It’s strange the thoughts that go through your head when your in bed just about to drift away for the night.
Yay! I'm being functional!
Last night my mind wandered, as it so often does, onto the topic of fitness training, and the multitude of reasons people train for.
Then I started mulling over the many arguments and debates the internet has provided for my entertainment on the topic known as “functional training”
Every has their opinion on what functional training should and should not be. Most seem to think that if it involves lots of long words and physio equipment then it must be functional training, while others think it’s not functional unless professional weightlifters and strongmen do it.
My opinion, let the function define the training. Workout what you train for then decide on the best methods to get you there.
Yesterday afternoon I was talking to one of my lads about the workout he was about to undertake. It was a power circuit based on the deadlift. I explained to him that he very likely wouldn’t hit close to his max on the deadlift due to accumulated fatigue through the circuit, but he’d get close.
At first he a little put out, so I continued. We discussed his training needs, the fact that he’s not a strength athlete, he’s a GAA player and kettlebell lifter. So while strength is absolutely vital, he doesn’t need to be always reaching for maximum lifts, it’s more important for him to be able to stay strong and powerful under fatigue, ie after an hour of play on the field or in the last 2 minutes of a Snatch set.
Same goes for our combat athletes, do they really need a triple bodyweight deadlift? Or do they need to be able to repeatedly generate power in various planes of movement?
The answer is fairly obvious.
Or at least one would hope so.
So last night, as my eyes became heavy just before I slipped away into a coma I came up with a different term for our training.
Functional training has been hijacked by the cool crowd, let them have it. We train with a purpose, we go through our strength and conditioning training with the goal of becoming better at our chosen sports. Not better weight lifters, not better exercisers but better Martial Artists, better Rugby players, better GAA players and better Triathletes.
We train with a purpose. The purpose is to improve our performance in the ring, on the field or on the roads.
We’re not interested in “functional training” with all it’s bells and whistles.
We do Purposeful Training.
Our results are measured by our performance outside the gym, not by how messed up we get in the gym.
Train with purpose.
Regards
Dave.
http://www.wg-fit.com
Dates for the diary:
Feb 5th – Kettlebell Bell Lifting Levels 1 & 2 at Wild Geese, places still available.
June 2-4th – CKT Levels 1 & 2 with Steve Cotter at Wild Geese, details tbc
