4 Awesome Isawall Functional Fitness Exercises To Improve Your Daily Performance
Working out and fitness in general can often center on looking and feeling your best. In recent years a greater focus has also come to be placed on exercises that serve specific purposes. Functional Fitness is a term that refers to training for activities. Very often it is used to refer to exercises that help a person be able to perform everyday activities. It also can be used however to refer to sport specific training. In other words, functional fitness exercises serve a specific function toward improving the performance of various movements.
Training on resistance machines and working out with free weights is a great way to target specific muscles and specific muscle groups. It is however very unlikely that in daily activities or sports single muscles or single muscle groups are used. Rather, numerous muscles are usually pulled in together to maximize movement efficiency and perform a task optimally. These movements are done in a dynamic fashion, whereby the body is moving in multiple planes of motion with twisting, reaching, extension, and stepping all occurring simultaneously in many instances. For this reason, functional training can and should be done by virtually everyone.
Isawall provides a unique apparatus to engage in functional exercises. Through the use of bodyweight exercises and resistance bands, we can engage the body in dynamic movements that simulate daily tasks and sports related activity in a way that traditional workout equipment does not. The resistance levels of bands can be adjusted, and the difficulty of bodyweight exercises altered, so that nearly anyone can do them. Isawall also offers a unique ability to adjust for varying heights of users.
The following are just a few awesome functional exercises that can be done on Isawall:
Body Squat Using TRX
Using the TRX for body squats has a few advantages. First, most people will be able to go deeper on this type of squat than a standard squat, due to the fact they are being supported by the TRX as they go down. Secondly, many people with anterior (front) knee pain can do TRX squats pain free. This is due to the fact the knees stay far behind the front of the feet during the descent and ascent, taking force away from the front of the knees.
Those who have the skill and ability can even do TRX squats one leg at a time; holding the other leg up throughout the exercise. The TRX squat can also be combined with a row, so that as you come up out of the squat you pull your body forward with your arms. These two movements combined are great for increasing strength in the back, biceps, forearms, and numerous leg muscles.
Woodchoppers and Reverse Woodchoppers
These exercises are great for building up numerous muscles throughout the core. While crunches and other core exercises are great, woodchoppers really simulate the everyday action of lifting and moving in the transverse plane, which requires rotation at the torso. Whether moving boxes in your basement, picking up your child to put on a swing, or training for a sport such as tennis or baseball, reverse woodchoppers on Isawall are ideal.
Squat To Row
The Squat to Row exercise utilizing resistance bands is a great exercise that pulls in a lot of different muscles. This exercise is similar to the TRX squat with a row combined, however the resistance bands do change the movement noticeably. You will have to have a bit more control in your squat, as you cannot rely on the resistance bands to lean backwards as you go down in the movement. Also, as you begin the upward motion out of the squat, the bands give greater resistance the further you pull them during the rowing motion. This is actually the opposite effect of the TRX squat to row. Both are great, and will challenge your body in different ways.
Step Up To Overhead Band Press
The Step-up to Overhead Band Press is a highly functional exercise that incorporates two movements nearly everyone does daily into one exercise. In addition to working various muscles of the legs during the step up motion, you are forced to work balance as you raise one leg up off the ground. Additionally, muscles throughout the shoulder are forced to work as you raise the resistance band up and slightly forward. The body also uses core muscles to account for imbalance and the resistance from the band pulling on the body.
This exercise has all sorts of daily applications, as well as sports related similarities. Think of how many times you have to step up throughout the day. How many sports require some sort of overhead movement while balancing on one leg? This great exercise can benefit both the average Joe and the sports athlete to see greater performance and functionality all around.
Functional And Practical
Functional exercises offer benefits to all sorts of people. Whether you are a weekend warrior, a young athlete, or a senior looking to improve abilities for daily living, these great exercises on Isawall can help you improve your physical performance. Talk with one of our team members about how Isawall can help you reach your personal fitness goals.
Paul Owens is a personal trainer in the Cleveland area. He is a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and the National Council on Strength and fitness. He is also a Corrective Exercise Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He can be reached at http://www.clevelandpersonaltraining.com
