FE focuses on building a body capable of doing real-life activities in real-life positions, not just lifting a certain amount of weight in an idealised posture.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the three exercises to help longevity. I also mentioned functional exercise (FE), which is the current buzzword for exercise to support your lifestyle.

FE attempts to adapt or develop exercises that allow individuals to perform the activities of daily life more easily and without injuries. In the context of bodybuilding, FE involves mainly weight-bearing activities targeted at core muscles of the abdomen and lower back.

FE focuses on building a body capable of doing real-life activities in real-life positions, not just lifting a certain amount of weight in an idealised posture created by a gym machine. It is a workout or fitness regime for all age groups. Therefore, what is functional for one person could be completely dysfunctional for another.

A person aged 70-80 needs to stretch, lift, bend, walk up and down stairs, carry shopping and get in and out of baths and chairs. People aged 25 to 45 may need to lift children, run, jump, twist, carry heavy items, climb up ladders and much more.

The functional exercises for these two groups of people will have a different emphasis on different muscle groups. Therefore, their functional exercises will be very different.

“Conventional weight training isolates muscle groups, but doesn’t teach the muscle groups you’re isolating to work with others,” says Greg Roskopf, a biomechanics consultant with Muscle Activation Techniques, who has worked with athletes from the Denver Broncos and Denver Nuggets.

“The key to functional exercise is integration. It’s about teaching all the muscles to work together rather than isolating them to work independently.”

So what’s an example of FE? Think of a bent-over row; not the kind of row you do on a seated machine, but the kind you do leaning over a bench, holding the weight in one hand with your arm hanging straight down, and then pulling the weight up as your elbow points to the ceiling, finishing with your upper arm parallel to the ground.

“That’s an exercise that will build the muscles of the back, the shoulders, the arms and, because of its nature, will really work your whole body,” says exercise kinesiologist Paul Chek, founder of the Corrective High-performance Exercise Kinesiology Institute in California, who has advised the Chicago Bulls and the US Air Force Academy.

“Compare that motion to a carpenter bending over a piece of wood, a nurse bending over a bed to transfer a patient or an auto mechanic bending over to adjust your carburettor. Anyone doing a bent-over row will find a carry-over in things you do in normal life.” Contrast that with the seated row: you are seated with your chest pressed against pads and you pull two levers back.

“You may be strengthening certain muscles, but your body is not learning anything because you don’t have to activate your core stabiliser muscles or the stabilisers of your arms and shoulders. The machine’s doing it for you,” says Chek.

“In functional fitness, most of the time, you should be standing on your own two feet and supporting your own weight when you lift anything.”

What is functional for one person could be completely dysfunctional for another

Women, in particular, must be careful not to train excessively when using weight machines. Women are generally more flexible, though not as strong as men.

They also experience greater joint laxity when premenstrual, which leads to a high susceptibility of joint injury. To help prevent joint injury, the stabiliser muscles must be strengthened in conjunction with the prime mover muscles.

This is best accomplished by performing multi-joint free-weight exercises such as lunges, squats, bent-over rows, lat pull-downs, dumbbell bench presses and squat push presses.

Exercises using bodyweight resistance are all excellent. These include push-ups, chin-ups, dips, jumping and hopping drills, as well as a variety of abdominal exercises at an appropriate level of fitness for the ability of the individual.

For the older person, a series of exercises at home, carried out each day, could include the balance and sitting exercises, as well as a range of stretching and lifting of, initially, light weights. This will keep the range of movement in arms, balance of the core muscles and help when lifting items.

The alternative of not doing these simple exercises daily is the inability to reach a cupboard and open it, needing help to lift shopping, bend down and avoid falls.

Introducing FE into your life at whatever age will ensure a functional body throughout your life.

kathryn@maltanet.net