Functional Fitness and Why it is Important

Functional fitness is a term that has gained popularity in recent years amongst fitness enthusiasts, especially among those who are looking to improve their mobility, balance, strength, and overall health. The term functional fitness refers to exercises that engage the body’s natural movements in everyday activities. It involves training your muscles, joints, and body to move efficiently and effectively through daily tasks and routines.

Functional fitness involves performing exercises that mimic common movements such as squatting, bending, twisting, pulling, and reaching. The idea behind this type of fitness is to enhance strength, flexibility, and balance in a way that can benefit everyday tasks like lifting heavy objects, walking up the stairs, or reaching for something on a high shelf. Unlike more traditional strength training exercises, which often focus on isolated muscle groups, functional fitness aims to engage multiple muscles and joints simultaneously.

Some popular examples of functional fitness exercises include squats, lunges, planks, burpees, and push-ups. These exercises are based on three fundamental movements: pushing, pulling, and squatting. Pushing exercises activate the muscles in the chest, shoulders, and arms, while pulling exercises engage the back, biceps, and shoulders. Squatting exercises work the lower body muscles like the glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings.

The benefits of functional fitness are numerous. Here are some of the reasons why you should consider incorporating it into your workout routine.

Improves overall health: Functional fitness helps to improve balance, flexibility, and mobility, which is crucial for maintaining overall health and preventing injury. It’s a great way to increase stamina, strength, and endurance, leading to a healthier, more active lifestyle.

Boosts metabolism: Functional fitness involves using the whole body, which often leads to a more intense workout, leading to an increase in metabolism. When exercise intensity goes up, metabolism pumps up as well, making it easier to burn calories and fat.

Reduces the risk of injury: Functional fitness emphasizes natural movements that you’ll use in everyday life. It involves practicing movements that you’ll be incorporating into everyday activities, so when it comes time to perform these activities – like picking up a heavy object or reaching for something high up – your body will be better equipped to do so without injury.

Improves balance and coordination: Functional fitness exercises often involve multi-directional movements, which help to improve coordination and balance. Whether you’re walking up the stairs, skiing down a slope or playing a sport, the ability to move quickly and confidently in any direction is a vital skill.

Increases strength: Functional fitness involves using multiple muscle groups at once, which leads to an increase in functional strength. The better you are at functional movements, the stronger and more capable your body becomes at doing everyday activities.

Improves cognitive function: Exercise has been shown to improve cognitive function; functional fitness is no different. Studies have shown that functional fitness improves memory, enhances problem-solving, and increases overall cognitive function.

Builds a stronger core: Functional fitness exercises engage the entire body, including the core muscles. Core strength is critical for maintaining a healthy posture, preventing back pain, and balancing the body’s weight distribution.

Improves posture: Poor posture can lead to a range of health issues, including low back pain, neck pain, headaches, and fatigue. Functional fitness exercises that focus on core stability and balance can improve posture and prevent these issues.

In conclusion, functional fitness offers numerous benefits for overall health and wellness. It’s a fun, challenging way to exercise that can be customized to fit our unique health goals and fitness levels. Incorporating functional fitness into our workout routines can help us move better, prevent injury, enhance cognitive function, improve posture, and boost our metabolism, leading to a healthier and happier life.