Functional training exercises concentrate on movements that simulate real-life activities and sports-specific movements. They help to increase overall strength, stability, and flexibility at the same time activating the core. Incorporating these exercises into your routine enhances your overall strength and prevents injuries by boosting your functional fitness.

Here are six functional training exercises that can help you avoid injury.

Standing Loaded Plank

The Standing Loaded Plank challenges your core more than the plank on the floor. And it is easy to add resistance from a resistance band.

Setup

1. To perform this exercise, secure the resistance band under your feet.

2. Pull the band up to your chest with bent elbows or arms straight out. You can incorporate both positions into your routine.

3. When you lift the band into position, keep your elbows close together and lift them up in front of you. This will activate your lats.

4. At the same time, squeeze your glutes. Squeezing your glutes will cause a reflex for your abdominals to contract.

5. Now contract your quads.

6. Furthermore, for added intensity, stand on your toes.

Hold and contract all the muscles as hard as possible in that position for 15 seconds. If you can hold longer, get a more intense resistance band that you can hold for less than 15 seconds to challenge you and feel the Standing Loaded Plank’s power.

This exercise will strengthen your whole body!

Single-Leg Squat

The Single-Leg Squat is an essential exercise. In sports, you never push off both legs unless you have set plays, like in volleyball, where squats are beneficial. However, single-leg strength development enhances balance and will improve your overall squat ability and stability. It also targets individual leg strength, reducing the risk of muscle imbalances and injuries.

But with that said, sprinting and running primarily involves pushing and landing on one foot. You may be able to squat your body weight, but the strength deficit and difference between single leg strength will create weakness affecting your speed, lateral agility, and explosiveness.

Furthermore, the Single Leg Squat challenges your spine and core muscles differently and more.

Setup

1. You can choose a staggard stance position or put your back leg on a step.

2. Inhale and lower yourself down to the floor. Your knee can move forward over the toes.

3. Push through the floor to return to the standing position.

Perform 3 sets of 5 reps for each leg. It is challenging, but you must do it to get faster and stronger.

Single Leg Deadlift

The Single-Leg Deadlift focuses on the hip hinge pattern, which is fundamental for athletic movements like sprinting, jumping, and changing direction. Also, it is fundamental for bending over to pick up things from the floor. Strengthening the posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, and lower back) through the hip hinge is essential and beneficial for power generation and injury prevention.

In addition, the Single-Leg Deadlift, as well as the Single-Leg Squat, improves proprioception. The single-leg deadlift challenges proprioception by requiring you to control your movement and alignment. Improved proprioception leads to enhanced stability, better body awareness, and coordination needed to run, jump, or sprint faster.

Setup

1. You can choose a staggard stance position or put your back leg on a step.
2. Inhale and lower yourself down to the floor with a slightly bent knee.
3. Push through the floor to return to the standing position.

Perform 3 sets of 5 reps for each leg. It is challenging, but you must do it to get faster and stronger.

Bent Over Dumbbell Rows

Bent-Over Dumbbell Rows are a great exercise that primarily targets the whole body if you do it properly and let it. Bent-Over Rows involve multiple muscles and joints, making your entire body work. When you bend into the row position, your lower back and core stabilize. Holding and moving the dumbbells activates the whole torso, involving and strengthening the core during the movement.

Now, there are several ways to incorporate the legs.

First, lean forward into your toes, but keep your heels on the floor. Just shift some weight forward. Once you have that position, do your rows simultaneously or alternatively. Alternatively, it will present a more significant challenge for stability. Stability is essential if you want to get stronger and faster.

Secondly, you can shift your weight back into your heels, keeping the whole foot on the floor. This will activate and load your hamstrings in a stretched position.

What’s more! The Bent-Over Row is excellent for balancing push and pull movements. Balancing pushing and pulling movements is crucial in a well-rounded strength training program. Bent-over rows complement pushing exercises like bench presses targeting the muscles on the opposite side of the body, although they are pulling motions. Lower the dumbbell slowly in your bent-over row, and you will feel what I am saying.

Setup

1. Bend over into position.

2. Pick dumbbells off the floor.

3. Perform your rows together or alternating left to right.

Perform 3 sets of 5-8 reps with 85% of your 1RM. And try a few sets, lowering the dumbbells slowly and eccentrically.

Resistance Band Push-Up

Using resistance bands with your push-ups will make you want to do push-ups constantly. If you can do a lot of push-ups, adding the band can now challenge your push-up strength.

Setup:

1. Place the resistance band around your upper back, just below your shoulder blades.
2. Hold the ends of the band in each hand, ensuring it is snug but not too tight.
3. Get into a push-up position on the floor. Now in position, squeeze your glutes and quads. This reflex activates your core. Hold it through all the reps of your push-up.

Execution:

1. Lower your chest towards the floor. The band will pull you down to the floor, so control and resist.
2. As you push back up to the starting position, the resistance band provides additional tension, making the push-up more challenging.
3. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

The Resistance Band Push-Up is an incredibly functional exercise that can be done anywhere. You can bring your hands closer to work the inner chest and triceps more. Again, this is another exercise that involves your whole-body work.

Perform 3 sets of 5-8 pushups with a medium resistance band or whichever works best for you.

Lunge Dumbbell Rotation

Lunges mimic the natural walking and stepping patterns in various daily activities and sports. Holding the dumbbells in front of your chest activates the stability of the abdominals and core. Now, as you lunge down to the floor, rotate the dumbbells.

This exercise will activate the entire core with stabilization and rotation. In addition, your lower back will become stronger, too!

This is one of my favorite exercises. Do it slowly, and you will see why. You will feel your whole body working, loading your stretches, stabilization, and muscles.

Setup

1. Hold two dumbbells in front of your chest. Start with light weights first.

2. From the standing position, inhale, lunge forward, and rotate simultaneously as you move down to the floor.

3. Push back to the standing start position with control through the motion. Don’t just compensate and jump back. You will miss out on a lot of strength.

Perform 3 sets alternating left to right side slowly for 8 reps.

Functional movements are physical activities or exercises that mimic the natural movements and functions of the body in sports and daily life. These movements strengthen the core and promote proper alignment for the body to function correctly. Functional movements typically involve the entire body, multiple muscle groups, and joints working together in a coordinated manner.

Functional movements aim to improve overall strength, flexibility, coordination, and stability, enhancing an individual’s ability to perform sports-specific movements, everyday tasks, and activities.