Functional Strength: How You Can Improve It

The functional strength describes how with ease you can perform your daily activities. If you are someone who gets tired very easily, doing your daily activities, or you are unable to perform some simple activities that everyone else has no difficulty doing, then you should start this functional strength training. This will help you and make your daily life easier and better. You will feel more energetic and will be able to perform all the activities required around you. This will help you increase your quality of life and will reduce the risk of getting injured.

This is done by replicating the daily movements that you would require and practicing them every day for a fixed interval. Functional strength training consists of simple movements like squatting, reaching, and carrying heavy objects. According to the research by NCBI, functional strength training is specifically very effective for elderly women.

Everyday Functional Movements

To understand more about the functional exercises we must be able to relate to them. Without a proper correlation understanding, we won’t be able to look at the picture.

To help you get a better understanding of how we can improve our overall strength and fitness, and avoid injury because of daily tasks, let us look at the correlation between the exercises and the activities in our daily life. It is important to focus on improving the capacity for a few functional movements with the help of functional fitness exercises.

The 7 key functional movements are as follows:

1. Hinge movement

This movement depicts the hinge action required to perform basic tasks like picking something up from the ground. This movement happens when we bend at the hips. It is one of the most common movements we use every day.

2. Squat movement

A squat is when we bend at the knees and lower our bodies. This action becomes difficult specifically for those who become heavy and have a bulky body or if someone has delicate knees. If you are having issues doing this movement you should practice the squats. It will help you lose thigh fat and will also gradually strengthen your knees.

3. Pull movement

This moment happens when you pull your body towards an object or pull an object towards your body. It can be difficult for you if you have weak arms. For that, you need to perform arm exercises that include pulling movements. Gradually you will feel the strength in your arms and will be able to control your body while pulling.

4. Push movement

This moment occurs when you push an object away from your body or push your body away from an object. This is similar to the pull action and your arms are responsible for this. If you are having trouble with this action you can go for pushups. We will also discuss how to perform these exercises.

5. Lunge movement

This is when you place one leg forward and bend with the knee. This might not feel like a daily activity but it is a functional movement. This happens when you are walking on a hilly area or any slope.

6. Twist movement

Twisting happens when you turn half of your body to look back. This could be for taking something from your back shelf or having a short interaction with someone behind you. Sometimes while twisting people have pain either in their spine or waist. It can be cured by doing functional activities which will help you build strength.

7. Carry movements

This includes many movements and happens when you are carrying an object while walking. A lot of people are unable to carry heavy things because they do not have the strength. This strength can be built with the help of functional exercises.

Benefits of Functional Strength workout

1. Helps you do the daily work

The main purpose of functional strength training is to help you do the work you need in your daily life without much difficulty. It is meant to bring strength to you and provide ease in doing all the tasks. It focuses on your muscle strength, endurance, and multi-directional movement to do daily activities more easily and comfortably.

2. Boosts mood

Exercise of any kind helps your mental health and boosts your mood. Similarly, functional strength training helps you improve your mood and contributes to other good habits that support mental wellbeing. Due to the physical exercise schedule, you sleep better and can focus on your work more.

3. Burns calories and fat

Strength training helps in burning calories. This happens when you give your body the regular workout needed. It also helps the body increase the metabolic rate. This helps you burn more calories and fat efficiently throughout the day.

4. Builds strength and muscle

During strength training, you might sometimes feel some soft pain in your muscles. This happens due to the tearing of old muscles. You don’t have to worry about it. This is the way our body strengthens. The old muscles need to tear out gradually to form new, stronger muscles.

5. Strengthens bones

Functional training just like any other physical training can increase your bone density.

6. Improves endurance

Functional training improves endurance and helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems. This is because while exercising, plenty of oxygen is pumped and circulated throughout the body. The effect of functional training for girls at the age of 12-13 years can be seen in the research done by NCBI.

Functional Exercises

There is a wide range of functional exercises, we will come across a few important exercises which will help you the most. There are many functional exercises for different levels. You need to choose which level you should start with. In this article we will be talking about all the two levels there are to functional training.

