The upper extremities consist of the shoulders, arms and hands. Through the course of a day, you move these parts of your anatomy multiple times when performing tasks. This is the same case with sports like football, basketball and baseball. Functional strength training applies to these actions because it is based around movement patterns instead of working individual muscle groups. By improving your functional upper-extremity strength, you will be able to perform activity demands with more efficiency.
Step 1
Focus on movements that work multiple muscles. A biceps curl singles out one muscle on the front of the upper arm and is not the best choice for functional strength. Perform exercises instead that involve movement patterns through multiple planes. This is more specific to sport activities and daily life. Include exercises like pushups, dips, bent over rows and alternating shoulder presses. These exercises are all compound, which means they work more than one muscle at a time.
Step 2
Execute proper form with your exercises. Proper form is especially important with functional training because you are performing multiple movements through a range of motion. Focus hard on obtaining good postural alignment and body mechanics throughout. Take alternating shoulder presses, for example. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold dumbbells right above your shoulders with your palms facing forward. Push the dumbbell in your right hand up until your arm is fully extended and hold for a second. Lower the weight down as you simultaneously lift the weight in your left hand. Continue to alternate back and forth in a steady motion. Keep your abs tight and back straight throughout.
Step 3
Include plyometrics in your workouts. Plyometrics involve fast, explosive movements that simulate sport-specific activity. Incorporate a medicine ball into these exercises for more variation. Perform overhead medicine ball throws, medicine ball chest passes, alternating medicine ball pushups and medicine ball slams.
Step 4
Perform high reps for the best results. The idea with functional training is to do multiple muscle contractions over a long span of time. This is called muscular endurance. Aim for a minimum of 12 reps with each of your exercises and do four or five sets.
Step 5
Train regularly to obtain the best results, but do not overdo it. Muscles need time to recover to become stronger. Being that you are performing functional movements, it is even more important to not overtrain your body. Take at least one day off between your workouts. Feel free to do flexibility work or cardio on your off days. This will improve your range of motion with functional exercises and give you more lung capacity to meet high rep ranges.
Member Comments