Functional fitness training is trending. My current trainer has me doing it, my favorite model posted videos of her doing it on Instagram, and it’s a fitness trend for 2020. Type #functionalfitness into the Instagram search bar and 1.7 million posts will pop up! The hashtag #fuctionaltraining has over 3 million posts!
Functional fitness is basically doing exercises that mimic everyday movements. The idea is to improve your overall strength and endurance while also improving your quality of life. It helps you perform everyday tasks more safely, avoiding getting hurt and improves your longevity. Functional fitness training should be part of your fitness routine. My favorite gym for functional fitness is pictured below!
OK- so it’s not actually my gym. Its the gym at the historic Biltmore Mansion in Asheville, North Carolina. When the mansion was built at the tail end of the Victorian era, fitness training was in its infancy. Wealthy people who had leisure time learned that exercise would improve their health and quality of life. Fit Victorians did functional training, although they definitely didn’t call it that! My favorite piece of equipment in the Biltmore gym is the rowing machine. Rowing is an awesome functional exercise!
Some of my favorite functional movements are:
lunges with weights
squats with a kettle bell or medicine ball
box jumps and box step ups
sumo squats with a kettle bell or medicine ball
I’ve been experiencing a flare up of my Hashimoto’s disease over the last few months, which has made it difficult for me to stay in shape. In January I started with a new trainer who taught me about functional training. I was actually already doing a lot of functional exercises, I just didn’t know it was an actual type of fitness. I’ve added even more functional exercises to my workouts, starting running again, and I’m adjusting my medicine. I’m feeling better everyday and working towards my current fitness goals. If you are using functional exercises in your fitness routine I’d love to hear about! Have fun exercising like a Victorian!
