build muscle stability and strength. In a Power Track℠ class, your trainer will guide you through a routine that focuses on strengthening one of your main muscle groups, whether that is legs, back, chest, or arms and shoulders. Power Track℠ movements typically include large compound exercises such as deadlifts, squats, and bench presses.
Sign Up for a Free Class Today!
Ready to see what functional training can do for you? Sign up for a free class at X3 Sports today and start your journey to a fitter, more functional you. With locations in West Midtown, Inman Park, Marietta, North Marietta, and Athens, we’re here to help you crush your fitness goals.
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