Everyone seems to be talking about functional training, but it’s rarely explained properly: what exactly it is and why it’s become so popular in recent years. Here’s the no-nonsense explanation.
What is functional training?
It’s a type of training based on natural, multi-joint movements — squatting, pushing, pulling, hip hinging, running, jumping — rather than isolating one muscle on a machine. The idea is to train complete movement patterns, the same ones you use outside the gym.
Why it’s become so popular
Three main reasons explain the boom: visible results in a short time (strength and endurance at once), the community factor of training in a group with a coach instead of alone, and sessions that are never repeated the same way, which keeps you motivated far longer than a fixed gym routine.
Key principles of functional training
- Natural, multi-joint movements, not muscle isolation exercises.
- Variable intensity, adapted every day and to each person within the same group.
- A coach present at every session, correcting technique in real time.
- Community: training with the same group creates a real commitment not to skip sessions.
Functional training isn’t a passing fad: it’s simply training your body for what you’ll actually ask of it outside the gym.
Is it the same as CrossTraining?
CrossTraining (CrossFit-style) is, in practice, the best-known form of functional training in a coached-class format with a daily WOD — they share the same foundation of natural movements and high, variable intensity.
If you’d like to try it for yourself instead of just reading about it, book your free class at Redfield T&F.
