How can you modify functional training for different settings?

1 What is functional training?

Functional training is a type of exercise that mimics the movements and challenges of real-life situations. It focuses on training your muscles, joints, and nervous system to work together in a coordinated and efficient way. Functional training can help you prevent injuries, improve your posture, balance, and stability, and enhance your performance in sports, hobbies, and daily tasks.

2 How to modify functional exercises for different settings

Functional training can be done anywhere, with or without equipment. To modify functional exercises for different settings, you need to be flexible and creative with the resources available. For instance, at home, you can use household items such as chairs, towels, bottles, cans, or bags as substitutes for weights or benches. At the park, you can use benches, steps, trees, or hills as props for functional exercises. In the office, your desk, chair, wall, or floor can be used for functional exercises. This way you can do squats with a chair, pull-ups on a tree branch, wall sits on the wall, and planks on the floor.

3 How to modify functional exercises for different goals

Another way to modify functional training is to adjust the intensity, volume, or complexity of the exercises according to your goals. For example, if your goal is to build strength, you can increase the resistance, decrease the reps, or add more challenging variations of the exercises. If your goal is to improve endurance, you can decrease the resistance, increase the reps, or reduce the rest time between the exercises. If your goal is to enhance mobility, you can focus on the range of motion, quality of movement, or flexibility of the exercises.

4 How to modify functional exercises for different fitness levels

Finally, you can modify functional training to suit your fitness level and avoid injury or boredom. You can do this by using progressions and regressions of the exercises. Progressions are ways to make the exercises harder by adding more load, speed, instability, or coordination. Regressions are ways to make the exercises easier by reducing the load, speed, stability, or coordination. For example, you can progress a squat by holding a weight, jumping, or standing on one leg. You can regress a squat by using a chair, wall, or band for support.

5 How to design your own functional training program

Now that you understand how to modify functional exercises for different settings, goals, and fitness levels, you can create your own functional training program that meets your needs and preferences. Generally, you should choose 4-6 functional exercises that target your major muscle groups and movement patterns, such as a squat, a lunge, a push, a pull, a hinge, and a core exercise. The reps or time for each exercise should be 10-15 reps or 30-60 seconds. Rest for 30-60 seconds between each exercise and 2-3 minutes between each circuit. Aim to do the program 2-3 times a week on non-consecutive days and mix it with other exercise types like cardio, yoga, or stretching. Functional training is an enjoyable and efficient way to improve your fitness and function in any setting. With the right modifications to fit your environment, goal, and fitness level, you can get the most out of your functional training and experience the results first hand. Give it a go!

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?