Functional Training

Today is a rest day from the gym for me and I got to thinking about the terms "functional training" and "functional fitness" and how I hate them both.  I think they get thrown around too easily and too frequently by people trying to market themselves and sell personal training classes or e-books.  I also think the "functional training" is being labeled as almost anything these days, when in reality what is functional for me may not be functional for you and vise versa.  Let your function (your job, your sport, your hobby, whatever the reason is that you train) decide your training.  Then, and only then, can it truly be called "functional".

For a bodybuilder the following may be functional but it is a useless training method for the tactical athlete...

It may help you build big biceps, but it's not going to help you kick down a door, chase a suspect over fences, haul hundreds of pounds of equipment and fire hoses up flights of stairs, march in the hills for miles with full body armor and gear, etc.  For that, we need something more intense, which is what this website is all about.  The following are highlights from the 2011 CrossFit Games winners.  The things they are doing are similar to what I try to do (albeit not as well) and is truly functional for the tactical athlete.

Rich Froning is not a big guy at 5'9" and 190 lbs.  But because of his intense and diverse training style he deadlifts close to 500 lbs, Squats over 400 lbs, and bench presses over 315 lbs while running a sub-6:00 mile.  This is the type of training that will make tactical athletes better at their jobs, and will make everyone else better at life.

If you support your family in a small swimsuit flexing in front of other dudes, than by all means do those "concentration curls".  Otherwise, do something more functional for your fitness needs!