Functional fitness: common sense fitness strategies for lifelong well-being

American Fitness, March-April, 1996 by Robyn Lindner

Sport-specific training prepares the body for activities like skiing, golf, cycling or tennis. But what type of training prepares the body for daily living?

Functional fitness is everyday training for health, good posture and muscle balance. It includes enough cardiovascular and strength training to maintain a healthy body. It does not mean becoming a weight lifter or a marathon runner, but staying fit and healthy so you can lead a life free of injury or physical restrictions.

Functional fitness involves training all the muscles of the body. Muscle strengthening should be done a minimum of two days a week. Unconditioned people should do one exercise per muscle group (two or three sets of eight to 12 repetitions). Conditioned people should do two exercises per muscle group (two to three sets of eight to 12 repetitions). The muscle groups that should be worked are the chest, upper back, shoulders, arms, abdominals, low back, quadriceps, hamstrings, inner thighs, outer thighs and calves.

If doing a full-body workout in one session is time consuming, try splitting the body into two workouts. One workout might include chest, upper back, shoulders and abdominals while the other focuses on arms, abdominals, lower back and legs.

A Healthy Heart

Just as arm and leg muscles need to be trained, the heart muscle needs to be strengthened. Aerobic exercise trains the heart, lungs and circulatory systems to work more efficiently. Leg muscles are also conditioned by aerobic workouts. ideally, aerobic training should be done a minimum of three days a week for 20 minutes. It can be as simple as walking or riding a bike, or as challenging as jogging several miles.

For the most effective aerobic results, work in a standing, rather than sitting, position. Also, by using your arms (for example, swinging your arms as you walk or step), you'll work harder and increase your heart rate.

Posture

You should have enough strength to hold your body in proper alignment whether sitting, standing or moving. The spine should be kept in an erect, neutral position. The ears, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles should be stacked in a straight line. Although the spine is not perfectly straight, an over exaggeration of the spine, such as sway back or hunchback, creates severe muscle imbalance and physical stress. One cause of poor posture is spending extended periods sitting in a slouched position. Kyphosis, also known as hunchback (forward head and rounded shoulders), can result. This condition compresses internal organs and stresses the neck, shoulders and lower back.

To correct kyphosis, muscles in the mid back around the shoulder blades (the rhomboids, latissimus dorsi and trapezoids) have to be strengthened and chest muscles stretched. Strengthening shoulder muscles, specifically rear and mid deltoids, improves shoulder position so arms are forced further back decreasing the forward pull of the shoulders.

Another common postural problem is lordosis, better known as sway back or hyperextension of the lower back. It is due to shortened hip flexors and weak abdominal muscles. This posture is common among individuals who stand for long periods with all their weight on one leg or women who wear high heels. It stresses the low back and leg muscles which compensate for the misalignment. To correct lordosis, abdominal muscles and hamstrings need to be strengthened and low back and hip flexor muscles stretched.

A third common postural problem is the military posture in which the chest is overly elevated and abdominals are continuously stretched. To correct this posture, upper mid back, low back and hip flexors require stretching while chest, abdominals and hamstrings need strengthening.

In addition to strengthening and stretching muscles, awareness of posture while sitting and standing is important. When sitting, think about lifting the head, keeping the eyes forward and pulling in the chin slightly so the head and neck are lined up. Lift the chest up, pulling the shoulders back and slide the buttocks to the back of your chair so you don't slouch. When standing, in addition to the above, tighten the buttocks slightly and keep the hips, knees and heels aligned. Body weight should be centered over the feet.

Muscle Balancing

Often, certain muscle groups are trained while others are neglected. Men have a tendency to focus on chest and arms while women train abdominals, buttocks and thigh muscles. Each muscle has an opposing muscle which should be worked equally. Training one muscle group and not the other causes imbalances and muscular stress. The body is like a seesaw--there has to be equal weight on both sides or it will "tip." For example, strong chest muscles and weak back muscles will put stress on the back and misalign body posture. Certain muscle groups should be worked more intensely than others, due to size or number of muscles in the group.

Opposing muscle groups in the upper body are the chest and upper back; front, mid and rear shoulders; biceps and triceps, and low back and abdominals. The opposing muscle groups in the lower body are quadriceps and hamstrings and inner and outer thighs.