Functional fitness exercises train your muscles to work together and prepare them for daily tasks by simulating common movements you might do at home, at work or in sports. While using multiple muscles in the upper and lower body at the same time, functional fitness exercises also emphasize core strength and stability.
Functional movement exercises involve full-body motion and engage the stability muscles, which are extremely important in preventing injuries. There are seven basic movements the human body can perform and all other exercises are merely variations of these seven: Pull, Push, Squat, Lunge, Hinge, Rotation and Gait. When performing all of these movements, you will be able to stimulate all of the major muscle groups in your body.
It is vital that your body knows how to move effectively, no matter what your personal goals are.
If you’re wanting to lose weight you need to get all your muscles working equally to increase your body’s ability to burn fat. Rather than exposing your body to the stresses and strains of strength training such as weightlifting, functional training is designed to make your body feel more comfortable. Since functional training exercises tend to focus more on large body movements that stabilise specific muscle groups, the focus is on coordination, technique, posture, and core engagement, rather than weight. These compound exercises are often effective as part of a continuous routine and can easily be utilised as part of a personalised home programme. Research has proven that bodies that are able to move more freely burn off calories more effectively and help you drop the pounds.
If you are recovering from an injury, we need to make sure we rehabilitate your body to get everything re-balanced, to mitigate against the injury from reoccurring. Functional training, when done by a physical therapist is a rehabilitation technique. It focuses on restoring strength and proper function of the musculoskeletal system with the goal of making it easier for patients to perform their everyday activities. I work closely with physio therapists to maximize recovery, enhance performance, and hopefully prevent injuries (or re-injury).
I refer to functional rehabilitation as a process of working towards returning to an individual’s maximum level of independence in the activities that are important to them. A person’s priority of their functional activities are as varied as the individual to whom they apply.
So, no matter your goals, this type of training is essential.
The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is an innovative system used to evaluate movement pattern quality for clients. The beauty of the Functional Movement Screen is that a personal trainer can utilise a simple and quantifiable method of evaluating basic movement abilities. The FMS only requires the ability to observe basic movement patterns already familiar to the coach. The FMS allows a trainer to begin the process of functional movement pattern assessment in individuals without recognized pathology. The FMS demonstrates limitations or asymmetries in healthy individuals with respect to basic movement patterns.
In a nutshell, we use a Functional Movement Screen to initially assess a person’s functional and fundamental movement patterns to identify any dysfunction. This then informs the coach as to which corrective exercises are best utilised to improve movement throughout the whole body.
The FMS provides the personal trainer with an evaluation option that relates closely to what the client will actually do in training. In a sense, the tests are improved by working on variations of the skills tested. The FMS allows evaluation with movement patterns that readily make sense to both the client and the coach. The test is comprised of seven fundamental movement patterns that require a balance of mobility and stability. These fundamental movement patterns are designed to provide observable performance of basic loco motor, manipulative, and stabilizing movements. The tests place the individual in extreme positions where weaknesses and imbalances become noticeable if appropriate stability and mobility is not utilized. It has been observed that many individuals who perform at very high levels during activities are unable to perform these simple movements. These individuals could be utilizing compensatory movement patterns during their activities, sacrificing efficient movements for inefficient ones, to perform at high levels. If these compensations continue, then poor movement patterns will be reinforced leading to poor biomechanics.
What our programme entails
1) 4 week block of two 1-2-1 sessions per week (£320) or 8 week block of one PT session per week (£360)
2) Personal Training and targeted exercise plan to focus on Rehabilitation and Movement
3) Functional Assessment Evaluation of limitations in basic movement patterns using FMS test (cost £45 upfront – offset against programme fee)
4) Home programme to focus efforts to strengthen or regenerate a muscle or joint or to improve mobility
5) Accountability meeting(s): includes body measurements
6) Fully supported nutritional guidance (if required)
7) Link to preferred supplier physios
To find out more contact us. We offer specialist personal training advice and coaching to ensure we get you back on track using the most effective techniques. Allow us to put an end to your muscle pain and get your body functioning as it should.
Email admin@bodycomplete.co.uk. Visit our website bodycomplete.co.uk and complete a submission form. Call us on 07970170241.