Let’s analyse explosive training or the so called ” Functional Training “
Well anywhere in the world i am pretty sure you have been expose to a bootcamp or a class where you had to perform a burpee or you are pretty familiar with this movement or called by many; but not me: exercise…
Have you ever stop for a second and asked yourself this simple question:
What is your goal when you go to a training session?
I don’t think you need to be very knowledgeable about exercise physiology, biology, anatomy or even physics to come up with common sense answers like:
– Improve conditioning of performing work of a demanding nature;
– Gain strength;
– Increase muscle mass;
– Lose FAT and etc…
And if all the above happen consequentially you would improve function ability…
Right???
Let’s agree that there are some existing natural laws of science that are not a matter of opinion but yes a matter of FACT, we learn on school about genetics on biology classes and that is the same anywhere you go, in classes of human anatomy you learn about joint function, connective tissue, range of motion, tendons, ligaments etc… in physics we learn about friction, force, gravity etc… and it is all the same anywhere you go. We can say that those are universal laws of general basic science. YES!
So let’s analyse for a second if: burpee, jumping on boxes, bouncing ropes, swinging bells and bouncing weights up and down as fast and explosive as possible, and in some particular cases following a celebrity image on a TV demonstrating how to perform all that above… Let’s analyse if any of this list of acrobatics above respect any of universal laws of general basic science and why any human SHOULD NEVER TRY TO DO SUCH A THING WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF:
– Improve conditioning of performing work of a demanding nature;
– Gain strength;
– Increase muscle mass;
– Lose FAT and etc…
First
You have to do so much of it (volume/frequency) to really get to fatigue that it is impossible to apply any significant INTENSITY. Intensity being the key element of your body’s capability of producing an adaptive response (mechanical changes) in any human’s physiology. So causing a lot of wear and tear, stress, accumulation of free radicals. oxidation and inflammation for NO benefits at all. High impact strategies like jumping up and down in a box (for an example) it will only make you a better box jumper with knee, ankle and hip unwanted negative consequences. If you have been to one of these classes you know exactly what i am talking about, you do that over and over again, more likely for 45 minutes ahhhhh… After moving like a monkey on LCD for 45 minutes (close your eyes and image a line of monkeys taking a LCD pill and let them go wild inside a gym = “functional training”) let me ask you:
How hungry are you?
And you are doing so to lose the weight, right?
I will let you get to a conclusion on your own about that one…. Oh, one more question, what do you think doing such a nonsense 4 times per week is doing to your hormonal system? Happy, balanced and full of energy every day you feel?
Your body doesn’t separate stress in compartments – this stress here is from work, this others one from relationship, this one is from exercise, uhuuu good stress… NOOOOO stress is stress and accumulates increasing cortisol levels for example also known as the not so happy hormone. So how this is increasing your function ability to be called “functional training”?
It doesn’t make any sense at all, i would classify as an unfair battle practice by uneducated individuals on the matter of proper exercise and the mechanics of losing weight.
* Remember if you have to exercise to lose weight, your nutrition is wrong!
Second
If the goal is not losing weight but yes to be more functional of an specific task, sport modality or simple day to day life…
When please tell me when have you had to flip a truck tire in your life? (performed very often in “functional classes”)
Ok if yes (unlikely) but yes you have to do that on the weekly basis, do you believe that by doing so over and over again will make you a healthier individual with good posture, lower body fat %, overall strength, good energy levels (more likely the goals of individuals participating the so called “functional training” classes)
Ahhhhhh NO – It will make you a great tire truck flipper with back problems!
Rounded back = pressure in your spine discs – Who has good form flipping a tire?
How flipping a tire will make you a better tennis player?
How flipping a tire will make you carry your grocery bags more effectively?
How flipping a tire can be called proper exercise???????????????????
And the same goes to the burpees, bouncing weights etc…
It doesn’t make any sense at all, i would classify as a unfair battle practice by uneducated individuals on the matter of proper exercise and the mechanics of improving (strength) your capability of performing any particular task above your baseline threshold.
* Remember, proper exercise must respect joint function, range of motion and intensity, activating all muscle fibbers involved stimulating an adaptive response.
Third
What is your goal?
In 20 year on the fitness industry i supervised more than 40.000 workouts and the most common objective of general population that i encounter was simply: being healthy, strong and lean and having high energy levels!
Most people don’t really care about how many burpees you can do in 1:00 or jumps on a box etc… But what they do care or should care is to avoid the two big enemies of good health: Inflammation and high body fat%.
Also to be fully functioning you need to have strong muscles and bones and by following the wrong “trend” strategy you might be working against your goals and making harder for your body to experience optimum health.
It might be cheaper on your pocket to sign up for a class where you will follow instructions from a TV, but the long term damage to your hormonal environment, metabolism and skeleton will cost your health a lot more than you can imagine.
“If you think a health professional is expensive, wait until you hire an amateur”
“Your HEALTH is your real WEALTH”
If you are not cheap when it comes to clothes, cars, houses etc… think twice about being cheap with the only asset that you really own, your body.
Functional training is a trend not based on universal laws of basic human science, period.
The best definition that i could find so far describing what proper exercise is:
“…a process whereby the body performs work of a demanding nature, in accordance with muscle and joint function, in a clinically-controlled environment, within the constraints of safety, meaningfully loading the muscular structures to inroad their strength levels to stimulate a growth mechanism within minimum time.”
– Brenda Hutchins
Exercise must be:
EFFECTIVE / EFFICIENT & SAFE
If you get hurt while exercising you are defeating the purpose of exercise, and if you are doing so much and often that you have no energy to enjoy life, you are also defeating the purpose of exercise.
Exercise to be strong, lean, happy and productive with the least amount of suffering and time spent, improving your health in the process.
When it comes to your HEALTH don’t be soft about it, be INTENSE.
And remember, when we know better we do better. Critical thinking is a skill set that you can improve by practicing.
Marcelo Mesquita
Director of Intense Health clinic
