Adopting a fitness routine can be challenging—there’s a lot to learn and a lot to plan. Having goals keeps you motivated, but what happens when your goals end up being harder to achieve than you expected?
In the case of functional fitness, the goal isn’t necessarily about weighing a certain amount or looking a certain way. Instead, functional fitness puts the emphasis on, well, function. It’s all about training your body to do what it needs to do in daily life.
Like any other exercise plan, functional fitness routines vary, but most of them focus on movements you would use in the real world: Think squatting, pulling, pushing, bending, climbing, or running. By engaging in these activities, you can still reap the benefits of exercise, such as reduced joint pain, better protection from injuries, improved mobility, and better maintenance of strength throughout your entire life.
Functional fitness helps you prepare to carry a heavy suitcase, pull a cumbersome object down from a shelf, climb a flight of stairs, or do any number of things you ideally want to be ready to do at a moment’s notice.
The other benefit of functional fitness? You don’t have to worry about much fancy equipment. Dumbbells, kettlebells, or bands can add resistance to certain moves, but using your bodyweight is often sufficient. Focus on movements that target major muscle groups, such as squats, lunges, pushups, and planks.
Finally, remember that functional fitness adapts to your abilities and your situation. Use functional fitness movements to build up your mobility for a more aggressive training regimen, recover from an injury, or take your routine with you on vacation.
See below for a list of movements and activities that can give you a full-body workout and improve your function in everyday life.
Top 12 Functional Fitness Exercises.
- Pushups
- Chin-Ups
- Burpees
- Squats
- Lunges
- Box Jumps
- Russian Twists
- Planks
- Mountain Climbers
- Jumping Jacks
- Farmers Walk
- Wall Sits
