Some people exercise to feel good, others exercise to look good. Some people exercise so they can say they did, and still more do it for the social aspect. But for me, there is really only one reason to exercise, and that is to stay healthy. By that I mean to make sure my body is in the best possible shape in order to meet the demands of my lifestyle... be that playing cricket, playing with my son, achieving at work or dancing the night away.
So when it comes to my fitness regime, it is really important to me that it is functional. What that means is that the exercise mirrors the challenges I am likely to face in my daily life. I mean, look at a bench press. How often are you really lying flat on your back trying to push a heavy weight up off of your chest? Or what about running a marathon - how often are you going to need to run for four hours on end to get through your day?
There are some activities, though, that you are likely to need to do all of the time. Every time I pick up my son I need to do a squat. Every time I get up from lying down I do a sit-up, and when I field in cricket I do sprints and jumps. This sort of exercise not only trains the right muscles (including the ones you don't see) but if you are doing it right, it also teaches them to work in unison in order to get the job done in a safe efficient way. Bear in mind when doing functional exercise, though, form is everything. Rather than training until you can't go any more, train until you can't do it with the correct technique any more.
You will also find that this kind of exercise will allow you to do a more intense workout in a shorter period of time. It will also ensure that your body is not only better at doing your daily activities but also less likely to get injured whilst doing so. So get into functional fitness and get your body ready for life!
Subscribe to this comment's feed
