Most of us train at the gym for functional strength and fitness, in other words, strength and fitness that we can use in our daily lives or that is transferable to our sport, work or lifestyle. Will ordinary gym training achieve this or is there a reason your trainer gets you to perform what you see as crazy circus acts?

If you haven’t worked with a skilled personal trainer in the past, understanding the importance of the right type of training to achieve your goals, while protecting and strengthening your body against injury is paramount to any exercise regime.

Anyone can go to the gym to lift weights, however in order to maximise the benefits of your training it is important to ensure you are using your time wisely and that your exercise regime is tailored to your goals and how your body functions.

The human body works as an integrated unit, utilising many muscles at once to achieve a specific movement.  The balance and symmetry of the muscles being used is paramount in protecting your joints while it functions. Although isolation exercises are necessary at some point in time if your body is out of balance, it is even more important to train the body as a whole and in its natural environment – free to move freely as it would in real life.

Integrating functional movements like rotating and bending while free standing is important in allowing the body to work and grow stronger as a unit. When you go to a commercial gym the majority of the equipment people tend to use is stationary. It involves supported movements while sitting down and isolating movements in one plane of motion and may not necessarily be how your body moves naturally. Regular training on these machines can actually do more harm than good by putting more stress on your joints by forcing it through an unnatural movement pattern.The reason most gyms are equipped with this type of equipment is that it designed to be ‘safe’, to avoid injury while you are in the gym. It achieves this purpose while you are in the gym, however if you use stationary machinery for the majority of your training it is outside the gym when you will get injured.

Seated machinery or gym equipment that only allows your body to move through one plane of movement inhibits all your little muscles, tendons and ligaments from getting stronger to stabilise your joints when you are in a real life situation. The result is the big, mirror muscles get stronger and the little supportive muscles get weaker. Although your body may look fantastic as a result of this the functional ability of what you can achieve outside the gym is limited and the likely hood of injuring yourself due to the imbalance it creates is a lot greater.

If you have got into the habit of using fixed machines in the gym and would like to learn how to perform functional movements properly getting the guidance of a personal trainer can help you maximise your gains in the gym so you can reap the benefits in your everyday life or transfer them so you can excell at your sport.

If you would like to learn how to incorporate functional training into your gym training program Contact us today.