Functional Training vs. Heavy Weight Training
This is no stranger to most people’s vocabulary. We’ve all seen how
the strongmen in society lift the heaviest of weights with ease and
blow our minds away. This is an extraordinary act indeed, but when
will you ever do something that out of the ordinary in your daily
life?
Functional fitness is quite similar to weightlifting and bodybuilding
in various ways. You’ll get the body and appearance you want and most
likely more than those of a normal functional fitness routine. You’ll
also be able to lift amazingly heavy weights which is great, right?
Not in every case.
In the gym it might be a bragging right, or when you’re starting a
conversation about your hard core hobbies. When it comes to
working at home though, lifting a box off the floor might strain your
back painfully, even if it’s a light box.
As mentioned earlier, functional fitness works on your daily life,
making tasks you do each day easier and less of a hassle to perform.
Steadily, each chore becomes easier as you get better. Functional
fitness figuratively lightens the weights on your shoulders that were
placed there.
Weight lifters can easily lift weights off of their shoulders, but only
when they are in the proper position, with enough strength and
utilizing the right equipment. Those who weightlift obviously know
that there are protocols and conditions to be met when becoming
weightlifters. How to prop yourself with the equipment, how to
hold the bar of the dumbbell, and how to keep posture when
holding the weights airborne. These are all things you prepare to
do when weightlifting.
An easier way to think of it is so; when weight lifting with heavy
weight, you are essently working towards aesthetics. And there is
nothing wrong with that. We all want to look our best. When you’re
focusing on functional fitness, you’re focusing more on preparing yourself
for better health, mobility and the ability to handle daily activities with
ease. So when it comes to practicality, functional fitness carries more
weight.
Functional fitness targets if not all then most of the muscles you
use on a daily basis. By gradually strengthening them through a
series of exercises, they become more efficient and perform to
higher degree. When weightlifting, you only focus on strengthening
those muscles that will help you lift the heavy weights. This is fine
as long as you are only planning on using those muscles for heavy
lifting.
The primary issue when it comes to weightlifting is the way you’re
doing it. You’re either propped in a seated position or lying down,
a steady pose that isn’t going to harm the rest of your body. After
weightlifting for quite some time, weightlifters’ muscles will
become accustomed to this same pattern of movement in order to
be more efficient with their lifts. However, when it comes to any
other unconventional exercises out of their usual lifting patterns
(such as Bench Press, Squats and Deadlifts), they often struggle.
