Functional fitness has been gaining a lot of popularity in recent years.
But what is it?
There are probably many different definitions that I won’t go into here, so I will make
my own definition.
Functional fitness involves any exercise that helps you, or could potentially help you,
in your daily endeavours.
It’s realistic fitness – not just fitness to get big muscles, but fitness that could
help you do something in a realistic scenario.
Functional exercises must also be able to be performed anywhere, or almost anywhere.
That is, the exercises must rely on body weight rather than expensive pieces of iron and steel.
If you go to a gym, the most talked about exercise (at least for men), is the bench
press.
The bench press involves lying on you back and pressing a weight upwards above your chest
and shoulders.
To me, this is not functional fitness.
Sure, you might get big “pecs” that (might) impress the ladies, but does it help you out
in real life?
My guess, if you are ever in a situation where you have been pushed to the ground and are
lying on your back, you have already lost the fight.
Maybe bench presses will help you push a would-be attacker off you, but quite frankly, I’d
rather avoid being pushed to the ground than having to rely on my ability to “press”
a large weight over my chest.
My Functional Fitness Exercises
What do I do for functional fitness?
Here is a list of the exercises I try to do every second morning in the local park.
For my off-days, I go for a walk – whether it be walking to work, or just walking for
fun.
I perform each set of exercises once until I have finished all exercises, then repeat
the circuit five times.
In doing so, though, I reduce the number of repetitions by one each time.
So for example, if my starting number is 8, my next set would consist of 7 repetitions,
followed by 6, 5, and 4.
If I’m tired one day and can only manage 6 reps on my first attempt, then my five sets
would consist of 6, 5, 4, 3, and finally 2 repetitions.
Exercise 1.
Pull ups.
This involves pulling yourself up to a bar so that your chin is above the bar.
I usually use the children’s play equipment, but you could easily use a horizontal tree
branch as well.
I know this is a hard exercise and not suitable for everybody, but I like pull-ups because
they build upper, as well as core body strength.
On my first set, I do as many as I can in one go.
This sets the number of exercises I will do for all following exercises.
For example, at the moment I am able to do 8 pull-ups.
So 8 becomes my target number for all other exercises in the session.
Over the five rounds, I will reduce the number of pull-ups I do by one, so 8, 7, 6, 5, and
4 reps respectively.
Exercise 2.
Vertical Jumps.
This involves taking a run up and trying to touch an object above me.
I currently try to touch a light fixture that is about 3 metres (10 feet) from the ground
– so about as high as a basketball hoop.
I perform this exercise a number of times equal to the number of pull-ups I did previously,
so usually 8 jumps.
For each jump, I switch between using my left and right hand.
For whatever reason, I find it harder to touch with my left hand than my right.
As with my pull-ups, I reduce the number of reps each round, so 8, 7, 6, 5, and 4 jumps.
Exercise 3.
Handstands.
Handstands are an awesome exercise.
They involve tipping yourself upside down and balancing on just your hands.
They require a lot of upper and core body strength to perform and can be quite intimidating
for people who haven’t tried them in a long time.
Not only do they improve your strength, they improve your balance.
If you can’t do free-standing handstands, you can always perform them against a wall
to support yourself.
I do free-standing ones for a number of seconds equal to three times my target number, so
24 seconds if I did 8 pull-ups.
So over the five rounds, I will do them for 24, 21, 18, 15, and 12 seconds respectively.
Exercise 4.
Standing Toe-Touches.
Most friends my age (mid-thirties) can’t touch their toes, so I do these purely for
my own flexibility (and to be able to brag a little).
I perform them at the top of a set of stairs so that I can reach past my toes.
I hold for a number of seconds equal to double my target number, so 16 seconds if I did 8
pull-ups.
The five sets over the full session would consist of 16, 14, 12, 10, and 8 seconds respectively.
I think flexibility is important in functional fitness.
From what I’ve researched, flexible people are typically less prone to accidental injury.
Exercise 5.
Side Splits.
These are executed by extending my legs to the left and right as far as I can while keeping
my body upright.
I usually perform them on a set of wide stairs on the second-top step so that I have something
to rest my hands on.
This helps me keep my balance and avoid injury.
I perform them for the same number of seconds as the standing toe-touches, so 16, 14, 12,
10, and 8 seconds respectively.
Exercise 6.
Front Splits.
Another flexibility exercise.
Executed by extending one leg forward of, and the other leg to the rear of my body.
You should be able to get closer to the ground than with side splits.
I hold for a number of seconds equal to the duration of my side splits, but I do it twice
– once with my left leg forwards and once with my right leg forwards.
So over the five rounds I would do 16 seconds left, 16 seconds right, 14/14, 12/12, 10/10,
and then finally 8 seconds left, and 8 seconds right.
And that’s it – my functional fitness regimen.
By the by, I’ve never really known whether it’s regime or regimen, so check it out
for yourself.
Yes, it’s tough, but only last year I couldn’t even touch my toes.
If you work at something often, you’ll eventually get there.
It’s a matter of setting your own goals and ignoring what other people think of you.
Sure, in the park, there are probably going to be some gawkers who will stare at you trying
to touch your toes, but you know what I say about them – Forget ’em!
Who cares what they think?
They’re probably jealous that they haven’t got the motivation and courage to do the same.
I’ll finish with a quote from American jazz saxophonist, Charlie Parker.
“You’ve got to learn your instrument.
Then, you practice, practice, practice.
And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.”