Does functional strength training builds muscle? Clear your cluttered mind with this #1 detailed guide.
Does functional strength training builds muscle? Yes – Functional training or any type of training for that matter builds both muscle and strength. As functional training uses mostly compound exercises as their base, they can get you not just strong but also muscular in the process.
What is functional strength training?
Functional strength training is a type of strength training that uses mostly compound exercises that can build strength. This strength built up from these exercises has a carry-over effect on activities outside of the gym.
For eg, the bench press has a carry-over effect that helps in pushing stuff away from the body in real-life situations. Or barbell or dumbbell rowing has a carry-over effect of becoming better at pulling things toward the body. Or the deadlift has a carry-over effect that helps in lifting heavy things off the floor.
Benefits of functional strength training for athletes
Functional strength training can help in boosting power and speed – functional strength training builds muscle size and strength, and multiple studies have been shown to improve athletic performance. This includes running, cycling, and jumping.
Enhancing endurance, agility, and speed can also improve athletic performance. Greater muscle size and strength have been shown to increase strength, greater force production, and reduce repetitive injuries.
As athletes age, they are prone to more injuries than the general population. Functional strength training can help reduce injury risk as it puts a high level of stress on muscles and tendons and can increase the flexibility of muscles, along with strengthening the tendons.
Studies have shown improvements in athletic performance with exercise and fitness programs that target specific muscle groups.
How does functional strength training build muscle?
Functional strength training can help build muscle the same way that regular strength training does.
Functional training breaks down muscle fibers. These muscle fibers increase in number and size in response to the external resistance and tension applied against the muscles. to deal with this new stimulus of resistance. This process of growing the muscle is known as muscular hypertrophy.
Muscular hypertrophy occurs when the fibers of the muscles undergo microtrauma and get stronger and bigger in response to the stress induced by your training regime.
With regular bouts of the such training stimulus, along with a well-balanced, protein-rich diet and an ample amount of sleep and recovery, the muscle starts to grow.
How to do functional strength training
To perform functional strength training you don’t have to do anything extra for that matter. Performing your regular strength training with an emphasis on doing more compound exercises is enough to induce both muscular hypertrophy and increase muscular strength.
Regular compound exercises like – bench presses, rows, overhead presses, squats, deadlifts, lunges, pull-ups, etc are exercises that have been shown to improve athletic performance.
What are the goals of functional training?
The goals of functional training are:
- To increase overall fitness
- To improve strength and endurance
- To protect the body from injury
- To promote healthy habits
- To improve agility and quickness
- To improve overall performance
- To help achieve a healthy weight
Here’s a list of functional strength training exercises that can be used in your training regimen.
Squat
- Get under the barbell. Place the barbell onto your traps and shoulders. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly out, core braced, and chest up.
- Walk out a couple of steps back.
- Sit down with hips back, and knees bent, ensuring they push out,
- The hip and knee should be in sync with each other, be it while going down or up.
- Push through your entire foot, as if you’re pushing away from the ground to stand up.
- Stand back up and repeat.
Deadlift
How to do the deadlifts.
- Set the loaded barbell on the floor.
- Get close to the bar, until your mid-foot is under the bar.
- Hinge back in your hips, till your arms can lift the bar.
- Do not try to squat to lift the bar.
- While keeping your back straight, chest up, and shoulders back, lift the bar.
- Lift the bar up till you stand erect and tall, do not try to hyperextend your back.
- Repeat the steps as needed.
Rows
- Stand with dumbbells next to you.
- Keep one of the hands on the bench, and place the same side knee on the bench.
- Bend over and grab the dumbbell in one hand (medium-grip)
- Jam your other leg into the ground. (Forming a tripod of your arm resting on the bench, the knee also on the bench, and the other leg on the ground)
- Lift the weight, with a firm grip.
- Lift your chest up, shoulders back, and straighten your back
- Pull the dumbbell up till it touches your lower chest
- Repeat till you can.
Bench Press
Here is how to perform the bench press in a safe and effective way –
- Set the bar on the bench, with a weight that you can lift.
- Lie on the bench, face towards the ceiling
- Set your eyes directly under the barbell
- Make sure the bar is placed at the center of the pins
- Get in a neutral spine position by, pushing shoulders back, chest up, and maintaining a tight back
- Extend your arms straight up and lift the bar above your chest
- While controlling the bar, slowly lower it toward the lower chest
- Push the bar away from yourself, as you complete the rep.
