Incorporating Functional Movements in Women’s Strength Training

Traditional strength training movements are great for targeting specific muscle groups and building strength. Although, incorporating functional movements into your strength training routine can really take things up a notch! Today, we are going to talk about what functional movements are, give you examples and explain the benefits to you!

What are Functional Movements?

Functional movements are well…functional! They are exercises that mimic natural patterns from everyday movements and engage multiple muscle groups at one time. By engaging multiple muscle groups simultaneously, these types of exercises enhance overall coordination, mobility and strength.

Examples of Functional Movements

Functional training can be done with little to no equipment. They are mainly based on 6 core movement patterns: push, pull, squat, lunge, bend and core. Here are some examples of each:

Push: pushups
Pull: lat pulldowns or bent over rows
Squat: bodyweight squats
Lunge: walking or jumping lunges
Bend: deadlifts
Core: planks

Benefits

By practicing functional movements in strength training, you build strength in a practical manner. This helps to make every day tasks easier to manage. Many functional movements require you to engage and strengthen your core, which in turn helps with maintaining good posture, balance and a strong spine. Additionally, these movements help to prevent falls and injuries, especially as you age. Lastly, functional movements are more time-efficient compared to other workouts since they engage multiple muscle groups at once. You get a full body workout in less time, win-win!

Practicing functional strength training movements gives you a holistic approach to your fitness routine and helps you beyond the gym. We make sure to incorporate functional movements into all of our strength training programs. If you want to try for yourself, join us in the gym or on the app!