Functional training is and has been a buzz word in the strength and conditioning industry for a few years now.  Simply put, “functional training” is fundamental training.  It is without a doubt something that all athletes and the general fitness population alike should by implementing in every training session.   In this article I will explore what functional training is and how you can add it to your program.

Functional training can be described as purposeful training, training that teaches individuals how to handle their bodies in a variety of situations that apply to sports and life.   Most movements in sport and life can be categorized as multi-joint movements; that is movements that integrate muscle groups into movement patterns.   As a professional in this field one of my main jobs is to reduce the likelihood of injuries not only in training, but in competitive situations.  Functional training prepares the body for real life situations in a variety of settings. 

In its purest form, functional training prepares athletes to handle their own body weight in different planes.  Athletes can use body weight as resistance and change the positions to simulate loads found in sport and life.  Functional training aims to intentionally incorporate balance and proprioception into training using what Michael Boyle describes as, “controlled amounts of instability” that cause athletes to maintain and/or regain their own stability.  Functional training is a concept that challenges athletes and others to display strength in conditions of instability – those true to what they do, whatever that endeavor may be.  Boiled down to its simplest form functional training trains movements, not muscles.

To gain a better understanding of functional training, it is necessary to examine how the muscle system of the body works.  This idea was first introduced by physical therapist Gary Gray in his Chain Reaction courses in the 1990’s.  In the past, anatomy taught how a muscle moves an isolated joint, and not a lot of thought was given to what the muscle did in a real life movement situation.   In contrast, Gray introduced the concept of kinetic chains that described interrelated groups of joints and muscles working together to perform movements.    To dissect this even further it is important to mention open-chain movements vs. close chain movements. 

The “chain” that these terms refer to is the integrated way in which the muscles of the body interact with one another.  Open chain movements are described as those that isolate a single muscle group or single joint, where the hands or feet are free to move during the movement.  On the other hand closed chain movements work multiple joints and multiple muscle groups at once as the hands and/or feet are in a fixed position.  In a nut shell closed chain exercises better mimic activities that are used in sports and everyday life.   In addition, closed chain exercises work the kinetic chains or muscle groups that are fundamental to movement.   At the root of function training are the essential movements that are required to stay injury free and improve performance in any movement specific activity.

Now Elijah isn’t the best scorer on the team, but he can create points from steals that he gets by using his quickness and raw athleticism.  Now, if Elijah chooses to put in the hours of developing his basketball skills I know that in about a year or two he will be a even better basketball player then the “phenom”.

Here is the bottom line: Sooner or later the sport skills (i.e. shooting, dribbling, catching etc.) will level off as kids get older, but athleticism does not…..okay, it does but not as fast! Speed, strength & quickness is the number 1 commodity that coaches absolutely love and the sooner you can get your son/daughter into a quality training program the better off they will be (from an athletic stand point) as they reach high school and beyond.

My advice…..spend as much time building athleticism (speed, agility, quickness, strength, balance, etc.) as you do on your specific sport skills.  But, it has to be quality work, not just going through the motions!

written by Alex Molden