| people, when asked this question, will normally | | | | cannot perform a single repetition of a push up in |
| think about what weight they can lift, curl or | | | | the handstand position. |
| press in a gym using barbells, dumbbells, or on a | | | | The machine has taken away the need to balance |
| weights machine. | | | | and that person is only strong when using a |
| You may be bench pressing huge weights and | | | | machine. |
| curling the biggest dumbbells on the rack, but my | | | | The key to functional exercises is integration. It is |
| guess is you are not that strong, and this may | | | | about training muscles to work together and not |
| come as a bit of a shock to most people. | | | | independently of each other. |
| True strength comes in the form of functional | | | | To become truly strong and improve your |
| fitness, fitness that can be applied and used in | | | | functional fitness, you need to ditch weights |
| everyday situations, not just in a gym. | | | | altogether. |
| When you carry the shopping from your car boot | | | | It is not surprising to find people who are capable |
| to your kitchen, or carry your child to bed, you | | | | of pressing 500lb on a leg press machine to |
| use many muscle groups which work together to | | | | become a quivering, sweating wreck after only 50 |
| achieve the job in hand. The body works as one | | | | free squats and stop with no weight at all, which |
| unit, integrating all the muscles together. | | | | takes about 90 seconds! Try now and you will |
| Weight training in its conventional form, isolates | | | | see what I mean. |
| muscle groups, and it does not teach the muscles | | | | Stand up straight with your feet shoulder width |
| it isolates, to work with others. | | | | apart, toes pointed forward and bend your legs |
| Functional exercises focus on building a body | | | | and squat down to the floor, keeping your back |
| capable of performing real life movements in real | | | | straight. When your bottom touches your feet, |
| life positions, whereas weight training on machines | | | | press back up again and repeat this over and |
| in a gym, teaches the body to perform only in | | | | over at the rate of one repetition every 2 |
| positions when posture is made ideal by the | | | | seconds. |
| machine. | | | | When performing this movement, you use far |
| If you have ever reached for something or bent | | | | more muscles than when lying or sitting on a |
| over to pick something up, and we are only | | | | machine, which is why it is so much harder. In |
| talking about small, light items such as a bottle of | | | | fact, all bodyweight training is much more |
| water, and felt your back go, then your functional | | | | demanding than weights machines and will shock |
| fitness is seriously lacking. | | | | most people. |
| This can be attributed to poor core strength. | | | | If you are looking to improve your muscular |
| When we perform everyday movements, such | | | | strength and endurance, then bodyweight |
| as carrying the shopping, our body calls into play | | | | exercises far out-perform weight training |
| many more muscles than would be used on a | | | | methods. Just take a look at wild animals, they do |
| gym machine. When we lean over or reach, to lift | | | | not use weights, gym machines or isolate muscles |
| the bags, we use the stabilising muscles, which | | | | in any way when they go about their daily |
| include the core muscles of the abdomen and | | | | routines. It surely is no surprise that going to a |
| secondary muscles to keep our balance so we | | | | gym and using weight machines and following split |
| don’t fall over. | | | | routines that isolate muscles, doesn’t |
| When we use gym machines, our stabilising | | | | improve functional strength at all, when you |
| muscles are not used because the machine has | | | | consider a monkey, which isn’t that |
| taken the need to keep balance away. If we are | | | | different from us, swinging about the trees all day |
| not careful, the stronger muscles get stronger | | | | with nothing but their own bodyweight to shift, |
| and the weaker muscles get weaker which | | | | has the strength of ten human beings. |
| causes an imbalance in the way our bodies work | | | | The important thing to remember when |
| and function. | | | | performing bodyweight exercises is to take it |
| This explains why a seasoned user of weight | | | | steady at first, they are very demanding but the |
| training equipment who is capable of pressing a | | | | improvements you will gain in your functional |
| weight far above that of their own bodyweight | | | | strength will be huge. |
| over their head on a shoulder press machine, | | | | |
