What is functional fitness training?

Functional fitness exercises train your muscles to work together and prepare them for daily tasks by simulating common movements you might do at home, at work or in sports. While using various muscles in the upper and lower body at the same time, functional fitness exercises also emphasize core stability.

For example, a squat is a functional exercise because it trains the muscles used when you rise up and down from a chair or pick up low objects. By training your muscles to work the way they do in everyday tasks, you prepare your body to perform well in a variety of common situations.

Functional fitness exercises can be done at home or at the gym. For example, you can use resistance bands or dumbbells at home, or do body weight movements such as pushups, situps, planks and squats.

Gyms may offer functional fitness classes. Or they may incorporate functional fitness into boot camps or other class types. They may include high-intensity functional training, in which you do a variety of functional movements at a high intensity. Exercises may include aerobic exercises, body weight movements and weightlifting. Exercise tools, such as fitness balls, kettlebells and weights, are often used in functional fitness workouts.