You use your neuromuscular system every time you move. It enables you to feel movement, maintain balance and flex your muscles. It also enables you to make movements without having to think about them. Functional conditioning can increase neuromuscular control, improve everyday body functions and overall fitness, and help with rehabilitation after a sports injury.
Fundamentals
The fundamentals of neuromuscular control involve proprioception and kinesthesia. Proprioception is the awareness of how and where your body is positioned. For example, you can tell that your arm is raised above your head even if your eyes are closed. Kinesthesia refers to your perception of active movement, such as flexibility and balance. An inner ear infection might affect your kinetic ability.
Criteria
Functional conditioning exercises can help improve neuromuscular control. According to physical therapist and trainer Gary Gray, such exercises must meet four specific criteria. They must include movement through the three planes of motion: the frontal, or sideways and vertical movement; the transverse, which is rotational movement; and the sagittal, or forward and backward movement. The exercises must develop muscle memory so that movements become automatic, such as swinging a tennis racket or baseball bat. They must also condition the body to make movements fluid and balanced as well as improving agility, strength and endurance.
Functional Exercises
Functional exercises can also be performed with resistance bands, exercise balls and free weights. Increase neuromuscular control by repeating functional exercises. As the movements are repeated, your awareness of your body's position and its movement becomes fine-tuned to such as degree that the movement becomes automatic. For athletes and fitness enthusiasts, functional training can improve the body's overall conditioning, increase kinetic awareness, tone muscles and improve balance.
Lunge Matrix
The lunge matrix, a set of three different lunges, utilizes all three planes of movement. It can help to improve neuromuscular control. The first movement is a standard forward lunge in which you take a step forward with one foot and squat down until your other knee is almost touching the floor, then step back to the starting position. For the lateral lunge, you will step to the side and bend the knee of the stepping leg, then return to the starting position. The transverse lunge is the same as the forward lunge, with an added twist to the side from the waist.
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