When does exercise stop
being fun? When it becomes a
necessity? As you get older doing curls
with hand weights to build bicep muscles may not be enough. You need more than strong biceps for everyday
lifting. People familiar with strength-training
are now learning about a new approach to exercise called functional fitness.
Functional fitness programs train the body to do real-life activities in
real-life positions. It is more a matter
of teaching muscles to work together and the focus is on the movements, not
just the muscles. An example might be
for a new mom to do bend and lift exercises for lifting her baby or a senior
doing squats to make getting in and out of a chair easier. It is a back to basics approach where you learn
how to control your own body weight before thinking about adding fancy
equipment.
You all have muscles but may
have forgotten how to use them. Forget
about thumping music, “no pain no gain”, or” going for the burn”
philosophies. Functional fitness is more
important. It is a blend of yoga,
Pilates and physical therapy as it focuses on everyday tasks such as balancing,
getting out of a chair and picking up dropped objects.
Oversized rubber bands and
springy metal rings are the equipments of choice. Strong thighs are the key. If you can use your thighs rather than your
back or knees you can do marvelous things.
It may not be a much fun as those fancy hip hop programs but functional
exercise is going to teach you how take care of yourselves and remain active.
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