So you are asking yourself whether functional training is the right thing for you?

Sorry to tell you this but there are no hard and fast rules to determine an answer. But we will show you three life hacks that only functional training will give you.

The fundamental pillars for life long training…

First of all, we have to say that nearly every from of training, every concept, and every exercise has its justification at some point. There is not the one best training plan and recipe to success that fits everybody!

Your training has to be tailored to your individual needs and demands. It has to take into consideration where you come from, where you stand, physically and mentally, and it has to be effective. Thus, you have to find the form of training that makes sense for you, not for others. So what do you have to look out for?

• Your training should be fun

  Even the most effective exercises and the ‘6 weeks beach body’ program are pointless if you don’t have fun during training. If you have to pull yourself together every time in order to do the daily workout routine you will become exhausted. Even though it might be labelled as functional training there is no sense in torturing yourself every single time. This will simply force you to quit at some point and drag you down. Find out what’s the most fun for you: is it kettlebell training or do you prefer getting into beast mode with med balls? Are you getting onto the calisthenics hype train or do you prefer working with free weights? In the end, everything goes as long as it’s fun because the best workout is still the workout you actually do.

  

• Your training should get you to your goals

  There is nothing more frustrating than training regularly for weeks and months and then realizing that you are not making any progress. This should bring you to the point where you question your training method and whether it is the right one for you. Are there progressions in your workouts? Do single exercises build on the progress you made in other exercises? Only you can find out. Test yourself in regular intervals with strength and mobility tests. For sometimes you just have to visualize the progress you have made to realize how much you have actually accomplished. If you should learn, however, that your progress isn’t as great as desired you should get back to the drawing board.

  

• Your training shouldn’t be too elaborate

  The third item in this list is important to keep you motivated: sure, you should implement your workouts in your daily/weekly routine to make it an inherent part of your life. If you have to put too much effort into simply making it to training, though, or getting the training that your plan demands, it will ultimately be too tough to follow the routine. Functional training is a great way of training because you don’t need treadmills, big training machines that focus on one particular muscle, and a whole array of dumbbells and barbells with weight plates. You can just do it wherever you are and it is very flexible. It gives you many options when it comes to time and place. You don’t need to take a 20 minute drive to your gym where you also may have to wait in line to use the machines and then get stuck in rush hour on your way back home. Instead, you can easily train your whole body with just a sling trainer, maybe a kettlebell, and some resistance bands in your own backyard. Keep the threshold of access to a full and effective workout as low as possible and you will not have to muster up so much energy each time just to get to training.

  

Classic strength training is surely the right thing for some of us but the combination of the three mentioned advantages can, in general, only be found in functional training. The great thing about it is that this area is so broad-ranging, so individually scalable, and so versatile like sport itself. Thus, everybody has the opportunity to find the perfect training for their individual needs and demands. There is one thing that I have to stress, though: just because something carries the label ‘functional training’ doesn’t mean it guarantees fun, success, and value.

What are your thoughts on this?

Get functional,
your Fabien!