Friday, April 27, 2012

Functional Exercise

An exercise philosophy known as Functional training attempts to adapt or develop exercises which allow individuals to perform the activities of daily life more easily and without injuries.

An exercise philosophy, functional training works to adapt and develop exercises that allow individuals to perform functional tasks which are required for daily life. Functional exercise primarily involves weight bearing activities that concentrate on core muscles in the abdomen and lower back. While your average fitness facilities have multiple weight training machines which target, isolate and train specific muscles. As a result these movements do not bear any relationship to the movements people make in their regular activities, daily life or sports. Therefore, the person will not increase their core stability, and properly train the body as a whole.
The key to functional exercise is integration of all aspects of the body. Reprogramming all the muscles in the body to work together rather than isolating them. Jumping into functional training may drastically change a person's perception of what a difference a functional workout consist of versus using just machines...It's a lot harder! Functional exercise is both physically and neurologically more challenging than simple machine based training.

Teaching our clients to control THEIR own body weight before adding weight.

What's So Great About Kettlebells?

A Kettlebell resembles the shape of a cannonball with a handle on top that allows for a vast array of exercise. Kettlebells range in weight from 4kg (9 lbs) to 40kg (88 lbs).

There are numerous reasons for the boost in kettlebell training. Kettlebells get back to the basic ways of training that requires functional, whole body fitness. Kettlebells require an individual to focus on a complete body conditioning through lifting and controlling the kettlebell which enables the entire body to work as a cohesive functional neurological unit. Workouts with Kettlebell engage multiple muscle groups at once. In this way, they are a great option for getting a full body workout utilizing cardio and strength training in a short time. We focus on teaching form and function of: Kettlebell swing, Kettlebell snatches, Kettlebell Jerk, and preparing for Kettlebell Sport Competition.