AT HOME WORKOUT: FUNCTIONAL TRAINING

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all have something fun planned with your families :) Today has been so relaxing, and it's my rest day because yesterday, I ran 21 miles!! That's the farthest I have ran so far, and boy are my feet sore. I earned some new blisters from that run, but it was definitely all worth it!

Since I can't actually workout today, why not talk about it! I have been wanting to share with you a new type of workout I have been incorporating into my workout split the past couple months- functional training. This has been becoming more popular, but is usually done wrong, or at least isn't actually helpful. Basically, functional training is a type of workout designed to strengthen your body for everyday things. So sitting down, picking up babies, pushing a lawnmower, and pulling open the refrigerator door translates to: squats, deadlifts, bench press, and bent over rows. There are so many more exercises, but do you see how those are helpful for everyday life? Functional training also aims to build muscle endurance, increase mobility and flexibility, improve balance, and strengthen your core. I also like to include some cardio-intense exercises to strengthen my heart!

You don't need fancy equipment or even lots of space to complete a functional workout, although if you have access to either, go ahead and use what you can. You can even complete a very basic and yet effective functional workout by just doing squats, deadlifts, planks, pushups, and even just walking up and down hills. Here is a functional workout I did with my friend that you can try!

 ROUND ONE:

• Pushup TO Chest Press
• Tricep Pushup TO Tricep Dips
• Swimmers TO Bent Over Row
• Plank w/ leg up TO Plank with arm reaches
• Bicep Curl TO Bicep Press
• Upright Row TO Shoulder Press

ROUND TWO:

• KB Swings TO Front Kicks
• Lateral Step Up TO Calf Raises
• Deadlift to Press TO Wall Sit

ROUND THREE:

• Burpees TO Jumping Jacks
• Mountain Climbers TO Box Jumps
• RB Wood Choppers TO Football Shuffles

This was structured in three different rounds; you would complete one round  2-3x and then move onto the next one. The first round was probably the hardest, since it had the same muscle groups worked back to back! The second round was mostly comprised of dynamic movements, and the third round's goal was to get your heart rate up and strengthen your core.

I hope you try this out, or get some ideas to create your own functional workout! You can dedicate a whole workout to functional training, or even just incorporate more functional exercises into your current workout splits! The nice thing about functional training is that it does not require heavy lifting (although that can be functional, but it isn't necessary), so whether you are 1) injured 2) a beginner 3) not able to access heavy weights 4) or just don't really enjoy lifting heavy, this is a super great alternative! You need little, if any, equipment to perform this type of workout, so that's another plus! I highly recommend that whatever your exercise preference, try to have one day of functional training, or add functional exercises into your workouts everyday.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter with your families!

God Bless,

Hannah