Beginner Level

1. Squat

As we discussed, Squat is when we bend at the knees and lower our body. For doing the squat exercise follow the given steps.

Stand straight, keeping your feet at shoulder length to each other.
Join your palms in front of you, this helps you keep the balance
Bend your knees keeping the upper body straight
Move to a position where your knees are at a 90-degree
Push your feet downwards to get the body back upwards.
Try to keep your upper body straight in the complete process.

2. Wall/Incline Pushup

Since this is a beginner level, you might be among those who do not have an active lifestyle. For you doing the complete push-up will be very difficult if you have never done it before. The process of going to a full push-up is by starting from a wall and moving towards an inclined plane.

For the wall pushup follow these steps:

Stand at a one-hand distance from the wall
Place your palms on the wall keeping it at shoulder length.
Keep the fingers upwards.
Gradually bend your elbows and move your body forward, keeping the feet fixed.
Make sure that the complete foot is fixed on the ground, and you are not bringing your heels up.
Also, make sure that the whole body is straight.
Now push back using the strength of your arms.
Repeat this for 20 counts, and do a total of 3 sets every day, increasing it gradually.

Once you are comfortable in the wall pushup and do not find it challenging, you should move to the inclined pushup. Follow the following steps:

Take a strong bench that is at knee length.
Keep your palms on the bench and spread your legs backward.
Keep the feet close but do not join them.
Make sure your whole body is straight
The body weight should be on your palms and toes.
Gradually bend your elbows and bring your body downwards.
Then push back up.
Repeat this for 15 counts, and do a total of 3 sets every day, increasing it gradually.

3. Glute bridge

This exercise is very helpful for your glute muscles, hamstrings, and abdominal body. Follow the below steps to carry out this exercise.

Lie down on the floor with your back.
Fold your legs, so the knees are facing upwards.
Keep your hands straight on the ground.
Place your arms in a palm-down position, near your hips.
Gradually lift your hips with the help of your legs and take a little support from your palms.
Once the hips are at their maximum position, slowly bring it back to the floor.
Repeat this for 10 counts, 3 sets every day, increasing it gradually.

4. Forward and Lateral lunge

As discussed in the functional movements, the lunge is one of the important exercises that you should practice daily. The steps for the exercise are as follows:

Stand straight by keeping your arms on your waist.
Put your right leg forward.
Bend the right knee so that it makes a 90-degree angle.
Make sure to keep your left leg straight during this stretch.
This stretch will also help you improve your balance.
Now extend your right leg to the right side
Again bend your right knee to give it the stretch.
Do the same for your left leg
Repeat the stretch for 10 counts, 3 sets every day, increasing it gradually.

5. Plank

Photo by LOGAN WEAVER | @LGNWVR on Unsplash

Plank is one of the best core exercises that will help you strengthen your overall body. This helps you improve endurance and stamina. Follow the given steps for this exercise.

Lie down on your stomach
Keep your forearms on the ground
Keeping the elbows at a 90-degree and shoulder-length distance
Bring your body up keeping your toes on the ground.
Make sure your whole body is straight
Do not bulge or curve your spine. Keep it straight.
Stay at this position for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Try to increase your time.

Intermediate level

1. Jumping Squat

Just like we do squats, jumping squat is a more advanced version of the exercise. Follow the given steps for this exercise.

Stand straight, keeping your feet at shoulder length to each other.
Join your palms in front of you, this helps you keep the balance
Bend your knees keeping the upper body straight
Move to a position where your knees are at a 90-degree
Push your feet downwards and jump on your feet.
Right after the jump, bend your knees for the next squat.
Keep your upper body straight in the complete process.
Repeat this for 15 counts.

2. Reverse lunge

Like we did the forward and lateral lunge, this is another type of lunge with a little variation. In the forward lunge, we put our leg forwards, while in the reverse lunge we take our leg backward.

Stand straight by keeping your arms on your waist.
Take your right leg backward.
Bend the left knee so that it makes a 90-degree angle.
Make sure to keep your right leg straight during this stretch.
After one stretch brings your right leg back and repeats it for the left leg.
Repeat the stretch for 10 counts, 3 sets every day, increasing it gradually.

