Personal Training Trends and the Abuse and Misuse of Functional Training – A NUBODYZ Publication
You know, one thing that has always bothered me about the fitness arena are its trends. There is always something out there that’s the new thing, and next week, it’ll be something else. I work in an industry (personal training) that exists to help people improve their lives and feel better about themselves; there’s no room for being “cool”, “trendy”, or any other nonsense like that. I really care about my clients and am proud to benefit their lives by giving them the direction and tools they need to reach their specific fitness goals through a specific and methodical training and nutrition plan. One trendy approach that has been milked and abused, at the expense of many paying personal training clients, is the method of “functional training”. Allow me to explain.
Now, functional training in its original pure design is not bad at all and can be very effective. It is simply an approach to address specific functional needs. In most cases, this will be to enhance athletic performance in a specific sport. For example, if an individual skis as a hobby, there are certain “functional” and less traditional exercises that can be applied to enhance their balance. Or, if someone is a football player, incorporating explosive functional exercises can greatly enhance their performance. These functional exercises address the necessary functions of the respective sport. It is important to note, that even in these cases, traditional strength training approaches still serve as the foundation for the exercise regiment; the functional exercises are supplementary.
The problem is that the vast majority of people who seek assistance from a personal trainer aren’t training for a specific sport; they want to look better, feel better themselves, and be healthier. As a matter of fact, generally when I’m consulting someone I will go over their top three goals and discuss with why these are of particular important them. Almost all the time, every one of these goals is not something that cannot be remedied through functional training. I hear, “Chris I want to reduce my body fat” “I want to improve my thighs” “I want more energy” “I want to tone and firm my arms”, and the list goes on. Let me dedicate some time to explain just why these functional exercises don’t produce the same results to their traditional counterparts in addressing the aforementioned fitness goals.
When we are performing an anaerobic exercise it is for a very specific reason and we try to isolate a certain muscle group, i.e. performing a bicep curl to work your biceps or a chest press to work you chest. We have known for years and years and years that the best way to improve a body part is to isolate it and then exhaust it. Isolation and exhaustion of a muscle group is how we firm, tone, sculpt, and develop. The problem with functional training for the purpose of achieving these results is that it does not isolate or exhaust a particular muscle group. Take for example performing a squat on a bosu ball. Quite frankly, this is probably the most pointless thing in the world for improving leg strength and appearance. Your legs are the strongest muscle group in your body; you can’t effectively use enough weight on a bosu ball and maintain your balance to actually exhaust your leg muscles. Secondly, it’s very difficult to isolate your hamstrings, quads, and glutes while performing this movement because your wobbling around all over the place like you just went to happy hour before coming to the gym; it just doesn’t work, plain and simple (unless your goal is to improve balance).
Furthermore, a squat on a bosu ball is one of the simplest functional exercises out there. I tell you, I see some really crazy stuff at times. I mean what good is doing a one legged squat while executing a dumbbell curl to a shoulder press to someone who wants to lose weight. This doesn’t isolate any particular muscle or exhaust anything (accept my patience). What I just described sounds almost as complicated as some sort of crazy tumbling routine a gymnast might use; the only thing that’s missing is the dismount! Most people want to look better and have more confidence, not become trapeze artists. I have heard the justification that these movements “work your core”. Wow, is this word (core) thrown around all over the place. You know what else works your core? Almost every other single exercise you can do in a gym. When you perform a bicep curl, you may not realize it, but your abdominals are being activated, same as when you do a squat or a lunge.
I don’t want to come off as cynical; but I sincerely and passionately care about helping people improve themselves, and when I see individuals not receiving the direction they deserve it really frustrates me. Functional training truly is a legitimate approach; but it is only necessary for a few specific individuals with certain goals, and even then traditional forms of strength training need to be the foundation and building block.
The reality is we are going through a Functional Training Phase. This IS the trend right now and if you’re a trainer who is seeking to become popular among your peers, all you have to do is start prescribing “functional training” routines left and right without any discretion and drop the word “core” here and there. There needs to be a specific reason behind every exercise we perform. Just because you can do an exercise doesn’t mean you should; otherwise instead of a functional training approach you end up with a dysfunctional mess. There is a science behind developing the human body and there are tested and proven traditional forms of exercise that will yield the greatest results for you. Things have become to trendy and fancy; we need a return to the basics and when that happens you can expect better results.
Chris is an experienced certified personal trainer and the Co-founder of Nubodyz On land and Online Fitness. An organization which tailors fitness to the unique needs of the individual through offering a diverse collection of quality and affordable approaches to health which include: one-on-one personal training, online training, group classes, nutritional plans, and exercise programs. For more information and other free health tips, please visit http://www.nubodyz.com
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