An Introduction to Functional Training

X5 Wellness Power Packs
Presented By Vishy Dadsetan, NSCA-CPT, CES, FNS
X5Wellness.com
An Introduction To Functional Training
Copyright © 2015 · x5wellness.com 1

There is a disconnect
between the way many
exercise and their day-to-day
movements.

Functional training bridges the gap by teaching the
forgotten and neglected ways of natural motions.

In this short slide series,
I’ll compare functional squats
that help your daily activities with
common dysfunctional squats.

Functional movement exercises are about performing
well in your daily activities following the anatomical
and physiological pathways of your body.

Since functional training is entirely dependent on
your day-to-day activities let’s look at two
examples you see below.

Example One
A Mother Squatting Down

Example Two
Squat Position In Volleyball

Now let's look at two versions
of a squat exercise.
A functional and a dysfunctional
one in relation to these examples.

Example One - Functional
A Version of Hindu Squat

Example Two - Dysfunctional
A Weighted Quarter Squat

Functional training must answer this question.
Which is a better match for the way the mother or volleyball
player squats.
Is it A (Hindu Squat) or B (Weighted Quarter Squat)?

To answer that question you
need to know about two
important factors.

What are two major differences
between a Hindu squat and the
way most people are taught to
do squats these days?

First – In a Hindu squat your knees
go way over your toes.
This is contrary to what is usually
taught which is to keep your knees
behind your toes.

Second – In a Hindu squat you squat all the way down.
In contrast to that, in a quarter or half squat your hips stay
above your knees.

In daily activities like the ones below, you squat fully and
your knees go over your toes.

Hindu squat is a better match for the volleyball player’s
squat to catch a ball as well as how the mother squats
down to talk to or lift her child.

How does practicing quarter squats and
half squats help our volleyball player and
the mother to squat all the way down?
The answer is it does not. Performing half
squats when you daily activity is full
squats, is an example of the disconnect
between an exercise and a daily activity.

Is then an exercise like a
Hindu squat the answer
to anyone who has to
squat all the way down?
Not by a long shot.

There is a precision in
functional training.
Hindu squat solution in this
case is close to an answer.
But close doesn’t count. It
can actually make things
worse.

Remember that functional exercises
are full body motions duplicating
full body engagement of a daily
activity.
Hindu squat is one motion and it has
many flaws.

Hindu squat is a symmetrical exercise with your weight
distributed evenly on both legs. In daily activities we
rarely squat evenly on both legs.

In Hindu squat both heels come off the ground. In daily
activities often at least on heel is touching the ground.

A Hindu squat fails to reach
the level of exercise precision
needed.
So what does?

Single leg shifting squat is
an effective answer.

Good luck trying to Google that or
find it on youtube.
That is the name I use for a very
specific movement pattern designed
for the examples I gave.
Other corrective exercise specialists
may have other names for what they
design.

Is that it?
Not really.

Age of the mother, how long ago
she gave birth, the gender of the
volleyball player, any previous injuries
or diseases, muscular imbalances,
anatomical and physiological
considerations are part of functional
exercise design.

This is were assessment and your
personal involvement enters the
picture.

At the end of your assessment with
your input, you’ll learn movement
patterns that have no name.
Or, they have strange names like single
leg shifting squat or elliptical squats.
These are complex multidimensional full body
movements customized to help you.

That’s yours truly, Vishy Dadsetan on a
family get together in San Diego,
California.
The sun was warm, the water was cool
and life was what it always is.
Complete and continuous.
To learn more about functional
training, visit the link below.
http://x5wellness.com/functional-training/

An Introduction to Functional Training

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