Functional Movement: What’s the Big Idea?
FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT
Two words we hear ALL. THE. TIME. What do they mean? How do we achieve it? Why are these words so important? Let’s dive in!
Functional Movement is the ability to move the body with proper muscle and joint function for effortless, pain-free movement. In order to move ‘functionally,’ your body needs to move in a bio-mechanically efficient manner in every aspect. This is extremely important to achieve not just for improved sports performance, but improved general fitness over your lifespan, daily activities and to prevent injuries from occurring.
Now you would think from the words ‘bio-mechanical’ and ‘functional’ that your body should just work well and do this on its own right? Not necessarily the case. Starting from birth, we begin to develop more and less dominant muscles. The same goes for our range of motion. Most of us agree we use our dominant side of the body more than our non-dominate side, right? Lack of physical activity or oftentimes sports activity can create additional habits that may exacerbate stronger and weaker areas of the body, further limiting the body’s ability to develop in a well-balanced manner. Is one split better than the other? Is it easier or more comfortable to get into a 1 o’clock crane position with one leg versus the other? See, no one is exactly equal on both sides. The result of this? We never fully utilize optimal form or support to train functional movement systems for whole-body health. Not to mention our body begins to think our poor functional movement patterns are actually normal and starts adapting and accepting these muscular habits as the way to always move.
YIKES! Stop the madness! Are we all shouting in joy and praising the good news of functional movements to come and save us?
Here’s how to put this information to good use. Of all the exercises out there in the world, there are seven foundational, functional movements that are natural and bio-mechanically safe for the body. When building them into a strength and conditioning program, they are often multi-planar and multi-joint. In other words, you get a LOT of bang for your buck! ☺ Here is the breakdown…
PULL
The pulling motion consists of pulling weight toward your body or your body towards your hands. This could be in various positions depending on your skill level, equipment available, and comfortability in the gym setting. Exercises that may come to mind involving pulling actions may be pull-ups (or versions of pull-ups) or perhaps a rowing motion bringing a weight or resistance towards your body. The main muscles being worked in these sets of movements are the mid and upper back, biceps, forearms, and rear shoulders.
PUSH
The pushing motion is the opposite of pulling. This movement involves pushing a weight away from your body or your body away from an object. This group is also divided into vertical and horizontal components as well. Exercises in this group include pushups and dumbbell shoulder presses. The muscles targeted are the chest, triceps, and front shoulders.
SQUAT
Believe it or not, the squat is considered to be one of the most complex movements the human body is capable of. This movement involves controlling your body weight as you lower towards the ground by flexing your hips and bending your knees. For a traditional squat, the feet are separated laterally about shoulder width. Many types of squats exist including goblet squats, sumo squats, front squats, and much more. The squat targets the glutes, core, quadriceps, and to a slight degree, the hamstring muscles.
LUNGE
The lunge is similar to the squat, however, it is significantly less stable. Instead of having the feet split laterally, a lunge uses a split stance with one foot forward and the other back. This movement involves controlling your body weight as you lower towards the ground by bending your knees while keeping your front foot flat on the ground. With the foot placement as described, your body is at a disadvantage making this movement significantly more challenging than the squat and requiring and greater amount of flexibility, stability, and balance. A few examples of exercises involving the lunge movement include step-ups, side lunges, and Bulgarian split squats. The lunge movement targets the glutes, quadriceps, core, and hamstrings like in squats; however, it stimulates all three of the glute muscles to a greater degree because of the split stance.
HINGE
The hinge motion is described by pushing your hips back and leaning your torso forward while maintaining a neutral spine. The most crucial exercise in this group is the deadlift, with varying forms such as sumo deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, and kettlebell deadlifts. These exercises build the posterior chain, which is comprised of the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. This movement is one of the most commonly misunderstood movements in the gym setting.
ROTATION
Rotation is unique from the other six movements because of the plane that it works in. Unlike the other movements we have discussed, this movement involves twisting or rotating at the core or spine, or anti-rotation which is the ability to maintain a position against a rotational force. This motion is significantly underrated despite being essential for success in athletics. Rotation is seen while throwing a ball, kicking a ball, changing directions while running, and in many other actions. The core (specifically the obliques) are the main contributor to this set of movements. Exercises that fall under this group are Palov presses, Russian twists, wood chops, as well as a variety of rotational planks.
GAIT
Our last functional movement is gait, the technique of walking. This might seem trivial, but walking is definitely functional as it’s a main mode of transportation. From an athletic standpoint, it can be further progressed into multiple movements and include many of the other functional movements discussed. Exercises that could be done in this group include jogging, skipping, jumping, and farmer’s walk.
So when you find yourself building an exercise program, diving into a pre-season planning phase, or at the gym and unsure what to focus on, head back to the basics! Building an exercise program around the seven foundational movements will ensure that no part of the body is left neglected in training, which will lead to improved function not only for athletics but whole-body health for a bright and active future.
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