Functional Training: What It Is and What It Is Not

“Is this exercise functional? I read that I should be doing functional training exercises”. This client was right, she should be (and was) doing functional exercises.

But what makes an exercise functional? How do you evaluate an exercise and decide if it’s one you “should” be doing?

These days everything from Crossfit to stability, core, sandbag, free weight, and bodyweight exercise is described as “functional strength training”. “Functional” is a buzzword in the fitness industry, but it’s used so often and for so many different types of training that it has kind of lost its meaning.

Are all of those types of training really “functional”? That depends on you (the person performing the exercise), your needs and your goals. I believe that any exercise can be functional if it helps the person performing it reach their goals.

What is Functional Training?

The word “functional” means “serving a utilitarian purpose”. So, let’s define functional training exercises as simply: exercises that serve a purpose.

What is that purpose? That should be the first question you ask yourself when choosing an exercise program or designing your own workout. Why do you work out? What are you trying to achieve?

Many Types Of Exercise Can Be Functional

For many people, the answer is aesthetic – they want to look better by losing weight or building muscle. For those people, high-intensity cardio and resistance exercises are functional. Any decent all-around program will work, as long as you do it consistently over time.

For athletes, functional exercises are the ones that directly improve their ability to perform in their sport. A baseball pitcher, for example, would benefit from rotator cuff exercises. A runner would benefit from lunges and glute medius exercises.

Some people exercise so they can perform their daily activities better, like moving freely without pain, carrying groceries, or lifting their kids. Those people should focus on basic movements which incorporate many major muscle groups (push, pull, squat, hinge, carry), because those types of exercises translate well to everyday activities.

Some people might want to choose exercises that complement their hobbies. A hiker could do hill sprints, a rock climber could do pull-ups and grip strength exercises, a stand-up paddleboarder could practice balance and stability exercises like squats on a wobble board.

Some people might want to use exercise to work on specific health issues. Certain exercises, like squats and deadlifts, are important for increasing bone density. For decreasing blood pressure and cholesterol, cardio (both intervals and continuous cardio) are functional. To rehab a knee injury reduced range of motion leg extensions might be functional.

For mental health, you'll benefit from mindfully and intentionally connecting your exercise to the mental traits and skills you need. If you tend to avoid facing hard things and you feel like that's holding you back in life, you can focus on purposely leaning into the discomfort of each exercise as a practice session for getting comfortable with discomfort. If you tend to get trapped in negative thoughts about yourself, you can use your strength workouts to prove to yourself that you are strong and capable.

My Strength Training For Anxiety Program includes a lot of strategies and lessons for turning your strength training workouts into mental health-boosting skill sessions.

Maybe you just enjoy certain exercises. Personally, I like pull-ups because they make me feel strong and, to be honest, like kind of a badass. That mental and emotional boost I get from pulling my bodyweight makes it a functional exercise for me.

If you enjoy a certain exercise you’re more likely to do it consistently, and that’s important for getting all the amazing benefits of exercise. So, any exercise that you really like to do could be considered functional.

What’s Not Functional Fitness?

On the other hand, some exercises that trainers would call “functional” don’t work for every goal.

If you want to get as strong as you can, don’t focus on stability exercises. That’s because they don’t allow you to lift enough weight to improve your strength.

If you want to run a marathon, bodybuilder-style training that adds a lot of muscle mass to your frame might make it harder to achieve your goal.

Before you decide which exercises to do, think about why you’re exercising in the first place. Set yourself some goals and then find out which exercises will help you achieve those goals. 

Don’t get sucked into irrelevant fads, no matter how “functional” they claim to be. Find out what’s functional for you.

Remember, health and fitness should make your life better. Keep that in mind and you are more likely to be successful at achieving your fitness goals, whatever they might be.