Why Functional Strength Stands Out?


How can functional strength different from the other so-called fad right now? To be clear, it is not really a fad by any means.

Health and fitness trends come and go all the time but regrettably, not all of them are worth your time and effort.

Some of them don’t work, some of them are over-hyped and some of them are just plain dangerous.

In fact, functional strength is the opposite of a fad and it’s a step in the right direction for fitness.

That’s because functional strength takes it all back to the reasons that most of us started training in the first place. Or at least the reasons we should be working out.

Let’s be honest then, far too many people train ‘for the mirror’.

How many guys do you see pulling their t-shirt up in front of the mirror after a set of sit-ups?

How many women do you see on treadmills wearing the tiniest pants in the world and barely working up a sweat?

Do you think these people are training for the right reasons?

And how about the guy who is so ridiculously muscular that he can’t touch his toes anymore without busting a gut?

This isn’t fitness – not really. And that’s what functional strength addresses.

As the name suggests, functional strength is a strength that is functional.

In other words, it’s strength that you can use. So you’re not trying to look strong or look healthy – you’re trying to be those things.

This is the difference between training like a gym bro and training like Bruce Lee. Which would you prefer?

Who cares about washboard abs? That’s easy! We’re talking about being sharper, faster, stronger and more powerful than all your contemporaries.

And that’s what we call functional training.

Functional because it’s a type of training that helps you to function better out there in the real world – not just look a bit ‘sexier’.

The Way You’re Training ISN’T Maximizing Your Strength!

When you first start working out and going to the gym regularly, you most likely will have fairly modest goals.

If you’re like most people, then your aim is probably to build muscle, burn fat and improve your body composition.

If you manage that and you look and feel better after a month or so than you did before… then likely you’ll take that as a win.

But as you get more involved in your training and you start to really get into the swing of things, you might find yourself feeling that your ambition grows.

Instead of just wanting to improve your fitness generally, you’ll probably start getting a buzz from setting new personal records from shifting more weight and from feeling the power in every movement you make.

Eventually, you become like a coiled spring, waiting to pounce and explode into action.

And when you get to that point – where you start wanting to be better than ‘normal’ – you need to reassess the type of training you’re using.

Is your current training program optimal in terms of building muscle?

More importantly, is it optimal in terms of building strength?

Are there other things you could be doing that would help you to become more powerful more quickly?

If you take a look at your current methods of training, there’s probably a fair amount wrong with them from a functional standpoint.

That’s fine, to begin with, you were most bothered about getting into ‘slightly better shape’ and for that purpose, they sufficed. It’s just that now you’re upping your game.

What’s the problem with regular training? What does that even look like?

Well, no doubt you’re probably training either full-body with some light exercises (press ups, curls, pull ups, jogging, tricep extensions) or you’re training usi