Functional training is more efficient than bodybuilding

Functional training is considered the future of physical exercise. In some countries it has already replaced the combination "bodybuilding and aerobic activity". In Brazil, it is being introduced gradually in the academies, but, where it arrives, it makes success. "The training is more fun, more playful and less boring than the conventional, and the results appear much faster," said the coach of Core 360º, one of the functional techniques Rodrigo Assi .

In this method, the weight of the body itself is the main equipment. But some accessories, among them elastics, balls and balance discs are also used. "The important thing is that you do not practice localized exercises, but movement patterns such as pulling, pushing, throwing, squatting and lifting and trunk. Doing a task, instead of a series of bodybuilding, involves a lot more muscles," says the specialist.

Functional training is more efficient than bodybuilding and aerobic exercise - Photo: Getty Images

This is why functional training is known to improve the performance of everyday activities. Some examples are taking a heavy suitcase off the floor and placing it on top of a closet, lowering it to pick up an object under the bed, and picking up an extra chair and taking it to the table.

This happens, explains Assi, because the trainings functionally move all regions of the body in an integrated way, while conventional exercises work some parts in isolation. "In this way, you gain strength, balance, speed, endurance, agility, power, mobility and flexibility, that is, a smarter body develops."

Besides muscle work, there is the aerobic part, which can be done with circuits in which the student runs, jumps on a trampoline, jumps an obstacle, deviates from cones.

Functional training is more efficient than bodybuilding and aerobic exercise - Photo: Getty Images

Average expenditure in one hour of class is 800 calories. Running during the same time, it spends about 700 calories. "This also depends on each individual and his level of physical conditioning," points out Assi.

Another differential is injury prevention. Some of the functional exercises are performed slowly so that you are aware of how each movement works. Others in a quick and abrupt manner, where externally created instability causes unconscious responses or reflexes. When the integrity of some joint or ligament is put at risk, the mechanism developed with these two opposite opposites is triggered involuntarily, such as when we step on in a hole and several muscles are contracted trying to prevent the ankle from being injured.

Formerly indicated only for athletes, because it is considered a high-effort exercise, today functional training can be practiced by all people, regardless of age and sex. According to the professor, the method covers all levels of fitness, from rehabilitation of injuries to athletic development. What changes is the intensity of the lesson.

The frequency considered ideal is three times a week. But Assi remembers that the number of sessions varies from person to person. "It depends on what is best for the practitioner, according to his goals, his physical conditions and his limitations, as in every exercise, individuality must be respected."

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