You know, one thing that has always bothered me about the field of fitness is its tendencies. There is always something out there that is new, and next week, it will be something else. One fad approach that has been exploited and abused, at the expense of many paying personal training clients, is the “functional training” method. Let me explain.

Now functional training in its original pure design is not bad at all and can be very effective. It is simply an approach to address specific functional needs. In most cases, this will be to improve athletic performance in a specific sport. For example, if an individual skis as a hobby, there are certain less traditional “functional” exercises that can be applied to improve balance and coordination. These functional exercises address the necessary functions of the respective sport. It is important to note that even in these cases, traditional strength training approaches still serve as the foundation for the exercise regiment; functional exercises should be complementary.

The problem is that the vast majority of people who seek help from a personal trainer aren’t training for a specific sport; they want to look better, feel better about themselves, and be healthier. People often tell me “I want to lose weight” or “I want to work on firming my thighs” etc. Let me spend some time explaining why these functional exercises don’t produce the same results as their traditional counterparts in addressing the aforementioned fitness goals.

When we are doing an anaerobic exercise it is for a very specific reason and we try to isolate a certain muscle group, that is, perform a biceps curl to work the biceps or a chest press to work the chest. We’ve known for years and years and years that the best way to improve a body part is to isolate it and then wear it out.

The problem with functional training in order to achieve these results is that it doesn’t isolate or exhaust a particular muscle group. Take, for example, performing a squat on a bosu ball (a common functional exercise for balance). Your legs are the strongest muscle group in your body; You cannot effectively use enough weight on a bosu ball while maintaining balance to sufficiently exhaust your leg muscles for better steadiness and form.

Functional training is truly a legitimate approach; but it’s only necessary for a few specific people with certain goals, and even then traditional forms of strength training should be the foundation and building block. There is a science behind the development of the human body and there are tried and tested traditional forms of exercise that will produce the best results for those looking to improve their figure/physique.