Functional Fitness Training for Improved quality of life

The fitness trend has evolved greatly over the years. Exercise routines are improvised and designed creatively to target specific results. Fitness is no more about lifting weights or intense cardio workouts, but it is more about functionality.  The current fitness trend is the kind of fitness that will help you feel good and stay active to perform everyday activities. We are talking about functional fitness.

Functional fitness is all about muscle integration than muscle isolation. The main focus of functional fitness is to better the quality of life. In functional fitness, the muscles are trained to establish core stability for better performance in everyday activities. The activities could be anything from taking the stairs to walking or even playing with your children.

As per the American College of Sports and Medicine’s annual survey in fitness trends, functional fitness is one among the top ten fitness trends of 2016. Functional fitness can be followed by kids, adults, and older adults. However, adults who have not exercised and are over the age of 40 and pregnant women need to consult with their physicians before embarking on the functional fitness journey.

The benefits of functional fitness
The inclusion of functional exercises in the fitness routine can improve the quality of life significantly. Here are some benefits of functional exercises:
Functional exercises are ideal for those with busy schedules. As few muscles are exercised the efficiency of the workout is better.

Functional exercises also provide excitement and variety as they engage people in a meaningful way by eliminating monotony.

Unlike strenuous workout routines where there is a risk of muscle wear and tear, functional workout routine helps to build the core stability.

Athletes can benefit greatly from functional exercises as it enhances focus and strength of specific skill set required to their sport.

Functional exercise routines are designed to recognise and address weakness by people specific functional moves. Functional moves are interesting and unpredictable; they could be as simple as crawls, rope exercises or lifting objects etc. The basic idea behind the exercises is to make them look like simple play routine. Some of the hottest functional fitness trends are:

1. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
The famous martial art form from South America- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is an amazing exercise for increasing rhythm and awareness of the body along with agility and flexibility. The martial art form when practiced regularly imparts a sense of confidence and discipline.

2. Deadlifts
Deadlift is one of the best functional exercises to strengthen the back. It involves a simple move where a barbell is lifted from the ground by squatting. The hamstring, arms and back are used to complete the task.

3. Strongman
Strongman is another form of functional move that involves lifting heavy objects or weights from one point to place it on another. It is highly functional as the exercise focuses on movements and coordination than muscles. And the exercise helps to tone up the fat, strengthen the body and help to improve the core stability.

4. Ugi Fit
Ugi fit is a fun way to work out strength, cardio and core training in less than 30 minutes with the help of a squishy Ugi ball that has a bounce similar to a stress ball. It is focussed at full body workout. It includes knee ups, froggies, triceps pushups, hamstring press, leg extensions, forward lunge with bicep curl and much more.

5. Bokwa
Bokwa is the most popular group fitness program that involves dancing to alphabets and digits. The dance moves include drawing alphabets and digit patterns with the dance steps. Participants dance to popular music hits and end up burning a lot of calories. With Bokwa, one can aim for low or high- intensity training.

6. Ropes gone wild
Based on the principle of “art of undulation” a weighted rope is waved up and down. The rope is used to create a shape similar to a wave with the body.  The low impact workout can benefit coordination, cardiovascular health and metabolic stamina.  It is an ideal workout option for injured athletes that help them to keep fit and those who are starting out to exercise.

7. Groove
Developed by dancer Misty Tripoli Groove is a fun way of dancing with no definite moves. The participants are allowed to dance as they like as each body is different and unique. Continuous sessions provide much-needed coordination and flexibility with cardio workout to the body.

8. Pole workout
Pole dancing is often perceived as scintillating but pole dance moves can be one of the easiest ways to burn excess calories and tone the body fat. Aside from burning calories, it also enhances flexibility and strength in the body.

9. Barre+Cardio Fusion Classes
Barre+Cardio Fusion workout is an interesting twist to the traditional ballet workout. It is fast-paced with simple but intense functional moves that will tone the body and improves cardiovascular health. With Barre+Cardio Fusion classes one can expect full-body workout.

10. Animal flow
Developed by Mike Fitch in collaboration with Equinox, Animal flow is an amalgamation of many functional movements that has many aspects of Parkour, break-dance, acrobatics, Capoeira and Gymnastics. The movements are focussed to make the body stay on the ground while making the participant sweat it out.

Conclusion
Functional fitness breaks the monotony that one gets from regular exercise routine. Each functional move targets specific areas in the body to provide maximum workout. The benefits of functional fitness training are many and are very much needed for people on the go.

References:
https://www.acsm.org/about-acsm/media-room/news-releases/2015/10/26/annual-survey-reveals-new-1-fitness-trend-in-2016
https://www.glozine.com/lifestyle/health