Compound Functional Personal Training Exercises
As sociable creatures, your muscles play well with others, and prefer the teamwork approach to getting the job done. What we call "coordination" results from this amicable cooperation. Compound exercises, which engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously, enhance coordination and functionality in sport performance and daily living activities. When designing your workout, your personal trainer might ask questions about your lifestyle and athletic preferences. This information helps her create suitable programs for your functional movement needs.
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The Dynamics of Function
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You didn't learn to crawl and walk by performing leg curls, leg extensions and crunches. Instead, you experimented with different movement patterns, which your brain photographed and stored in its memory. Movement scientists refer to this as the dynamic pattern theory of motor learning. Your body learns efficient locomotion by sequencing and organizing the components of the movement, explains physical therapist John P. Scholz, author of a study on this subject. This theory forms the basis for any type of compound functional movement training.
Dynamic Correspondance
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Dr. Yuri Verkhoshansky developed the dynamic correspondence theory. Similar to the dynamic pattern theory, it states that training tasks should be specific to the sport. This specificity encompasses the direction of movement, either linear or rotational, the region of the body where force production begins, force production speed and force production intensity. Personal trainers who design sport-specific programs must analyze these aspects of the individual activity. The exercise programs of rotational athletes, such as tennis players, golfers and baseball players, therefore differ from those of linear athletes, such as runners.
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Sport-Specific Movements
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Since skiing movements initiate in the feet and ankles, ski-specific squat sequences might utilize a balance disc, and begin by tipping your feet. This typical edging movement helps you balance on the big toe of one foot and the little toe of the other. The sequence speed depends on whether you're a racer or recreational skier. Terrain choices dictate intensity, with mogul skiers requiring additional resistance. Although skiers must minimize upper body rotation, golfers and tennis players thrive on it. Personal trainers might use wood-chopping exercises to train these athletes. Performed with medicine balls or cable equipment, these exercises promote full-body rotational movement.
Functional Lifting
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When you lift a heavy object from the floor and place it on an overhead shelf, a team of muscles respond to the task. Your hamstrings, quads and glutes bend and extend your legs; your deep core muscles protect your back; and your biceps, triceps, shoulder and upper back muscles perform the lift. Eliminate the knee bend and the bracing of your core, and your back suffers the consequences. Train exclusively with upper body isolation exercises like the biceps curl, and you're probably too weak for safe and efficient lifting. If your job requires constant lifting of heavy objects, your personal trainer might design activity-specific compound functional movement exercises.
Compound Functional Lifting Exercise
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A typical functional pattern might involve holding a set of weights or a barbell with both hands. Brace your core by contracting your abs and glutes, and perform a squat. Perform a biceps curl as you straighten your legs and return to an upright position. Next, straighten your arms into an overhead press, as if you were placing something on a shelf. Then, bend your arms, lower your elbows toward your waist, as if you were lifting another object from the shelf. Finish by straightening your arms toward the floor and performing another squat. Perform only as many reps you can do in perfect form. Sacrificing quality for quantity trains your brain to memorize unsafe movement patterns.
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References
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