The last few years I have written articles and filmed You Tube videos showcasing some complex functional multi-joint exercises where I explain the purpose of the exercises and how to do them. What I did not explain fully is how you would organize them into a strength workout effectively so you ensure you keep everything balanced and avoid over-training. While it is great to know how to do these exercises you can create problems if you do not know how to structure your training schedule and program. Program design is a real science in itself when you really understand certain principles around movement and the human anatomy. It can be constant balancing act between using certain muscles too much and creating stiffness and injury, versus not using them enough and creating weakness injury. A great program can avoid this. If you have tried completing several sets of these exercises you will soon realize they are extremely exhausting and very difficult to do too many of them effectively in one workout. Secondly, while these exercises are very good at trying to use the body the way it was designed, they will often require regressions to help the body restore mobility, stability, or strength to specific areas that are restricted or inhibited. The needs and abilities of each person will vary significantly from one to the next so it is impossible to provide a template that works for everyone. Having said that there are a few guidelines that I use to help me structure a program where I can get the most out of these type of exercises, and in fact for all exercises. In this article, I will explain what these guidelines are and give some examples of how to do this yourself. Enjoy.
Can You Build Muscle Size Using Functional Strength Training Methods?
I believe most people are aware of the amazing benefits to their body by using functional training exercises over machines and various isolation exercises for improving movement in daily life and sports. I have posted numerous articles and videos explaining this concept in great detail for many years and the knowledge and education of this is training method much better than what it was 10-15 years ago. However, there still is a misconception that these exercises will not help you improve muscular strength and in particular hypertrophy (muscle size). There are several reasons why people fail to put on muscle size when using a functional training approach, but what you will find it is not the exercises that are to blame. In this article, I will show you exactly what you need to know to improve your movement efficiency and muscle size if that is something you are wanting to do.