It's Mid Week Motivation Day.

It continues to both amaze and concern me how many people confuse doing an exercise correctly with just moving around.  Just because a person has low body fat that allows you to see their abs, doesn't mean that person knows how to train their core muscles.  It just means they have low body fat.  It could be from having a great nutrition program or it could be that the person is blessed with a high metabolism and hence low body fat.  One doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the other.

I want all of you to get the right information so that you can avoid injury and get results fast.  Results that will last and you can be proud of.

Check out today's video blog post for more on how to train the right way.

As I'm sure you've figured out by now, I usually like to use Friday's as an opportunity to share with you a few of my favorite stretches, exercises and/or rehab movements.

Having been a successful Powerlifter for over 10 years I've had my share of tight muscles, poor flexibility and too much focus on how heavy the weight was instead of proper form.  Being able to Squat over 700lbs as well Deadlift over 700lbs, with a body weight of 200lbs was great. Unfortunately it led to me not being able to sit for longer than 30-45 minutes without my legs going numb. Well those days are long gone and guess what . . . . you get the benefit of all my mistakes.

The stretches, exercises and rehab routines I share with you on Friday are in fact movements I do or have done to get my body back in alignment/balance after 10 years of lifting "heavy".  Don't get me wrong, I'm still pushing myself to the limit every training day.  But the difference is, these days I spend much more time being interested in executing proper form in addition to lifting moderate to heavy. I've done the whole "grab the heaviest weight I can stand and just force the reps".  It's not all it's cracked up to be.

Well I'm 45 y/o now, not 25 y/o.  My ego has taken a backseat to my interest in keeping as much muscle as possible, but only as long as I can enjoy my hobbies of boxing, occasional rollerblading, and anything else that happens to tickle my fancy. I really enjoy weightlifting, but now I am sure to make form first and the weight second.

When it comes to resistance training it's all about variety and proper form.  Need a little variety to your workout that will keep you functional and still challenge you?  Click the video below and add another option to your training routine.

Functional training, in many respects, is a philosophy that has grown out of the dysfunctional view that just lifting weights and getting bigger muscles was in fact improving the quality of one’s life.  Real world events, physical therapy, and traditional weightlifting movements are combined in functional training; for the purpose of increasing a person’s ability to function more effectively and efficiently in whatever capacity they choose.

Functional training has come about from observing that which makes all of us more similar than different.  Every knee joint is a hinge joint (no rotation), virtually every lower back originally had the ability to rotate without discomfort, and each hip socket typically has the ability to perform as a ball and socket.  These consistencies across people have allowed for certain commonalities in movement to be seen as foundational, and hence functional, as they apply to all human movement regardless of lifestyle or profession.

Lunge (similar to the fencing motion)

Squat or Deadlifts (bending to pick something up)

Rotation (rotating in either direction with feet planted)

Pushing (something away from the self)

Pulling (something towards the self)

It is the combination of these basic movements that make up all movement in daily life.

Now let’s consider the application of this philosophy of training.  First off, functional training encourages that you focus on training movements not body parts.  The idea being that if you first train parts of a total movement and then progressively work towards mimicking that entire movement in the confines of training, it will carry over to an increase in effectiveness and efficiency in the target activity.  Remember, this can be practically applied to everything from picking up the laundry basket and placing it on top of a counter, to improving one’s golf swing.  It is the movements one picks, with the target activity in mind, that determines the functional(ness) of the program.

Traditionally, it has been thought that machines increased effectiveness and efficiency.  But research shows that because the machine takes away the individual’s need to balance their bodyweight while performing a movement, machines in fact only increase strength as it relates to a specific body part and in fact do not, by themselves, increase the effectiveness and efficiency of movement.  And real life requires balance to effectively and efficiently perform movement (balance/stability + movement = integrated movement).  You can have all the strength in the world, but if you can’t direct it and control it, it is useless.  The unique aspect of functional training is that it encourages that you use your total body in an integrated fashion in a variety of planes of motion. 

What I have found with my clients is that whether its weekend hikes, playing tennis, or playing in a local basketball league, functional training allows my clients to do what they enjoy doing. . . . . only better.  The twisted ankles, sore lower backs, shoulder stiffness or lack of cardiovascular strength have all been improved by including functional movements as a part of each of their training regimes. 

Functional training then, asks the client to perform many of the same movements that traditional weight machines allow, yet with the added component of the 3-dimensional stability and balance.  For example let’s look at how functional training would look to improve two different types of clients’ quality of life. 

First let’s consider a person whose is looking to improve their performance in their hobby, the popular sport of tennis.  Obviously tennis is a technical sport requiring a person to be aware of many different things going on all at the same time; from the stance, to the swing, to the follow-through; a sport where multiple things are happening at once.  One of my previous clients was in fact a tennis player that presented with several aches and pains.  One of the major complaints was that of lower back pain.  After a thorough Lifestyle Assessment, range of motion evaluation, and injury history, I created a program to address this client’s aches and pains.  A program would be developed that kept in mind the goal, improving this client’s ability in his hobby, tennis.  Tennis requires a great deal of rotation to play it effectively.  So any program design should consider movements that strengthen the individual’s ability to effectively and efficiently rotate.  Perhaps one would first begin by strengthening the core, utilizing stable surfaces like a bench with which to perform certain abdominal work and then move to a less stable environment like a Swiss Ball. While working first on strengthening the core, I then would address the next component, rotation.  Once assured of the client’s growing core stabilization I would begin mimicking the movement of a tennis swing by using a medicine ball, and having the client rotate back and forth while keeping the feet planted.  Then, progressively, as the client demonstrates the ability to effectively and efficiently rotate for a certain number of repetitions and sets, a heavier medicine ball would be used and increased movement in the feet and hips would be allowed.  Eventually, the speed of the movement (so that it closely approximates the tennis swing) and the weight of the ball would be adjusted, to improve the ease with which the client was able to perform the movement of rotation.  Next, let’s consider another previous client. She didn’t necessarily have an athletic hobby, but on a weekly basis does many of the normal activities we all do.  Let’s consider taking groceries out of the trunk of a car and handing them to another person.  Isn’t this the same type of basic movement, rotation, that we considered for our tennis player looking to improve their game?  With the same goal in mind, improving the person’s ability to rotate, a thorough Lifestyle Assessment, range of motion evaluation, and injury history would be taken and a program would be developed and that would address this client’s need of improved daily functioning.  Many of the movements chosen would be the same.  The difference would be in the progressions chosen.  Since there is no need for this person to have the same level of strength or explosive ability, the speed of the movement chosen for their program would be much slower and a lighter medicine ball would be chosen to practice rotation.  It would be possible to state that the programs of these two individuals, with regards to improving rotation, would look almost identical.  The only difference being largely in the repetitions, sets, and load (weight) chosen.

Using these two examples as evidence of the importance of using functional training should make it clear that EVERYONE can benefit from this type of training philosophy.  Be it sport or day to day activities, life happens in 3-planes of motion, at various speeds, requires balance, and is integrated.  Take a moment and watch yourself day to day and see how many of these movements you do in any given day.  Would a functional training perspective help you?

These are real-life examples that I encounter daily.  If one these people sound like you, or you’re just interested in improving the way your body functions in life, contact me at kurt@energyfxfitness.com.