The words grace the wall of our complex: “Functional Fitness.” To many, the equipment, dumbbells, TRX straps, pulleys and trainers in the building resemble a gym but we don’t call it a gym. If you have a membership, you arrive at the facility to workout or exercise. If your ultimate goal is fitness, you think gym. Isn’t that what gyms help you do?

So what is functional fitness, why is it different, and why is Pro-Motion such an advocate for the term?

Defining Functional Fitness

Briefly put, functional fitness is a form of exercise aimed at preparing your body to perform the tasks, and sports and recreational activities you desire. We call them the INGs— walking, bending, lifting, running, jumping, climbing stairs — without pain, injury, or discomfort.

Functional fitness offers an important foundation from an athletic perspective; the movements and tasks in sport correspond to everyday actions and the muscle groups governing these motions are varied, requiring an integrated approach to fitness.

Similarly, functional fitness applies to the average person seeking improved health and participation in life. Just as an athlete needs to perform an exercise aimed at maximizing the effectiveness of an athletic movement, so too does the everyday person need to perform exercises focused on improving the performance of daily tasks.

Effective Techniques

In terms of exercise and stretching, then, the effective techniques of functional fitness must resemble the intended function. If you want to improve your ability to bend over and pick up a heavy backpack, functional fitness dictates that your exercise and stretching should prepare you for that action.

Likewise, if you want to improve your ability to pitch as a baseball player, your exercise must take into account the movements and arm motion of throwing a pitch. Without understanding the muscle groups involved in throwing a pitch, your exercises won’t help you to achieve better.

Functional fitness urges you to better understand your end goal and the steps you need to take to achieve it. The way we help you get there is to first better understand what your goals are. We firmly believe that…”What got you here, won’t get you there.” But we can’t get you there unless we know where your “where” is!

A Functional Fitness Center — Not a Gym

Therefore, our functional fitness center operates differently from what one would expect at a gym. Our machines don’t exist to build strength in isolated muscles. Instead of working on building great abs or monstrous biceps at the expense of overall function, we work toward a “be strong” understanding, which recognizes the harmony in the relationship between muscle groups and activity.

The purpose behind the facility is fitness, but it’s a different view of it. We’re not necessarily about “bulking up” in the classical body building sense of the word. Instead, we exist to bring ability and an opportunity to live a better life… a health-related quality of life.

Ultimately, functional fitness means working with people to meet their goals, from the everyday action INGs of the health-conscious senior to the intricate INGs of the high-level athlete, and allowing everyone to achieve better. Be better than better!