Sign in or 
Share this
#26 Find your inner caveman
February
Mid February is a strange time. Strange not in the sense that it's unlike any other time of year, but strange in that it's neither the start of February nor the end, but somewhere in between.
I've always thought of February as a strange limbo period between January and March - not enough days in it to be considered a real month, as such, but more the retarded offspring of the solar calendar.
It's meant to be summer but really, we had summer last winter and all February's delivered is a poor excuse for Spring.
So, I propose we bring some sense back into the month of February and demand that it have at least 30 days (do I hear 31?) and start behaving like a summer month.
Have you ever noticed that summer has the least days in it of any season – which idiot did that?
While we are bringing reality back into February, how about bringing some reality back into your training?
If that was all a bit cryptic and you are wondering if I have lost the plot I apologise…you are probably right but let me try to explain.
Functional Training
When cavemen (or cavepeople for the politically correct out there) roamed the earth, they kept their bodies in shape by chasing dinosaurs…then running away from dinosaurs…then lifting and throwing heavy rocks at dinosaurs (they didn’t have the wheel yet remember so they had to lift things and walk everywhere).
These were all functional movements i.e. they were training the body for what it needed to be able to perform in real life. They were definitely not pumping iron in order to get women…that was what clubs were for (and I don’t mean night clubs).
Then somewhere along the path of evolution, humans lost sight of functional training and started doing things like using machines with a fixed range of motion to lift heavy weights, and walking on moving platforms (lets call this the Schwarzenegger Period).
Now don’t get me wrong, using machines to lift weights and treadmills to run on does build and tone muscle so that you can end up with a body like Arnie or Jessica Alba <or insert the star with the body you want here>.
But it also means that hidden muscles that you use to stabilize yourself whilst performing the same movement in real life get lazy. When these muscles (such as the core abdominal muscles) get lazy you leave yourself more open to the possibility of injury when performing real life movements, such as lifting up the kids, or running on uneven ground.
To overcome this there has been a strong trend over the past 5 years or so towards functional training, which attempts to adapt or develop exercises which allow you to perform the activities of daily life more easily and without injuries. This type of training evolved out of rehabilitation training conducted by physiotherapists.
Now I am not going to talk you through a functional training program because it is different for different people, depending on the types of movement you need to be able to perform in daily life or your chosen sport. If you would like a program, go see a fitness instructor/personal trainer. I have been keeping an eye on the ones at my gym lately and it appears that everyone of them has been drilled into functional training, which is good to see.
What I will recommend however, is next time you train thinking about whether or not the exercise you are performing is similar to how you might need to perform it in real life i.e. yes, doing a sit up will help you get up and out of bed, but no, using a treadmill to run will not make the pavement move for you. Well that is enough about functional training.
Other interesting fitness stuff I have come across
Following on from last months tip on music and training, I came across this Nike site which has links to download Australia’s most respected distance runner Craig Mottram’s training albums on iTunes. Craig talks you through a run workout over some pretty good tracks, which should help push you harder and faster.
And I just had to have a laugh when I saw this next one. It is called Fit 2 Date, and it is a four week group training program at various suburbs in Sydney, where you train with 15 other singles, 8 male and 8 female. The site says “At best you may meet your future partner…at worst you gain new friends and improve your fitness”. Fortunately I guess if you do meet someone by the end of this program you will be fit enough to date them.
Before I go, I would be remiss to not remind you of the most recent government health warning: DO NOT SWALLOW BUBBLE GUM
Til next month
Chris
Home
Next tip
malonchr |
Latest page update: made by malonchr
, Nov 5 2008, 3:01 AM EST
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by malonchr
7 words added view changes - complete history) |
|
Keyword tags:
functional exercise
Functional training
More Info: links to this page
|
There are no threads for this page.
Be the first to start a new thread.