- when the set is completed, rack the bar with straight locked-out arms
Overhead Press
Here’s how to Overhead Press with a safe and effective form
- Get under the bar with a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip
- Stand with a shoulder-width stance, with feet pointing forward
- Now with the bar on your shoulders, and your forearms perpendicular to the ground
- While maintaining a rigid body, press the bar over your head, until it’s balanced over your shoulders and mid-foot
- Lock out your elbows at the top, and shrug your shoulders to the ceiling.
- Slowly lower the weight in a controlled manner, till it is again on the shoulders
Weighted or bodyweight Lunges
- Stand upright with dumbbells at your side, palms facing your body.
- Lunge forward as far as you can with your stronger leg, bending your trailing knee so it almost brushes the floor.
- Use the heel of your stronger foot to push your upper body back to the starting position.
- Repeat with the opposite leg
Beginner Lunge technique
Intermediate or advanced-level Lunge technique
Pull-ups or Chin-ups
- Grab the handles with a grip slightly wider than shoulder-width, with your palms facing away from you.
- Let your body hang all the way down.
- Pull yourself up by driving your elbows down to the floor
- Pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar.
- Slight pause.
- Lower yourself all the way back down
- Maintain a controlled movement, and reduce swinging your body back and forth to reduce strength loss.
Farmers walk
- Hold a pair of heavy or moderately heavy dumbbells.
- Walk as you keep your movement fluid and maintain a consistent pace.
- Walk at a pace that is comfortable for you.
- As you walk, keep your arms close to you, don’t swing your arms back and forth.
- Your grip should remain tensed and flexed.
What are the benefits of functional strength training
1) Increased muscle strength and power
2) Reduced injury risk
3) Increased self-confidence and morale
4) Improved physical fitness
5) Increased work capacity
6) Greater physical endurance
Is functional training better than bodybuilding?
It depends upon your goal, whether it is to be strong and athletic or just to pack on the maximum amount of muscle mass you can, if you are a bodybuilder then functional training is not the best tool for you. However, if you are an athlete looking to build strength, agility, and muscle mass then functional training is best suited for your goals.
How often should you do functional strength training?
You can perform functional strength training as often as possible. Most people can benefit from functional strength training by doing just 3 – 5 days of it.
What counts as functional strength training?
The kind of exercise that develops strength in patterns that can be utilized in daily life is known as functional strength training. It involves the use of free weights
Can you get big with functional training?
Yes, you can, however, how big you can get depends upon your genetics, nutrition, and rest, and recovery. However, if your ultimate goal is just bodybuilding, then focus more on bodybuilding exercises, as they can build more muscle mass compared to functional training, also can sprinkle functional training in it as and when required.
Why is functional strength important?
Functional strength is important because we need strength in our day-to-day life too. Living our life to the fullest, without being dependent on others is considered a good life. From lifting things in your homes, or to carry your children, or to be a better athlete, or getting up effortlessly from the coach as we age, is why we need functional strength.
Does functional training burn fat?
“Functional training is a great way to lose weight” because functional training is mostly compound exercises, compound exercises are multi-joint exercises that can help us to lift more weight, to lift more we need more energy, and this energy comes from stored body fat. Therefore functional training workouts can be a great fat-burning tool in your arsenal, along with a calorie-deficit diet and a well-planned cardio routine.
Why functional training is best?
Functional training can help strengthen muscles to assist your body with everyday tasks and activities. Using external loads like dumbbells, barbells, and kettlebells. This form of physical training is simple and efficient for the majority of the general population, that are looking to get in shape, get strong and build muscle in the process. However, If you have any injuries, you should consult with your physician before trying any fitness protocol.
Is deadlift a functional exercise?
Yes, Deadlifts are a highly effective functional strength training exercise, as it trains you for the functional activity of safely lifting objects off of the floor, which is a key skill in our day-to-day activities.
Also, deadlifts strengthen the erector spinae, the multifidus, the glutes, and the hamstrings.
Does bench press build functional strength?
Yes, the bench press builds functional strength by training the body to build up the pushing strength, bench press forces the entire body to work in sync to push the load away from the body. The functional strength gained from the bench press can be used in most athletic and impact-based sports,
Conclusion
Functional strength training can help build muscle, Functional training builds both muscle and strength. As functional training uses mostly compound exercises as their base, they can get you not just strong but also muscular in the process.
👋 I am Rakesh Sonawane, a personal trainer with around half a decade of working experience. I have been fortunate enough to have trained people from all walks of life.
I created this site to simplify the path of getting fit and healthy as the internet is filled with too complex and useless info.
My website content is well-planned, thought, and well-researched before being published on the site for you to read. Hopefully, you will enjoy my helpful, practical content.
