Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Functional Fitness

Functional Fitness is something of a buzzword in gyms across the country these days. And for good reason too. Functional fitness refers to fitness that helps us live our lives better. Take for example a person in the gym doing seated rows. Seated rows work the muscles of the back and arms. That person may have incredibly strong back muscles…while performing seated rows. Just because someone is strong on a machine in the gym doesn’t mean they aren’t going to hurt themselves when forced into a different position. Like picking up groceries while bent over and slightly twisted. That is why it is important to work your muscles in a way that mimics the things you do in every day life.

So the first thing to think about is what you do. Are you picking up children all day long? Do you sit in a chair all day long? Do you hunch over a microscope or computer? Do you carry groceries, suitcases, book-bags, jinormous jugs of water or cases of wine? Do you kneel in your garden or drive for 45 minutes? Do you put luggage in the overhead compartment? Do you run for the bus or play with your grandchildren? All of these things require exercise but when you do them you aren’t thinking about the fact that you are, indeed exercising. Ok, you might not be getting very much cardio while sitting in you car, but you are certainly tightening your hip flexors, lower back and chest. A functional exercise for someone who spends massive amounts of time in the car might be to stretch out your legs and chest, strengthen your rotator cuff (for all that reaching in the back of the car) and strengthen the left hip (your right hip spends a lot of time in stop and go).

There are certain things that we all do: carry things, sit down, lie down, get up, reach, put away and bend. It is just part of our lives that we do these things, and yet these are the things we are doing when we get injured. Yes, sometimes people get hurt exercising, but mostly people get hurt doing something unbelievably mundane. I hear stories all the time of people hurting themselves picking up groceries, reaching in the back seat of the car, walking down the stairs, staring at the computer for countless hours…the list goes on.

I have decided to create a little collection of videos to help teach everyone about functional fitness exercises and stretches they can start adding into their life today…right now! The videos are pretty low fi, and unfortunately I have been unable to get the make-up and hair people round yet so you will have to excuse. I do hope that as the weeks go on (and I post more videos) you will be able to build up a little functional routine you can do in your home or office or anywhere. I will advise however that all bodies are different and if you have any injuries such as knee, hip or back injuries or if you are just new to exercise then please consult with your doctor before doing anything you see on this site. Nothing here is meant to take the place of your doctor’s advice.

Now that we have the liability issues out of the way, watch on my friends!

Be Good to your Body, it’s where you Live

2 comments:

  1. Good post! If a person is having pain, they may benefit from a few sessions with an Occupational Therapist who is a Certified Hand Therapist. These people can analyse your daily activity and give you treatment and a work out program to help you.
    alexandra demetriou, OTR/L CHT
    www.signaturehandtherapy.com

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  2. LMAO~! Coco is too cute!!! oh, and so are you :)

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