6 reasons why functional is the hottest thing –

The name already says: the functional it was designed to make our body functions more efficient, such as balance, flexibility, power, motor coordination, agility and strength. “The objective is to improve the standard of execution of our movements in day-to-day tasks, in the gym and in sports”, says personal trainer Carlos Klein, columnist for and specialist in functional training. “They are excellent when we are born, but they deteriorate throughout life due to poor posture habits and a sedentary lifestyle”, he adds.

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The functional came to revolutionize the way you train. “Until recently, the culture of strength training focused on gaining muscle and burning calories, leaving aside the quality of movement”, observes Rafael Lund, personal trainer at Clínica Spaço Heloísa Rocha, in Rio de Janeiro, which unites the functional to other techniques for sculpting the body of clients such as Flávia Alessandra, Isis Valverde and Deborah Secco.

The main difference compared to traditional bodybuilding is working the muscles in an integrated way, not isolated – because that’s how they are required in real life. “In functional training, we use the fundamental patterns of human movement, such as pushing, pulling, crouching, turning and throwing”, reinforces Allan Menache, coach at Core 360º, the largest training company in functional training in the country. “The result is a balanced, strong (but not necessarily muscular) body, ready to face challenges and resistant to injuries”, he adds. Want to know what else functional can do for you? See below.

1. The belly is flat without suffering

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One of the pillars of functional training is strengthening the core, the body’s power center, which includes the muscles of the abdomen, hips and lower back and is responsible for stabilizing the spine. The functional balcony is to trigger this musculature in all exercises, not just the abs. As in the lunge, for example: to prevent the body from oscillating and the movement losing effect, the abdomen has to be activated. As in a trunk rotation movement: by contracting your belly, you prevent the hips from rotating, which would reduce the benefit of the exercise. Result: defined belly without you noticing.

2. You get firm muscles…

“Functional training works with free weights (barbells, dumbbells, balls, kettlebells) and body weight (as in push-ups and squats) to stimulate muscle mass gain,” explains Allan Menache. It might seem easier than using weight training equipment, but it’s not – how many women do you know who can complete multiple push-ups to perfection? Several functional strength exercises are familiar to anyone who has done bodybuilding, such as squats, bench presses and rows. But there are also those that are great for working on power, such as snatches and throws. “The main idea is to train movements and muscle chains, not isolated muscles”, clarifies Rafael Lund.

3. …and wipes away fat

“Throwing, suspension and squat exercises recruit several muscles at the same time and the greater the muscle mobilization, the greater the caloric expenditure”, says Rafael Lund. A functional session spends up to 1000 calories, according to Allan Menache. “The program can be created with a focus on fat loss, involving interval training and circuits interspersing resistance exercises (with weights and elastic bands) and aerobic stimuli such as jumping or moving”, he suggests. The most recent studies, by the way, show that the most efficient method to burn fat is high-intensity interval training. “You burn more calories doing 20 minutes of running interspersed with bursts at maximum speed and rest periods than running 40 minutes at a constant moderate pace”, says Carlos Klein.

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4. The body becomes strong and feminine

After improving physical conditioning and reestablishing a good pattern of movement in physical activity and daily tasks, come the aesthetic benefits: muscles worked harmoniously and many calories burned. “If you can perform the exercises perfectly, you will train better, longer and with more intensity. So, of course, the result in the mirror will be better”, points out Carlos Klein.

5. No risk of boredom

Knowing how to use the proper accessories for the functional, the monotony goes away from the classes, because the possibilities of exercises are so many that it is possible to do a workout that is always different from the other and, even so, exercise the whole body efficiently.

6. Danger of injury falls

As the focus of functional training is to work the muscles globally, the danger of overloading one or another part of the body and injuring yourself is less. However, as in any physical activity, the ideal thing is to count on the guidance of a trained professional for the modality, to concentrate twice as much on the movements and respect the limits of your body while exercising.