Functional Movement Patterns: Why you should train for performance even if you’re not an athlete.
Depending on your background or life experience, the word “performance” might conjure up a number of different images in your mind. Perhaps the imagery of someone performing a song, dance or play on stage springs to mind? Or maybe even a more corporate picture of the race to win employee of the month, or the feeling of euphoria after a successful sales presentation?
Even if we narrow the word performance down to the world of sport and fitness, the immediate imagery may still be a competitive one. One of athletes blazing across an athletics track, gymnasts flying through the air both majestically and powerfully, or even that bodybuilder flexing his best before the judges?
Nevertheless, performance does not only relate to competition... It also relates to function.
Performance: the action or process of performing a task or function.
In this post, I want to look at performance from the perspective of life functionality and share with you why it is a good idea for you to make functional fitness a big part of your training programme.
So, What is Functional Fitness?
In this video, I shared how I discovered that a by-product of training for my sprinting performance as an athlete, is that I’ve been able to gain both the fitness and aesthetics that I need and want. Nonetheless, aesthetics were never my focus. By simply focusing on what my body is able to do, and helping it to best perform these tasks, I have been able to attain the three main goals that most people start their fitness journey to achieve:
Look good (aesthetics)
Feel good (health)
Do good (performance).
Granted, the life of a non-athlete may not be as physically demanding as mine (i.e., your physical tasks may not be as strenuous); nevertheless, there are tasks that we ALL perform each day (and multiple times a day) and these tasks generally fit into 7 key functional movement patterns. These are:
Hinge – The ability to drive the hips backward and forward.
Squat – Sitting in a crouch position with the knees bent and bum over the heels.
Lunge – Stepping from one leg to the other.
Push – To extend the arms pushing an object away from you.
Pull – To flex the arms, pulling an object closer to you.
Twist (Rotation / Anti-Rotation) – To twist or turn the torso from side to side, separate from the lower body.
Carry/Walk/Brace – The ability to stabilise your body during movement.
Take a few seconds to think about these… I’m sure you’re already seeing how so many of your daily tasks fall into at least one of these 7 categories, right? From bending over to pick up something from the floor to pushing yourself up off the floor or bed, squatting down so you don’t touch the toilet seat when using a public toilet (yep, I know!), lifting your new settee to look for the remote, twisting your torso to speak to your child that is sitting behind you as you wash the dishes, carrying your shopping from your car to the front door… the list goes on.
When we’re functionally fit, these tasks are a no-brainer, and we don’t even consider them. However, when our body is not functionally fit, these tasks become a chore, cause pain, and can even cause mental stress. Functional fitness is all about getting your body to a place where it’s able to perform everyday (and sometimes unexpected) tasks with ease, without pain or injury, and to the best of your ability.
Below I have laid out a few examples of exercises that you can add to your strength training that will help you develop these 7 functional movement patterns.
REMEMBER: Always use a weight and/or range of motion appropriate to your level of fitness. THINK “slow, steady, systematic, growth” when progressing your exercises. If you need help with progressing your training WATCH THIS VIDEO.
Examples of Hinge Exercises
Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs)
Hip Thrusts
Good Mornings
Kettlebell Swings
Examples of Squat Exercises
Goblet Squats
Back Squats
Front Squats
Split Squats
Examples of Lunge Exercises
Bulgarian Split Squats
For 21 bodyweight lunge variations, WATCH THIS VIDEO.
Examples of Push Exercises
When training the push and pull movements, you want to consider including both horizontal and vertical exercises, as well as both open and closed chain movements.
Closed Chain - When the body part (or limb) in use is against a fixed surface. This usually results in multiple muscle groups and joints working at the same time.
Open Chain - When the body part (or limb) in use is free to move and not against a fixed surface. This usually results in the targeted muscle group / joint working in isolation.
(HORIZONTAL)
Chest Press (Machine) — Open Chain
Bench Press (Barbell) — Open Chain
Press ups are an example of a closed chain horizontal push exercise. Can’t do a press up yet? WATCH THIS VIDEO.
(VERTICAL)
Dumbbell Overhead Press — Open Chain
Shoulder Press (Machine) — Open Chain
Examples of Pull Exercises
(HORIZONTAL)
Supine / Inverted Row — Closed Chain
Single Arm Dumbbell Row — Open Chain
(VERTICAL)
Pull Ups — Closed Chain
Pull Downs — Open Chain
Examples of Twist Exercises
Medball Side Throws Against The Wall
Check out my Abcentric 20 abdominal challenge where I have a number of rotation exercises.
Examples of Carry/Walk/Brace Exercises
Farmer’s Walks
Overhead Dumbbell Walks
Single Arm Farmer’s Walks
Single Arm Overhead Medball Walks
And there you have it! These are the 7 functional movement patterns that you want to include in your strength training. The exercises I've provided above are not an exhaustive list, but these should give you an idea as to which types of exercises fall into each movement pattern category. By developing your strength programme with functional fitness in mind, you are sure to be efficiently equipped for this performance called “life” — no matter what it may throw at you!
If you found this post beneficial, please leave a comment below and/or share it with a friend.
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About The Author: Torema Thompson is an England international sprinter, published author, qualified level 3 personal trainer, and licensed UKA speed athletics coach. Through her personal platform, she creatively shares her journey on track, whilst simultaneously encouraging others in their athletics & fitness.