Doing functional exercises can help you improve your daily performance with respect to your skills and tasks.
Although strength coaches are strictly against the term functional exercises, if you look at it another way, it works because functional exercises improve the functioning of your body on a daily basis. Moreover, it helps in building the strength of your overall body as well as improving balance. Functional exercises also help in enhancing your body’s resistance to injury. Functional exercises mirrors the daily movements of your everyday life like reaching, squatting or even lifting and carrying heavy objects. These exercises contribute greatly in improving your quality of life. Here are the best functional exercises for you to try.
Step Up To Shoulder Press
This exercise involves complex movements that mirror most of your daily movements. As a result this particular workout targets quite a few of your muscle groups. Doing step up to shoulder press will target your quads, glutes, triceps, deltoids, calves and abdominal muscles. What you have to do is stand behind an elevated surface like a bench. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and keep them at the level of your shoulders. Now, step on the elevated surface with one of your feet as you push through the heel while pressing the dumbbells up over your head. In the next step, bring the dumbbells back down to the level of your shoulder and step down from the elevated surface using your other leg first. Repeat the process by switching legs.
Front Squat
This one is more of an advanced functional workout routine. This one can be done using dumbbells or a barbell and strengthens your core as well as your legs. The muscles targeted by this exercise are the glutes, quads, upper back and abdominal muscles. Safely and slowly load the weight you are using on your front. If you are using the barbell keep it across the from=nt of your shoulders. If you are using dumbbells, rest one side of each at the front of your shoulders. Push the elbows up and begin your squatting position by moving your hips and bending down the knees. Push back up to the initial position and repeat.
Goblet Squat
This exercise targets your glutes, quads, abdominals and calves. Grip and position a dumbbell vertically against your chest keeping contact with your body. Standing shoulder-width apart, inhale and squat. Repeat process.
