What is Functional Training?

In short, functional training is purposeful training. Exercises prescribed are intentionally implemented to teach people how to handle their body weight in all planes of movement with the goal of progressing to weights. 

Therapists have reported that the source of most injuries are due to weak stabilizer muscles. Therefore, functional training shifts the focus to these muscle groups and incorporates them into programming. Reducing the incidence of injury is my top priority and my methodology of ensuring that is described below. 

Gray Cook, a practicing physical therapist, is the founder of the joint-by-joint approach. Each joint in the human body has a specific role and should be trained with the specificity in mind (See fig. 1).

If you are experiencing pain in a specific joint, the problem usually exists not in that joint, but either the joint above or below it. Here are a few examples:

-If you lost ankle mobility, you’ll experience knee pain

-If you lose hip mobility, you’ll experience lower back pain

-If you lose thoracic mobility, you’ll experience neck, shoulder, or lower back  pain