Get It Together: Functional Training puts Fitness into Action

Jan. 5, 2005

Want to be a better golfer, skier, hiker or special forces commando?
Then consider “functional training,” a relatively new fitness discipline that’s designed to tailor your workouts to the activities you love.
“Functional training is about enhancing or improving performance, rather than just focusing on strength training,” says Eric Niezgoda, ATC, a Certified Athletic Trainer at The Fitness Center in Traverse City.
“It’s about taking strength training and making it applicable,” he adds. “For instance, how many times a day do you actually need to do a biceps curl? Compare that to how many times you need to reach for something on a shelf.”

CORE STRENGTH
Functional training integrates core strength with balance and specific muscle movements.
The needs of a basketball player, for instance, involve specific training for lateral movement, anaerobic sprints and jumping in order to increase performance and avoid injury. The needs of a golfer are completely different, yet both sports require core strength and balance as starting points.
“Core strength is one of the largest components in functional training,” Niezgoda says. “Without a strong formation, you have nothing to build on.”
Core strength has become the holy grail of fitness in recent years with the advent of Pilates classes, which build strength from a foundation in the abdomen and torso.
In addition to core strength, Niezgoda notes that you can be a highly fit person yet still need functional training in order to meet specific goals. “If someone who’s in their 20s or 30s wants to go on a 30-mile hike, they’re still going to be sore unless they prepare for it the right way,” he says.
Getting in shape for a demanding hike or backpacking trip might involve a blend of exercises, such as step aerobics, squats, Pilates and warmup hikes.

MUSCLE ISOLATION
Niezgoda, 30, graduated from Traverse City Central High School and earned a B.S. in Sports Medicine from Grand Valley State University. He got interested in functional training while working in the field of rehabilitation.
Traditional gym and bodybuilding programs are built around the idea of isolating muscles in order to strengthen them. But, as noted in one of Niezgoda’s handouts: “Functional exercises are designed to restore, balance, lenghten, strengthen and coordinate movment patterns specific to the individual’s given work or sports environment. The human brain does not think in terms of isolated muscles. Instead, it recruits groups of muscles in uniquely programmed sequences.”
That’s why a golfer’s fitness program should strive to integrate the entire body towards a goal of better performance, rather than just strengthening individual muscles.

MILITARY TRAINING
The ultimate example of functional exercise involves the training of professional athletes or military personnel.
“A special forces soldier might train for months for a three or four day mission,” Niezgoda says. “It’s extreme training which becomes automatic with a lot of different skills. If you slip on a rock during a mission, you want to be able to catch your balance and know you’re not going to
hurt yourself.”
The same might be true of a military boot camp, where recruits not only shape up, but apply their newfound fitness to functional activities such as 20-mile hikes with heavy packs and weapons. “In boot camp, they break you down mentally and physically and then start your advanced training.”
Fortunately, Niezgoda is able to offer functional training at a less-than-boot-camp level for ordinary folks. His clients include recreational athletes interested in improving their performance in sports such as hockey, cycling and XC-skiing, to elderly persons who are losing strength, bone mass, balance and coordination. “When you’re aging, functional activities can
help maintain what you’ve got and
slow the loss of your strength and balance,” he says.

For more information on Functional Training, call Eric Niezgoda, ATC, at The Fitness Center, 941-8787.