The vast majority of us are all training one way or another to look better, get fitter, and so to feel happier about ourselves. It is imperative however that in our pursuit for improved looks and aesthetics that we remember to train our body in a way that allows it to be functionally ‘fit for purpose’.
By adopting ‘functional training methods’ not only will you end up with a shaped and toned body, but also one that moves with efficiency, is injury resistant, is agile, well co-ordinated, powerful, and so on. In short you will achieve a body that functions in a way it was designed to.
At SmartShape we believe form and function is everything.
Most gym programmes are based around a series of machine based exercises designed to work specific body parts in isolation (Think along the lines of machines like pec decks, leg extensions etc).
Recognise a few?
Would you believe however that unless you’re a bodybuilder, which most of us aren’t, then this approach to training is fundamentally flawed. Indeed not only is a machine based approach time inefficient but over a period of time it may well de-train your body; The opposite training effect you want!
Over use of linear path guided resistance machines will put your body to sleep. A few examples…..
A little unknown fact is that the body is not aware of individual muscles, only patterns of movement (e.g. push, pull). Indeed in real life, muscles do not work in isolation from each other, but rather in synchronistic integrated relationships.
We aim to train and rehabilitate people through use of dynamic patterns of movement rather than isolating muscles through use of machines. By making use of functional exercises that replicate natural human movement patterns you can challenge the body as a whole integrative unit, thus mimicking exactly how the body should work in everyday activities. Primal human movement patterns include:
Press
Lunge
Bend
Push
Twist
Squat
Pull
(Paul Chek, 2000)
Each movement pattern requires that you control the relative positioning and alignment of the spine, pelvis and shoulder girdle. This can only be achieved through engagement of your core musculature. Because the primary function of the core muscles is to create stability for the spine it means when you carry out functional exercise you are giving your core musculature one of best workouts possible.
4. Develop a balanced profile of Bio-motor abilities.
When I talked of being mindful of the training approaches we adopt in our pursuit of improved looks I was specifically referring to poorly designed exercise programmes that focus purely on only 1 or 2 modalities, such as strength and endurance. We should ignore at our peril some of the often taken for granted abilities of the human body, often described as Bio (life) – motor (movement) abilities.
Balance
Co-ordination
flexibility
Agility
Power
Strength
Endurance
Imagine a Ferrari without a steering wheel, aesthetically beautiful, but functionally useless!
Similarly ask your self how functional is a human body which is strong but has limited agility, co-ordination and balance? (If your struggling perhaps picture a bodybuilder on a balance beam doing gymnastics)…..
At SmartShape we will provide you with a training programme consisting of exercises designed around improving your weakest bio-motor abilities, thus developing a more balanced bio-motor profile e.g. we stand by the philosophy of training your weaknesses not your strengths.
At SmartShape, all of the functional movement patterns (squat, push, lunge etc) are carried out using a combination of swiss balls, medicine balls, cables, free weights and other proprioceptive apparatus. Use of such equipment allows both our postural musculature and our joint stabilising and neutralising musculature to fully engage, thereby increasing the training effect. This would not happen on a programme consisting of only machines! Training joint stabilizers, neutralisers and postural muscles should be an integral part of any training programme. You may ask why! In a nut shell, such muscles are essential for maintenance of joint integrity, and this in turn is essential for optimising production of muscular force. In other words joint stability always precedes movement, or as one wise man once said “you can’t fire a cannon from a canoe!”
Many training programmes focus only on the ‘showy’ external musculature. I ask you, if you keep adding horsepower to a racing car engine but without concomitant increases in the strength of the supporting structures, what is likely to happen eventually?
