As we age, staying active and maintaining functional fitness becomes more important than ever. Rather than focusing solely on traditional workouts that isolate muscle groups, functional fitness emphasizes exercises that mimic the natural movements we use in our everyday lives. Whether it’s carrying groceries, picking up a child, or balancing on uneven ground, functional fitness helps ensure you stay strong, stable, and injury-free as you get older.
Michael Betts, a NASM-qualified trainer and director at Trainfitness, explains the value of functional fitness: “Functional fitness workouts build strength, stability, and mobility in ways that translate to daily activities. From lifting shopping bags to playing with kids or balancing on uneven surfaces, these exercises help prepare your body for the challenges of real life.”
Unlike traditional exercises that target isolated muscle groups, functional training focuses on multi-joint, multi-plane movements. According to Betts, “While a biceps curl will build arm strength, a farmer’s carry builds grip strength, core stability, and full-body coordination all at once.” This type of training also burns more calories, engages more muscle groups, and most importantly, supports mobility and strength to keep you independent and active as you age.
Here, we break down five essential functional fitness exercises that are perfect for building strength and coordination as you age:
How to Do the Five-Move Functional Fitness Workout
Turkish Get-Up
Reps: 3-5 each side
This exercise builds full-body coordination, core strength, and shoulder stability.
How to do it: Lie on your back, holding a weight overhead with your arm extended. Bend the knee on the same side as the weight, keeping your foot flat on the floor. Push through your foot and opposite elbow to lift your torso. Rotate your extended leg behind you for stability and stand up, keeping the weight overhead and engaging your core throughout.
Farmer’s Carry
Time: 30-40 seconds
This move builds grip strength, posture, and core stability.
How to do it: Stand with a weight in both hands. Engage your core, keep your spine upright, and your shoulders back. Walk forward with control, focusing on maintaining a stable posture and engaged core throughout.
Goblet Squat
Reps: 12-15
This exercise mimics everyday movements, such as getting in and out of a chair, and strengthens the lower body.
How to do it: Hold a weight at chest height, close to your body. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, slightly pointing outwards. Sit your hips back and squat down while keeping your chest proud and your back upright. Push through your feet to return to the starting position.
Racked Reverse Lunge
Reps: 10 each side
This unilateral movement helps improve balance and builds leg strength.
How to do it: Hold weights at shoulder height, with elbows bent. Step back into a lunge, bending both knees to about 90° angles. Push through your front leg to return to the starting position. Complete 10 reps on each side.
Push-Up to Rotation
Reps: 5-8 each side
This combines upper-body pushing strength with core rotation, improving overall coordination.
How to do it: Perform a push-up, then rotate into a side plank position, extending one arm overhead. Return to the push-up position and repeat on the other side. Alternate between push-ups and side planks, engaging your core throughout.
Conclusion
Incorporating functional fitness into your routine is a powerful way to prepare your body for everyday activities, improving strength, coordination, and mobility. By performing these five moves regularly, you’ll not only reduce your risk of injury but also keep your body strong and ready for the demands of daily life as you age.
To get started, aim for three to four rounds of the workout, with 60 to 90 seconds of rest between each round. These exercises are designed to complement one another and create a balanced approach to functional strength, ensuring that you stay active and healthy for years to come.
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