By Dr. Davide Marciano
In recent years, in Italian gyms, more and more frequently, we hear about functional training and more and more often we see areas dedicated to this training, where the law is no longer the aesthetically beautiful and exorbitantly costly machine, but a spartan environment where you can do free exercises or / and with simple tools, such as fitball, medicine balls, TRX, kettlebells, Bulgarian bags, clubs, jump rope, pull-up bar, etc.
In this regard, I would like you to reflect on the economic difference between setting up a functional area and setting it up with isotonic or even cardio tools. GREAT investment differences but revenues that can easily be in favor of the functional. Therefore: "SIMPLICITY and EXCELLENT BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE".
But what is functional training?
A movement is said to be functional when it reflects the gestures of daily life, natural movements achieved thanks to the synergistic contraction of several muscle groups. The purpose of this training is to develop a beautiful, harmonious and strong body through exercises that recall the basic functions for which it was born; this is why we are creating paths that are as close as possible to what the human body does by nature.
In our daily life there is no typical muscular isolation of the equipment room, whatever we do, from simply walking to lifting a shopping bag, from climbing to jumping, requires movements allowed by muscle synergy.
Our body was born to perform movements - simple and not - thanks to its whole and not by sectoring every area. We are talking about exercises characterized by multi-joint movements (more joints that stimulate muscle chains) performed on different planes and axes.
This training, thanks to its characteristics, stimulates the deep muscles that create joint stabilization, unlike the classic analytical work that we are used to doing in the gym. This stabilization work prevents many injuries and strengthens the joints. The more the exercise is unstable the more the deep muscles (typical example is represented by the rotator cuff) must create stabilization. Think of the difficulty you encounter in moving, for example, from barbell extensions to dumbbell extensions. Certainly the 100 kg lifted in the balance wheel will never correspond to a weight of 50 kg per arm in distension with dumbbells. Again, if we move from the distension to the bending performed on 2 medicine balls we will most likely not be able to do even a few repetitions.
It is from this cardinal principle of functional, represented by stabilization, that a term very used in this discipline is born: "Core training" . It refers to the strengthening of the deep muscles of the trunk and the pelvis, in order to optimize any gesture that requires stability. The core is the center, and it is precisely from the center of our body that the movement starts. With a stable and strong core, everything will be simpler and safer, from climbing on a stool to squatting - lunges - military press etc.
In the face of these innumerable benefits, there is to be added a sometimes indiscriminate use of functional training. It is unthinkable to give ballistic or extremely unstable movements to untrained subjects or even with basic problems.
Just think, for example, of the relationship between a swing (a ballistic exercise done with a tool called a kettlebell that I love) and the load on the spine.
An initial medical history is a must before giving any exercise, especially if it is functional.
Are the knees of the analyzed subject in recurvatum, are they valga or vare?
Are the muscles of the shoulder girdle free from any abnormal tension or not?
Imagine the damage that could cause a swing to a subject with a retracted rear chain.
These are just a few attentions that must be borne in mind when it comes to functional exercises, which if done badly can cause much more damage than classic exercises.
In this "new" and fascinating world there is so much good; functional training certainly does not represent a trend of the moment destined to disappear next season. Furthermore, I define the functional as an excellent activity, also complementary to other disciplines (from bodybuilding to athletics). Personally, I have been using these exercises for some time in my "classic" hypertrophy workouts. I found a marked increase in strength in all the subjects analyzed (increases in the load on the horizontal bench on the squat and others). Not to mention the marked improvement in performance I have seen in sports like tennis and soccer.
