Functional Fitness For The Female Athlete!
As I had mentioned in a prior post, I put together a one day workshop called “Functional Fitness For The Female Athlete.” Here’s the vid for the first annual event held 9/26/09 and put on by yours truly and coach John “Sully” Sullivan at Excel Sports and Fitness in Waltham MA. The day was broken down into four circuits, with 3-4 exercises per circuit. Depending on rest periods, loads, and other variables, some circuits stressed less intensity/aerobic capacity, while others stressed higher intensity/power or endurance. The day was designed to give a spectrum of intensities and “functional” experiences.
Exercises (some covered in the vid, some not…) such as Prowler push sled, grappler press, sledgehammer tire smash, handled medball squat thrusts, sand bag front squats, backward sled drag, downward medball smash, hand over hand thick rope pull, and others, were utilized.
For general conditioning (e.g., GPP), fat loss, improving work capacity, etc, this type of training can’t be beat. It can also be incorporated into a program for specific athletes with specific goals.
This type of training is not just for “fitness buffs” or cross-training gods, but very appropriate for power lifters, fitness/figure, MMA athletes, sprinters, and others. For example, an excellent article on the importance of General physical preparedness (GPP) for strength athletes by one of the most successful power lifting/S&C coaches on the planet, Louie Simmons.
Exactly how this type of training should be utilized depends on the goals, the person, and other variables, and must be specific to the athlete in question. Regardless, be you a general fitness buff looking to shape up, or a world class level athlete in your sport, understanding the value of functional training and GPP, can potentially take you to another level in your quest…
If you would like to be part of the next Functional Fitness Day for Female Athletes, sign up to my blog, and you will get notified about that, as well as updates to new articles, etc.
See you in the gym!
Will Brink
Chris
craig
David
Davis Virani
Earle
Ettore
Joel
Leo Nunez
Linda
I have checked out a few of your posts and found some great information, just wanted to say thanks there is so much garbage out there, it’s nice to know some people still put time into managing there sites.
Taking the stairs and not the elevator is functional too isnt it? I always make a point of parking my car FAR away from the entrance to shopping centers.. and walk and push my trolley! Having an exercise ball at home also makes for good core training exercises.