3. Full body pushup

If you are confident with your inclined pushup and want to try the full-body pushup, follow the given steps.

Lie down on your stomach and place your arms on the floor.
Push your body upwards keeping the toes on the ground
Keep the feet close but do not join them.
Make sure your whole body is straight
The body weight should be on your palms and toes.
Gradually bend your elbows and bring your body downwards.
Then push back up.
Repeat this for 15 counts, and do a total of 3 sets every day, increasing it gradually.

4. Wall-Headstand

Headstands are one of the best exercises for the overall improvement of the body. During the headstand, our body is upside-down, which helps increase the blood flow towards our brain. This drastically improves the mood and also contributes to the glow on your face. If you are doing it for the first time, it is best to do it with someone who could help you if you need it.

Follow the given steps for the exercise.

Stand straight one foot from the wall keeping your back towards the wall.
Bend down to keep your palms on the ground.
Gradually shift your weight from your toes to your palms.
Once you are confident, place one foot on the wall.
Keeping that steady, bring the other foot.
Stretch your whole body and extend your legs until the body is straight.
You can either stop at this and come back down or if you feel comfortable, slowly move your palms one by one toward the wall. The goal is to keep the whole body straight.
Stay in this position for up to 1 minute

Advanced level

1. Military Press

The muscles targeted for this exercise are Anterior Deltoids, Upper Pectorals, and Triceps. Follow the below steps to perform this exercise.

Sit on the bench
Spread your legs wide apart and keep your back straight.
Place your back on the back of the bench
Take a dumbbell of 10kg and keep it right above your shoulders.
Gradually push your arms upwards and bring them back down
Repeat this for 15 reps, 3 sets every day, increasing it gradually.

2. Pullup

This activity helps you improve your strength in the pulling action. It helps you improve your arm strength. The steps for this exercise are as follows.

Make sure you have a horizontal rod that is one-hand distance above your head.
Hold the rod with your palms and shift your weight from your foot to your arms.
Fold your knees a little so your feet are not touching the ground.
Pull your body upwards with your arms, while engaging your core.
Pull up till your shoulders come to the rod level.
Then gradually release your body and go downwards.
Repeat this for 15 reps, 3 sets every day, increasing it gradually.

3. Deadlift

This is the most basic move, which is picking up something from the ground. For the deadlift, you need to keep some weight that you will pick. Follow the given instructions.

Stand straight keeping your legs shoulder-length apart.
Squat down, keeping your back straight.
Reach out and grab the weights
Pull the weight along with your body.
Make sure you keep your upper body straight.
Repeat this action for 15 counts, 3 sets every day, increasing it gradually.

4. Wall-Headstand Pushup

As we discussed, the wall stands for the intermediate stage. The next step after a successful headstand is the headstand pushup. Follow the given instructions.

Stand straight facing the wall
Keep one foot away
Bend down and place your arms
Shift your body weight and go to the headstand position
Once you are in the position perfectly, bend your elbows and bring your body downwards.
Stretch back the elbows and go back to the original position
Repeat this for 15 counts, 3 sets every day, increasing it gradually.

Summary

In this article, we understood the functional strength, the benefits, and how to improve it. We went through the key functional movements and related them to our daily life activities. We also know the three-level exercises we can do to help improve functional strength.

Functional training is a type of training that helps you perform activities in everyday life more easily. These exercises focus on the whole body and emphasize building and improving core strength and stability. The functional strength shows how you can perform your daily activities with ease. This will help you increase your quality of life and reduce the risk of injury.

The 7 key functional movements include the Hinge movement, Squat movement, Pull, Push, Lunge, Twist, and Carry movements. These movements are used in our daily life activities.

A few benefits of practicing functional strength exercises include Helping in doing the daily work, boosting mood, Burning calories and fat, Building strength and muscle, Strengthening bones, and Improving endurance. In this article, there are three levels of exercise mentioned. You can start on whichever level you feel comfortable with.