Targeted training sessions
Full-body effects
In recent years, it has become increasingly popular and is gradually making its way into gyms nationwide: Functional Training. It is also known by the terms functional workout or functional fitness. There isn't really a single, universally accepted definition of what functional training is. However, you can derive it somewhat from the terms: functional means practical and purpose-driven, so the training exercises in a functional training session are targeted. The movement or exercise must serve a specific purpose. From this, it quickly becomes clear that isolated exercises to train just one muscle, for example, are rather unusual and, strictly speaking, not really desired in functional training. The focus is therefore on exercises that train a variety of muscles or muscle chains. Special emphasis is placed on strengthening the core muscles, the so-called "core". Gary Gray, an American physical therapist, is credited with playing a major role in functional training as we know it today. Among other things, it was first used in rehabilitation sports to regain central core tension through specific movements and to achieve a certain stability through highly targeted movements. Mark Verstegen, an American fitness expert, trainer, and author, introduced his core training to the German national soccer team in preparation for the 2006 World Cup. A novelty at the time.
Who is functional training suitable for?
In principle, really anyone! Because functional exercises do not only offer high training value for elite athletes and competitive sportspeople. For people of any fitness level who generally want to get fitter, Functional Training is also a great all-in-one package. Here, all the capabilities you need to perform everyday movement patterns such as standing, sitting, jumping, running, or turning are trained and developed. After all, what movement patterns do we perform every day? These are fundamental things like standing, bending forward and straightening up again, sitting down on a chair and getting back up, or walking, lifting, or pushing something upward. In doing so, the core forms the center of all movement patterns, from which forces are distributed to the extremities (arms/legs). Therefore, Functional Training is a beneficial type of training for every recreational athlete, ball sport athlete, or anyone generally interested in fitness.
The WHO defines fitness as follows:
"Fitness describes a state that encompasses physical performance or the development of conditional (basic motor and physical qualities) and coordinative abilities: strength, endurance, speed, flexibility, coordination. In addition, it is also about psychological and social components, health and well-being."
And exactly these components – strength endurance, speed, flexibility, and coordination – are promoted and trained in and with Functional Training.
What are typical exercises in Functional Training?
In functional training, you can either perform exercises without equipment—using just your own body weight—or you can add specific equipment/training gear into the mix. From the former, i.e., training without any equipment at all, entire movements like Freeletics or Calisthenics have emerged. In a functional workout, you can train with free weights, unstable tools, various small accessories, or simply with your own body weight.
Typical tools and training equipment in a functional workout include exercises with:
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Dumbbells (often hexagonal, so-called hex dumbbells)
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Suspension trainers (sling trainers, the most famous brand is certainly TRX, which is now often used as a synonym for a suspension trainer)
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Elastic bands (tubes) with different resistance levels
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Various balls (slam balls, medicine balls of different weights)
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Weight bags (sandbags, Bulgarian bags)
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Ropes (Battle Ropes)
Some of the best-known functional exercises, which address multiple muscle groups at the same time and form the foundation for any strength training, include for example:
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Squats, with or without additional weights
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Deadlifts with a barbell or another weight (kettlebell or sandbag)
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Bench press
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Overhead press (push press or military press)
However, bodyweight exercises where you have to work against resistance (namely your own weight) are also popular:
Planks, side planks or push-ups are examples of such exercises.
Due to unstable surfaces or external stimuli, you as an athlete have to try to compensate for this movement with your body and usually have to tense several muscles or muscle chains. In principle, functional training is a type of strength training. But not only. With machine-based strength training, usually only one muscle is trained in isolation, and the exercise equipment itself does not challenge or even train your core stability. This is different with functional training. Here, the main focus is placed on a stable core musculature and its training. Thus, functional fitness is suitable for absolutely everyone and the exercises can be adapted/scaled for anyone. The focus can be on rehabilitation, injury prevention, boosting fitness, improving coordination, balance, and core stability. Usually, it is a combination of individual goals and key focus areas, which then lead together with the trainer to the selection of specific functional exercises. Today, there is reelection hardly a gym left that doesn't have a free training area or where functional training or elements of it are not part of the course offerings.
Is Functional Training the same as CrossFit?
Yes and no. Meanwhile, there is a variety of hybrid forms. I do elements of both myself, which is called crosstraining, functional cross, or whatever you want to name it. In principle, CrossFit is a further development of functional training. But with a focus on competition, intensity, and timed repetitions. Exercises from strength training are combined with exercises for muscular endurance, explosive power, mobility, and coordination – right across all areas, simply "cross". CrossFit originated as a training system for elite athletes, soldiers, and special forces in the police and military. Training is done against the clock and with high intensity to be maximally effective.
Good old circuit training, which we all remember from school PE classes, is experiencing a hip revival in CrossFit. Except here it's called HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training). But the principle remains the same: several exercise stations are completed in a circle (circuit) one after the other over multiple rounds. You spend a certain amount of time at each station, then move to the next, and so on. Sweat-inducing and highly effective. But that is just one of the forms of training in CrossFit. Typically, you train in a group, and the gyms aren't called fitness centers, but 'boxes'. The highlight is the annual Reebok CrossFit Games, where competitors from all over the world compete against each other.
In pure Functional Fitness, the focus is clearly on executing the exercise with absolute precision and on the interplay between muscles and joints during a functional movement. Nowadays, there is often a blending of both training styles, combining functional exercises and CrossFit exercises into a WOD (Workout of the Day). It always starts with a warm-up and mobility section, followed by the main workout, and can end with a brief cooldown or a session with the foam roller to roll out fascial tissue and muscles.
