A well-planned workout programme should move your body in every direction - forward, backward, sideways, and even rotationally. Functional movements are actions based on real-world situational biometrics, helping to improve joint motion across different planes of the body. Not only do functional movement patterns help to improve motion, but they also minimise your chance of injury.
To begin, what are functional fitness movement patterns?
Functional movement patterns prepare you for all life situations by enhancing and supporting your body to perform in everyday activities.
Functional fitness movements often include multiple joints and large muscle groups - also known as compound movements.
Mimicking daily motions such as; sitting down, picking something up from the floor, or putting something away overhead.
Why use functional movement patterns within your training regime?
Improved movement efficiency - During everyday life, you use multiple muscle groups - this is because functional movement patterns involve more than one joint. By emphasising these range of movements daily, you can perform these movements more efficiently.
Increased coordination and balance - Functional training promotes the use of your own bodyweight to perform various movements, improving coordination and balance.
Increased flexibility and mobility - Functional training allows your body to stretch to its full range of motion - increasing posture, balance, and strength.
Prevention of injuries - Training the muscles you use every day helps to make them stronger, reducing the likeliness of injury. You are not only training your muscles and joints, but you are also training your soft tissues such as tendons and ligaments.
You challenge your whole body - You can challenge yourself gradually by increasing the weight you lift over time.
7 functional movement patterns include:
Hinge:
The hinge is a fundamental movement pattern that allows you to perform essential tasks such as bending over and picking things up. A hinge movement pattern is a lower body exercise which targets your posterior chain, typically focusing on the back of your legs including your hamstrings and glutes, and even the lower back. The hinge helps to strengthen your core, which helps alleviate back pain or injury, improve balance, and enhance flexion.
Squatting:
Squats focus on several muscles in your lower and upper body working together simultaneously. Squats are categorised as a knee dominant compound movement. Daily life applications for squats include sitting down and standing up. Squats also help with many daily talks including; walking, climbing stairs, bending, and carrying heavy loads.
Lunge:
A lunge is known to be a knee dominant pattern - it is a single leg movement that targets your lower body, including; your hips, glutes, quads, hamstrings, and core in multiple distractions. Lunge examples include step ups, forward, lateral, reverse, and walking lunges.
Lunges help with basic everyday activities such as; going upstairs, kneeling, or react and change in direction activities such as walking, running, or playing sports.
Push:
A push or press functional movement includes moving weight away from your upper body - it is a key part of functional training exercises. A push can be carried out in a horizontal or vertical motion. Horizontal pushes include; pushing a weight away from your body, for example, performing a push up or pushing a door open. Vertical pushes include; pushing a weight away from you in an upwards motion or serving in racket sports.
Pull:
A pull motion is the opposite of a push. A movement is classed as a pulling motion, when you are moving a weight towards your body, in a horizontal or vertical movement. Examples of this movement include; a dumbbell or barbell row.
Carry:
Carrying items is a functional movement pattern used in everyday life. Wherever we walk, it is likely we are carrying items such as; handbags and groceries. Carry actions require your body to have strength, coordination, and balance. Training your body in a way that replicates carry movements will help you develop better control and efficiency.
Twist/rotation:
Every movement within functional training includes a rotation movement. Rotating your body requires head-to-toe stability, helping your body to move as a single unit.
The Flow collection is designed for aiding functional movement patterns.
The Flow Collection - high-stretch training wear, made to move with you. Lightweight stretch woven fabrics and full coverage silhouettes allow for unrestricted movement and comfort as you progress through your workout.
Key collection benefits include:
High stretch fabrications and engineered knits for improved mobility.
AerTek Sweat-Wicking Technology, wicks moisture away from the skin, prioritising comfort in all conditions.
Shop the Women's Flow collection. Highlights include: Seamless Sports Bra and 7/8 Length Leggings. Engineered from an advanced fabric blend of polyamide, polyester, and elastane with Aertek technology, this leggings and sports bra set guarantees breathability and flexibility from warm-up to cooldown.
The men's Flow collection launching soon.