Training Deep Dive - "Functional" Training

• Functional training

  • Let me first say that all training is “functional” depending on your goals. If you want to be a powerlifter then the squat bench and deadlift are the most functional exercises you can do but if you want to walk well when you’re 80 you might want to consider the following points.

  • My ideas about functional training are largely based on what I've learned from Paul Chek, Mike Boyle, GOATA, Weck Method, Landmine University, and Functional Patterns.

  • Training in a way that corresponds to and transfers to your sport or daily activities

    • This is why much of the training I do centers around using muscles in the ways they would be used when we are walking or running since this is the exercise that gets the most reps per day other than breathing.

    • A lunge is closer to walking and running than most other leg exercises. A squat may be done here and there throughout the day but rarely is loaded with a weight on your shoulders. People are almost never required to swing their legs from the knee down with large amounts of force (seated knee extension and hamstring curls).

    • When considering the SAID principle (Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demand) it also makes sense to me to incorporate RMT and CCT in to the majority of my training because they seem like the best way to train the expression of strength in athletics making certain exercises more “functional” than other. In my mind this is because the expression of strength relies on not just the strength of individual muscles (which could be maybe most effectively trained in a Nautilus Gym according the methods of Arthur Jones) but also on the coordination of those muscles. Some (such as Arthur Jones) would argue that coordination is best build in your sport specific practice but there is a growing number of high level trainers and coaches (Paul Chek, Cal Dietz, Chris Korefist, Mike Boyle, and many others) who are instead are choosing to use more “functional” exercises. I admit that I may be ignorant but this approach makes more sense to me intellectually and since I’ve been training this way I only feel better and stronger the deeper I get in to it. (And there’s likely a reason why the Nautilus equipment of Arthur Jones’ day is nearly impossible to find while “functional training” only continues to grow, and I doubt it’s because tens of thousands if not millions of trainers coaches and athletes are too stupid to realize they’re being lied to. These are people who are likely in tune enough with their body to feel what works and what doesn’t. Even many NFL and other pro athletes have claimed they found gym time with the “traditional” power and olympic lifts was robbing them of their athleticism).

      • Another point to consider is that an athlete who trains in the gym with get a plethora of other high intensity inputs via their sport specific training and actual competition. Some of that will balance out, and fill the gaps in their strength training. For example a football player may deadlift to get faster and stronger, but they will also play football so they will be using their body in a variety of other positions that will help keep their joints healthy and avoid overuse injuries. The average person will not be doing the same so a variety of “functional” hip hinge variations would be more sustainable for them.

  • Training each part of the body with respect to the whole

    • integrating the strength gained in isolation with the rest of the body so that strength can be expressed outside of a gym setting.

      • A bench press is a great example of this. Many people with heavy bench press struggle with standingcable presses comparatively. This is because a bench press is supported by, you guessed it, a bench, where the standing cable press requires strength and integration of the entire body from the feet to the  hands. Many will find that their obliques limit their ability to press. I don’t know about you but I can’t remember the last time I had to push something while laying on my back.

        • This (maybe) isn’t great if you want a big chest quickly because if your obliques are the weak link you will have to make those stronger before you can effectively overload your pecs. However, I see this as a feature rather than a bug because I’d rather have fewer weak links that just a few strong links and if you stick with training long enough you’ll have mostly strong links.

    • Prioritizing compound movements with the inclusion of isolation exercises as necessary.

      • There are many times when isolation exercises may be necessary. I use the “internal perspective” (see more here) to gauge this rather than a mirror, and I may isolate a range of motion in a particular joint when I identify a weak link to bring it up to speed quicker.

      • Compound movements are more representative of how we use our bodies in real life.

        • This would be compared to isolated exercises such as the bench press (see above) though many would consider the bench press to be a compound exercise. I guess it’s on a bit of a spectrum (what isn’t these days?).

        • Another example would be leg extension or curl machines. They have their place and are great at what they do though I would NOT recommend them for the general population to use without professional supervision or guidance. Many people with letters after their name and who have better articulated arguments than “how we use our bodies in real life” are seeming to recommend squats and deadlifts over isolated leg exercises.

        • As far as I can tell this has something to do with both the nervous system and tensegrity of the myofascial system. The nervous system in that every rep teaches your nervous system how to contract a muscle and in “real life” muscles very rarely (if ever) work in isolation (walking running and sprinting all require the use of every muscle in your legs working in synchronicity, which isn’t required in seated leg extension). The tensegrity part is something that isn’t as well understood but it likely follows similar principles where if the muscles are contracted “out of order” the joints have more tendency to lose their integrity and cartilage rubs cartilage until only the bone is left when there should always be a layer of synovial fluid between the cartilage. These also lead in to GOATA’s argument that certain movements have an ideal pattern and muscles should be firing in a specific order (Douglas Heel, Cal Dietz, and others associated with Be Activated and RPR also make similar claims).

    • When I do do isolation exercises (do do hehe).

      • I tend to incorporate them in to some other isometric position so that I am working my whole body while CONCENTRATING on a particular movement or muscle.

        • For example, I may do bicep curls but I would do them in a variety of “WeckMethod” positions such as a frontside or backside coil.

      • I also may do isolation exercises if I want to improve mobility or strength in a particular joint/muscle or range of motion. Again, I might find a way to incorporate this in with some other training system (GOATA or WeckMethod positions are my “go-to”). When I’m doing this I’m typically training in the deepest ranges of motion which when I take in to account the integrated nature of the myofascial system I find it beneficial to take the surrounding joints (and myofascial slings) to or near their end ranges of motion as well. More often than not I find myself in a coiled position of the spine (according to the WeckMethod) and or somewhere in a “bow and corner” shape of the legs and hips (according to GOATA though usually deeper than they typically teach).

      • When going to these deep end ranges I also like to then take the muscle/joint through a full range of motion. As an example, this can mean working on my end range bicep curls with my elbow extended to strengthen that range of motion, and then doing some full range bicep curls to “integrate” this strength and teach the body how this new “lesson” fits in with what it already knows how to do.

    • Compound movements work many muscles in each exercise so this also saves time. See next point.

  • Training that maximizes benefit while minimizing time in the gym. This would be more practical training or functional for life. As much as I like the gym I’d rather see people in there to get the stimulus they need and then leave and use their improved bodies for other activities.

    • This line of thinking causes me to consider exercises for their ability to work a variety of muscles in a single movement.

      • Not everyone has 90 minutes every day to go through a detailed highly specific and specialized program. Nor do they have the desire to learn about anatomy, physiology, exercise science, and biomechanics to the detail required to “wing it” effectively.

      • A lunge will work all of the same muscles as a squat but will also require more balance thus building the muscles that create balance more effectively (this includes many of the muscles that make up the “rotator cuff” of the hip).

      • A single arm cable press will require the use of the entire body, notable the “core” especially the obliques. Compare to a bench press which will nearly isolate the required muscles to the chest, shoulders, and arms, all of which would be exercised in the standing cable press.