Functional Fitness

from 85085 Magazine - September 2020

Staying Safe

Functional Fitness

Exercise increases confi dence and health By Dr. Brian Hester

Winston Churchill once famously stated that “Americans always do the right thing—after they’ve tried everything else.” For those of us who work in preventative care, it has been painfully obvious for quite some time now that we’ve tried “everything else” in regard to our health and wellness. Th at approach has most notably gotten us to two distinct places: sicker and near the brink of bankruptcy.

Th is statement is founded in the fact that, as a country, we spend nearly $2.3 trillion, (yes, trillion with a “T”) on health care annually, which is leaps and bounds ahead of any other country, yet according to the World Health Organization, U.S. health care ranks 37th among other nations. We prevent the issue from happening in the spend twice the amount on health care per fi rst place. Literally about 75% of current capita as European countries, yet we are health care costs can be accounted for by twice as sick with chronic diseases. the big fi ve: breast cancer, diabetes, heart

Why are these numbers so imbalanced? disease, prostate cancer and obesity. And Th e problem can largely be attributed to the what’s maddening about these statistics fact that nearly 100% of every dollar allotis the fact that all fi ve of these are largely ted toward health care is spent on treating preventable and, in a lot of cases, reversible the current issue as opposed to trying to given some pointed and intentional lifestyle changes in terms of diet and exercise. Now, I do not claim to know how to fi x the problem; however, being a fi tness professional throughout the last decade, I have seen some pretty great results along the way simply by instilling in people the importance of making healthy deposits. Because, let’s be honest, everything is important. Th at is, until you are sick, that’s when you realize there was only ever one thing that was important: your health. But nonetheless, so many of us borrow from the bank of our health, taking loans on stress and sleepless nights to pay for something that, at the end of the day, doesn’t matter. And for quite a few individuals, it takes a decline in health to realize what actually matters the most. So, what does “making healthy deposits” mean? Aside from taking a good hard look at what you are consuming (including but not limited to food), today we are going to chat a little bit more about functional fi tness. No, it’s not the newest “here today,

gone tomorrow” trend; it’s a way to train that teaches you how to move properly outside of the gym using exercises inside the gym. It’s learning how to properly move that couch you don’t want to move. It’s learning how to put luggage in the overhead compartment without throwing out your back or dislocating your shoulder. It’s the act of engaging in everyday movements properly.

Th e foundational movements we’re going to get into are universal; however, depending on where you train or who you train with, there will probably be variations in lingo that’s used as well as diff erent levels of importance placed on each movement. Technically, there are seven foundational movements: squat, lunge, push, pull, hinge, twist and walk. For the sake of simplicity, I am going to put them in three main categories and expand from there. • Squats (which includes lunging). • Floor lift s (oft en referred to as a “pull,” helps us engage in hinging). • Overhead lifts (often referred to as a “push”).

Squats! In my professional opinion, squats are one of, if not the most important functional move there ever was. A squat, even though typically seen incorporated on leg days, does a fantastic job of utilizing nearly every muscle in your body and becomes increasingly important as we age.

Th rough the aging process, we gradually lose our ability to stand unassisted, it becomes harder and harder to pick things up off the fl oor, and our own body weight can be diffi cult to carry around freely. To maintain our quality of life as we age, we need to focus on strengthening our hips, glutes, quads, hamstrings, core and low back as well as ensure close to a full range of motion, and squats help us do this.

Pressing movements such as an overhead lift allow you to bring objects up overhead in a safe and effi cient way. Similarly to a squat, overhead movements also do a great job of recruiting more muscles than just your arms and shoulders. To protect your low back while sustaining said load overhead, your core, glutes, quads and hamstrings need to be engaged as well. Shoulder injuries are nearly as prominent as low-back injuries, so the importance of not only strengthening the muscles involved with pressing movements but doing them properly is integral to your overall health and wellness and quality of life.

Lastly, we have fl oor lift s, commonly referred to as pulls. You can think of this in terms of a deadlift or, as I previously mentioned, moving a couch. Th ese types of movements do a great job of strengthening your posterior chain as well as incorporating hinge movements, which help strengthen your hips and hip fl exors. Low-back pain costs Americans at least $50 billion in health care costs each year; add to that lost wages, as it’s also one of the most-common reasons people miss work, and that fi gure easily doubles. Knowing this, it’s incredibly important to engage

in activities (such as functional fi tness) to strengthen your low back and the surrounding musculature so you don’t fall victim to simply being another statistic.

Beyond the clear health benefi ts, learning and being able to perform each of these foundational movements allows you to feel more confi dent in your everyday life as well as expand on these and learn other important and fun movements to incorporate into your day-to-day routine.