Unlike the ever-trending reformer Pilates studios or the luxurious-looking breathwork workshops you might have seen popping up all over your social media, functional strength training sessions might not sound like the most en vogue workouts to complete.
But backed with a long list of benefits to boot, it makes sense why more and more of us are turning to this type of fitness training.
Functional fitness refers to the type of training that supports and prepares your body for everyday life. More often than not, they include exercises that involve bending, squatting, lunging, pushing, walking, and pulling. These types of workouts will also include exercises that boost your core strength.
Some classes involve using just your bodyweight, and others make use of free weights, like barbells or kettlebells. A handful, like this 30-minute full-body functional strength training workout from Michigan-based personal trainer Kaleigh Cohen, use a mix of both to help you ‘build a stronger body for life’. So, to get your functional fitness fix, keep scrolling.
How to do this functional strength training workout
Cohen’s workout starts with a quick warm-up session, involving moves like sumo squats, shoulder twists, and squats to press.
In total, the session is organised into a superset format and contains around 15 exercises, each of which you’ll complete twice. All of the moves are compound exercises, which means you’ll work multiple muscle groups and joints at any one time. This makes this functional fitness class time-efficient, and it can help you build overall strength and flexibility more quickly.
You’ll complete each exercise for 45 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of rest. This will give you enough time to catch your breath, get into position for the next move, and take a quick swig from one of the best water bottles to keep your hydration levels up.
Cohen recommends using a pair of dumbbells to add some extra resistance to most of the moves. She says you should aim to lift moderately heavy, relative to you, and each exercise. So, if you’re completing this workout from home, it’s well worth stocking up on some of the best adjustable dumbbells, which you can adjust the load on in between exercises.
The exercises included are:
- Single rack squat
- Sumo squat + alternating press
- Travelling push-ups
- Glute bridge march + alternating chest flye
- Arms up march
- Alternating dead stop row + plank
- Suitcase squat + hammer curl
- Dips + single leg hold
- Lateral lunge + lateral lift
- Dead bug + around the world
Most of the moves included in this 30-minute session are great examples of unilateral moves, which means you’ll train one side of the body before switching over to the other. This can ensure that your strength on both sides of the body is balanced.
If you find any of the moves listed too challenging, thankfully, the trainer includes modifications so there is something for most fitness levels, no matter whether you’re at. For example, during the travelling push-up, Cohen says you can complete knee push-ups instead. Or you could pick a lower dumbbell weight if you’re finding the current level of resistance too much.
“You are now absolutely prepared for life,” Cohen tells her YouTube followers after completing the workout. “We have covered all of the basics.”
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