Howdy folks.
Last week’s issue featured an article by John Davies titled “The Top Nine Exercises for Functional Strength.”
I am a huge fan of functional training and am eager to try Davies’ suggestions but would like to know more about their safety.
Can anyone point me to a place where I can read about how safe they are or about how to perform them safely?
Thanks for your time.
All functional training is designed to prepare your body for stress you may encounter in everyday life. How safe is the job of a laborer, construction worker or anyone else who needs real life strength? Just like a normal sedentary person who suddenly does too much physical labor you could hurt yourself if you’re deconditioned or if you try to progress too quickly but the exercises mimick and prepare your body for real life movements. You should start off light and get a feel for the movements. In the long run you will be able to perform practically any movement with more safety as these exercises will condition your body to protect itself.
I think you will find a underlying theme within “functional training” that will help you reduce injury factors in real-life situation. Be careful to learn the movements and perform properly. I look forward to assisting. In faith, Coach Davies
Coach, along this line, do you have any recommendations regarding rehabilitation? I’ve not trained legs for quite a while due to a pulled left hamstring (doing squats, hurting myself, and trying to “tough it out”). Lately, my right knee is somewhat painful as well (although it seems to be getting better). I can walk briskly 'til the cows come home, and that’s no problem. Running, squats, etc., I pay for the next day. Any advise is appreciated (BTW, I’ll be going to an ART specialist fairly soon for their opinion - found out about them on a different forum thread). Thanks.