Functional fitness helps provide you with the strength, stability and mobility you need to thrive in your life. Functional fitness trains your body, in the correct posture, and relies on natural body movements such as push, pull, squats, lunges and twists to create a body that moves with ease for activities performed in daily life. Functional fitness makes it easier to reach out for or lift things, bend over, crouch down and do any exercise.
So many people who exercise a lot, and feel cardio fit, aren't necessarily strong and balanced in their bodies.
- So they may be unstable and 'tweak' things often,
- or find that their back hurts as they have focused on toning their abs without building core strength,
- or they may have 'buns of steel' but constant hamstring issues.
One of our clients told this story:
"I was dating a weightlifter who went to the gym daily, was over 6 ft and built like a tank, but struggled to lift me up. My lanky brother who worked as an arborist was roughhousing, and effortlessly threw me in the air three times, laughing! That's when I understood the difference between functional fitness and strength - and show-pony bulking and shaping."
Functional fitness exercises
Every Suna Pilates class employs functional fitness exercises to train the body to use the right muscles in the correct sequence for daily life. Every movement we make is initiated by the core and then the smaller muscle groups support the larger ones to maintain balance all the time.
By building strength within the correct posture, we create balance throughout the body so the body becomes just as strong and flexible as it needs to be, improving function and decreasing pain.
The combination of functional movements, correct posture and breathing improves the mind-body connection and does not put any strain on joints, muscles or organs but rather decreases the load on the these areas to reduce pain throughout the body.
We give you different levels of variation to choose from so that the exercises are customized to meet your individual needs and abilities so that you get the strength you need.
Life is better with a fit and functioning body!
Functional fitness improves strength and mobility - essential at any age, regardless of whether you are clubbing, lifting toddlers or golfing - and your body will be more balanced which decreases the chance of falls, which is especially crucial as we age.
Life varies day to day and it's a wonderful feeling to know that your body is supple, balanced, strong and resilient - ready to deal with the next challenge.