When most people hear functional training, they almost always think of people with disabilities, or older adults, or something to that nature. People who have needs and need to perform basic functions.
While that is true, functional training is important for everyone, from average joes to high level athletes. Figuring out what you want to do, then training for that specific goal is functional training.
Example: Mary is an elderly individual who shuffles her feet when she walks. This is dangerous because she already doesn’t have good balance, so if she shuffles her feet and trips, it could be very dangerous. Her goal is to have better balance and be able to lift her feet higher. She should train to lift her feet higher and have better balance.
Example: Derek Jeter. He is a professional baseball player. When he trainers, he trains for baseball. You can bet he probably does run massive distance (only needs 90 ft) or lifts heavy weights (bat only was a few pounds). He has a goal to be the best baseball player in the league and needs to train that way. That is functional training.
Everyone should use functional training. Think of your end result of what you want. Train to get there. If you want to run fast, train fast. If you want to lift heavy weights, train with heavy weights. If you want to be able to walk up stairs better, train to walk up stairs better.
It isn’t rocket science. It is simple thinking of what you want, then training in that specific way.
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