Functional Training

So exactly what is functional training?  When somebody asks why we do the exercises we have chosen, what is an appropriate answer?  I believe the answer to these questions is intuitive to a good performance coach.  However, it is not always easy to articulate.  So I will attempt to do just that.

I simply started with the dictionary as a resource. (Brilliant idea I had there.)  My dictionary defines the word functional as follows:  Capable of performing; operative. I felt this was a great definition as it was inline with what I knew about training for high performance.  However, this lead me to my next obstacle of defining what 'training' is.  Again I referred to the dictionary and it defines training as:  An orderly succession of related events or thoughts; sequence. To make proficient with specialized instruction and practice.  Again a great definition because it put into words what was already intuitive to me.

Now how do I put this information into the context of team sports?  I needed something that coaches and athletes would be able to grasp.  I did more reading  through books by Mark Verstagen, Alwyn Cosgrove, Mike Boyle, and Dan John to see what I could find.  As is often the case, Mike did a great job articulating a definition of functional training for athletes:  "Functional training is best described as a continuum of exercises that teach athletes to handle their bodyweight in all planes of movement."  

Functional training is training with a purpose and is driven by the result rather than the actual training.  It is training that makes sense to the coach and the athlete.  I think this description sums things up rather nicely.

Here is where some people will become confused or even angry.  Functional training is not 'balance training' or simply training on unstable surfaces.  There are times when these things may become part of a functional training progam but they do not define what purposeful training is.  There are many things that are functional (purposeful) that do not use these techniques.

For example, plyometrics, Olympic lifting, resisted running, and single leg squatting are all functional.  They are functional because they have a very clear and defined purpose and that is to make the athletes faster.  Static stretching and mobility work are functional because they reduce injury risk and imporve movement patterns. Progressive strength training like overhead pulling, rowing, pressing, and posterior chain exercises are functional becasue they serve a purpose.  They can maintain or restore proportion and balance to an athlete's physique.

Functional training encompasses a lot of different training methods, tools, and equipment.  However, they are all used with a specific purpose in mind.  The training is designed with a certain result as its outcome.  Hopefully this will help you answer the question "What is functional training?"