Training for Life

Hercules didn’t receive super human strength and his admirable physique from strength training machines in a gym. I’m guessing he didn’t have the time to isolate certain muscle groups for 3 sets of 12 repetitions with his busy work schedule. This brawny hero’s physical fitness resulted from his daily activities and occupation.

You see, his manager was actually his cousin, Eurystheus, who was favored by the  Co-CEO Queen Hera. Eurystheus was promoted and advanced up the corporate ladder when everyone knew that Hercules was more deserving. Eurystheus was jealous of Hercules and feared that Hercules would outshine him, steal his position, and he would get the boot so he assigned Hercules the most challenging work tasks in hopes that he would fail and then Eurytheus’s position would be secured for good.

Eurytheus assigned Hercules a series of “labors.” Hercules physical aptitude allowed him to complete his work with ease. He was able to do the unthinkable- slay the supernatural Nemean lion, chase and capture a golden horned deer, and overpower the Cretan bull to name a few.

Hercules was a busy guy. When work became more demanding he didn’t have time to train every individual muscle in the gymnasium on a split routine to look like a Greek God (even though he eventually became one in the after life), swap philosophical views around the water cooler, and participate in sporting events, he had to focus on being fit for his job and fit for life. He incorporated functional fitness, the “capacity to perform activities of daily living in a safe and independent fashion without undue fatigue or pain.”

In today’s world we’re definitely not chasing down a fleeting golden horned deer for 40 hours a week, or sitting in rush hour to go slay a multi-headed swamp monster, but we do encounter physical demands everyday. In order to keep up with these demands we must structure our training to enhance our abilities for everyday tasks.  

With a Push of a Button

The human body is designed for movement and energy expenditure. Our bodies crave it. In the past there were no health recommendations about receiving “30 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week,” because it wasn’t a choice. Daily obligations- hunting, gathering food, farming, walking throughout the day kept one’s body healthy and fit.

In today’s world the majority of daily tasks are technology based. You can work all day without ever leaving your computer or perform most tasks with a push of a button.  The increase in sedentary activities has a direct effect on one’s abilities. Health and fitness professionals have recognized the steady decline in the physical capabilities of the population. Thus, functional fitness training programs were born and are growing fast.

What is Functional Fitness?

Conventional strength training isolates muscles in a slow and controlled movement in one plane of motion at a time. While this is excellent for shaping the muscles by causing hypertrophy, and assisting in injury prevention by addressing muscular imbalances it is not how the body functions in real life.  Muscles can’t work alone to produce movement. Functional fitness trains the muscles to work together in movement patterns that one does often in life so they can perform these movements better with more strength, coordination, and speed.

Think about the activities that you do on a daily basis- pick up the kids, unload the groceries, lift heavy items, stand for an extended period of time, all of these actions require your body to perform various movement tasks at once. You may be squatting, pulling, pushing, twisting, and balancing all at one time.

In order to do these movements with ease your neuromuscular system must be on board. Functional fitness increases neuromuscular efficiency, meaning the neuromuscular system allows muscles and stabilizers (like the core) to work together as a unit. In order to do this it’s important to get up! Sitting on a bicep curl machine works only the biceps- to make this exercise more functional perform curls with free weights while standing. To progress and increase the neuromuscular demand, try performing the exercise while standing on a single leg. Your core musculature will have to work harder to keep the body stable.

Fitness equipment is starting to evolve toward functional fitness. Bosu balls, swiss balls, bands, and cable equipment are designed to help you move in all three planes of motion- similar to how we move in real life. These pieces of equipment go far beyond how much weight you can lift, in fact most of them require no weight lifting at all in the early stages. The challenge is being able to use strength, flexibility, balance, and endurance all at one time. Have you ever tried to perform a single leg squat? Even those who can lift 3 times their body weight on the leg press machine may have difficulty lifting their own body weight when performing this exercise.

The added bonus of functional fitness training programs is that you will not only increase the quality of your life by being able to complete tasks with ease, but you will also burn more calories in less time, because more muscles are working together in an integrated fashion at once, which requires more energy.

Forming Your Functional Fitness Program

Rene Velado, a highly respected trainer at Annapolis Athletic Club, specializes in functional fitness training. When designing functional fitness programs for his clients Rene first discovers what the client wants, what they need, and what they do for a living. 

Rene discussed how the average person is sitting down for extended periods of time due to their occupation and/or driving long distances. The last thing he has them do in the gym is to sit down on machines. Instead, Rene incorporates free weights, cables, body weight exercises and other methods to help that person reach their goal in the most efficient and effective way possible. For example, if Rene is working with a mother of two toddlers and has a goal of weight loss her program will consist of exercises to burn the most calories in the least amount of time due to her busy schedule, but also incorporate movements such as squats to strengthen her glutes and hamstrings so she has more strength to pick up her children with the proper form.

Rene’s philosophy is that one should train for what they do. A runner cannot train the same way as a bodybuilder. A person who works at a computer should not train the same way as someone who is a contractor.

A trainer’s job is to assess each client on an individual basis and form a specific program that caters to their lifestyle, needs, abilities, goals, and limitations. When structuring your functional fitness program it’s wise to work with a trainer to address these issues.  What works for your friend may not be the best path of fitness for you.

Heroic Abilities

Functional fitness is all about doing what you do, but doing it better as well as being prepared for whatever life throws at you. By having more endurance you’ll not only be able to run the 10k you’ve been training for, but you’ll also have the capacity to conquer 8 flights of stairs when the elevator in your building isn’t working. 

We may not have superhuman strength like Hercules, but by training and maintaining a good level of physical fitness we can handle whatever “labors” come our way.

Functional Fitness Exercises to Try

Wood Chop

-With a medium weight medicine ball perform a lateral lunge with arms extended and the ball by the outside of your foot

- Use your legs to lift the ball up towards the opposite side as you twist through the core

Side Step and Press

- With medium weight dumbbells held in each hand at shoulder height, step laterally to one side and perform a single arm shoulder press

Single Leg Step-Up to Balance

• Stand in front of a step or platform with feet shoulder width apart and pointed straight ahead
• Draw in navel and activate your glutes
• Lift one leg up and step onto the box lifting the body as you balance on the single leg
• Hold for 3 seconds
• Lower down and repeat on the opposite leg