What are the benefits of functional fitness training? Plus 5 favorite exercises

Joanna Kriehn, MS, RDN, CDCES - Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES)

Functional fitness training benefits your strength in real-life, practical ways. Read on to learn about the specific benefits of functional training, along with our favorite 5 exercises to incorporate into your weekly routine.

What is functional training and what are its benefits for my everyday life?

Functional training exercises are important for improving strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination by mimicking exercises you likely perform daily. If you don't love working out but want to maintain function to do the things you love, consider functional training exercises.

What is the difference between functional training and traditional weight training?

Unlike weight training, which focuses on increasing muscle size and strength, functional training emphasizes movement patterns that improve how your body moves in real life.

Many people enjoy functional fitness training because it doesn’t feel like a workout in the same way as using weight machines at the gym. Plus, functional training workouts can be completed in the comfort of your own home, without fighting traffic or navigating a crowded gym.

Our 5 favorite functional training exercises and their benefits

1. Glute bridge

Benefits:

Targets lower body
Strengthens glutes, which is important for placing less strain on your lower back
Engages core and hamstring muscles
Engages your hips in extension, or the action of driving your hips forward
Foundation for more complex movements such as squats and lunges.

How this move translates into your everyday life: Helps reverse all the sitting we do. Makes climbing stairs, lifting heavy objects, and standing for longer periods of time easier.

2. Lunges

Benefits:

Targets lower body strength
Builds strength and improves balance and stability.

Tip: For added intensity use hand weights or jump at the top of each movement.

How this move translates into your everyday life: Makes going up stairs, getting up and out of a chair, and lifting heavy objects easier.

3. Squats

Benefits:

Targets lower body, specifically the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and core muscles
Helps improve balance and build strength.

Tip: Hold a kettlebell when squatting for added intensity.

How this move translates into your everyday life: Makes it easier to use your standing desk all day, get up off the floor, get out of a car and improves overall injury prevention.

4. Step-ups

Benefits:

Targets lower body, specifically quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves
Improves balance by training one leg at a time.

Tip: Use hand weights to increase intensity.

How this move translates into everyday life: Makes it easier to climb stairs or lift heavier objects.

5. Plank

Benefits:

Targets upper body, core, and lower body, specifically abs, shoulders, back, glutes, and legs
Helps you build core strength by teaching your body how to brace your core.

How this move translates into everyday life: This exercise translates into better muscular recruitment during athletics and everyday tasks, such as loading heavy groceries into your car. It reduces back pain by engaging deep core muscles and improving posture.

Take your fitness training to the next level

For a full-body workout that incorporates our 5 favorite exercises, check out this on-demand workout video.

Kaleigh Cohn Full Body Strength Workout

A 30-minute workout that focuses on strength, stability, and coordination. It includes 25 different exercises and offers 45 seconds on, 20 seconds off. Suggested weights 10-20#, though listen to your body and adjust as needed.

Track your functional training exercises in MyNetDiary

Track the minutes of each functional training exercise by tapping on "Exercise" from your dashboard. Next, search by exercise title such as “lunge” or “body weight resistance exercises.” Select the number of active minutes in your workout. Add notes like difficulty or adjustments. Over time, the exercises should feel easier.

Functional training exercises are simple moves with big benefits that you can incorporate into your current weekly routines. By strengthening your muscles in natural movement patterns, daily activities will become easier, you’ll improve balance, and you may avoid injury without needing complicated equipment or gym routines.

What are the benefits of functional fitness training? Plus 5 favorite exercises

What is functional training and what are its benefits for my everyday life?

What is the difference between functional training and traditional weight training?