Functional Training Reduces Knee Pain and Increases Physical Strength

Exercises which target isolated specific muscles are functional training exercises; there are specific exercises and exercise machinery which focuses on these areas. These exercises were originally designed to help a patient during physical therapy as they worked to restore patterns of exercise which they were strong in before their physical challenge. For example, this type of exercise may have helped them focus on moderate lifting and endurance if it were a parent with young children; or if they were a marathon runner the training would be focused on rebuilding their endurance level.

There are many benefits to functional training including muscular balance and joint stability. Focusing on this side of training exercises should assist the athlete in developing fewer injuries during performance and exercise. There are benefits from this type of exercise which involves the body's natural ability to move freely without restriction; and improves flexibility greatly. If you are looking to improve your exercise performance than include a foundation of fundamental training exercises as this will improve your balance and overall performance. Those who are experiencing joint pain should consider these movements as well as they are proven to decrease the amount of joint pain experienced. The resulted decrease in joint pain is due to the focus on rehabilitating the joints and flexibility. The health of the joints and their surrounding areas is essential for strength and movement.

The use of standard resistance equipment is beneficial for functional training. This type of machinery is focused on mimicking natural movement and the effort of a single muscle group. Some machinery which can be used for this type of exercise is: cable machines, medicine balls, kettlebells, resistance troops, whole body vibration equipment, balance disks, a suspension system and many more. Core stability will be the main focus of these exercises and they should be integrated with progressive training which steadily increases your core's strength through the demand of the workout.

If you are looking to work on functional training then you should be doing sport specific exercises that develop and maintain your sport's movements as well as traditional training that will benefit all natural movement strength. Integrated functional training exercises will also help you focus on your flexibility, your core, in your strength, your balance and your power.