by Chris Dellasega, M.S.Ed.

Functional strength training is usually a very misunderstood concept in gyms and by coaches and trainers alike. First, lets discuss what functional strength training is not. Functional strength training is not performing any kind of complex skill, such as Olympic lifts or Front Squats, or compound lifts, such as the Back Squat, while standing on top of a Bosu ball or any other kind of unstable platform. When complex skills or compound exercises are performed on unstable platforms the risk far exceeds any benefit. One reason unstable platforms do not develop strength is that the load used in a given exercise while performed on an unstable platform will be sub-maximal, therefore eliciting no strength response. The fact is that there are very few, if any, tasks that human beings ever perform while on an unstable platform. Any trainer or coach who says otherwise needs a quick lesson on basic physics and biomechanics.

Functional strength training, as it applies to sport, is designed to produce greater strength and performance that is directly transferable to the playing field or court. Functional strength for those that are not involved in organized athletics is a very effective way of obtaining “usable strength”. That is, strength that is usable in performing everyday tasks. Many exercises utilized in functional strength training are also known as strongman lifts, such as the tire flip, farmer’s carry and truck pull. Other exercises found in functional strength training programs are similar to strongman lifts in that they are compound exercises/complex skills (movement at multiple joints) and engage many large muscle groups, especially the muscles of the core, and are often performed in multiple planes of motion. Examples of other strongman/functional exercises include rope climbing, wood chopping, and pushing/pulling weighted sleds.

Traditional barbell and dumbbell exercises are generally performed with the bar or dumbbell traveling through a specific pathway in one plane of motion, such as the sagittal plane. Functional strength training involves performing an exercise through multiple planes of motion. For example, the Squat is one of the best exercises for developing lower-body strength, but the bar moves in only one plane of motion, up and down (the sagittal plane) with the bar resting on your back. By comparison, flipping a tractor tire involves moving up and down (the sagittal plane) and forward (the transverse plane). While there has not been much scientific research done on functional strength training it is this author’s opinion that when properly taught and properly executed functional strength training could prove to be very beneficial at developing usable strength when programmed appropriately and used in conjunction with traditional barbell and dumbbell exercises.

Whether you are an athlete training for athletic competition or someone just looking to get the most bang for their buck with their training the best results can be seen when functional strength training lifts are appropriately taught, programmed and used in conjunction with traditional barbell and dumbbell.