Why You Should Focus on Functional Fitness [Guest Post]

Hi there,

It’s Jordan.

I realize not everyone needs to be yoked, jacked, or otherwise ripped.

However, most people do want to be fit. A base level of fitness is important to function optimally in everyday life.

Functional fitness means you can throw a football, climb a ladder, push a lawn mower, hike a mountain, and help your buddy move furniture into a new house.

Being functionally fit means you are dynamic and ready to take on whatever life throw at you with confidence.

It’s about being able to live a full and active life.

You don’t need six-pack abs to be functionally fit. But you do need a strong, well-balanced physique capable of meeting life’s many demands.

In this guest post, Katherine Roberts explains why functional fitness is priority compared to bodybuilding.

Enter Katherine…

Why You Should Focus More on Functional Fitness Than Building Muscles

Contrary to popular belief, being in shape doesn’t always have to mean building brawn.

While showcasing your perfectly chiseled figure is a great goal for sporting events, it isn’t exactly sustainable for real life.

If you want your body to be well-adjusted and prepared for any situation, functional fitness is the way to go.

Functional Fitness vs Bodybuilding

A full body workout is a major goal for professional athletes and regular gym goers alike.

One of easiest ways to get a full body workout is cross-training on an elliptical machine.

Elliptical cross trainers are perfect machines for doing all the important cardio exercises at home.

When it comes to your personal health and fitness, an informed decision is the best decision you can make.

In this article, we will focus on one type of full body training, namely functional fitness.

Although the name might be telling, the question still remains: What is functional fitness exactly?

In a nutshell, the term ‘functional fitness’ refers to a specific set of exercises that prepare the body for real-life situations by working on all its muscles accordingly.

Functional Fitness Explained

As explained by Paul Chek, a training consultant for the Chicago Bulls and the U.S. Air Force Academy, the differences between functional fitness and bodybuilding can be observed in two different types of rows.

A functional exercise is the classic bent-over row involving weights, while the bodybuilding one is the seated machine row.

During the former, you are training your body to stabilize its core and engage all necessary muscle groups. The latter does you no such service, as you are letting a workout machine do everything while you are bulking up.

Building too much muscle is good for sporting events but not so much for real-life situations.

However, you shouldn’t abandon your bodybuilding goals to focus solely on practical exercises.

In fact, the two types of workouts work amazingly together, so consider integrating both in your routine.

Nevertheless, if you want to achieve proper form, it is important to focus on functionality.

Functional fitness encompasses a wide variety of exercises like bent-over rows, squats, lunges, and bicep curls.

Mild types of training like Pilates or tai chi are also great sources of functional exercises for this purpose.

Benefits of Functional Fitness

The main benefit of functional fitness workouts is that they involve multiple muscles and joints at once.

While weightlifting might target just the arms, elbows, the wrists, a practical exercise will also engage your spine, shoulders, hips, or knees.

Depending on your routine, you will be able to fit a wide variety of muscle groups into the mix.

Functional fitness can correct your posture, if this is a problem you are struggling with. Unfortunately, due to the nature of modern life, many of us experience spinal issues as a result of spending hours on end in office buildings or schools.

Fortunately, the right routine will help you prevent complications such as back pain.

As opposed to building brawn, functional fitness is the recommended way to develop lean muscle and lose some extra pounds in the process.

It is the key to a sculpted body that maintains its proportions. So, if you want to shape and tone while slimming down, the said exercises are a good place to start.

In addition, a complete routine focused on functionality should include core stability, strength training, flexibility, mobility, and balance workouts designed to improve your wellbeing in more than one way.

Your body will be limber and better-adjusted to the challenges of everyday life, while your balance will improve as well.