5 Functional Strength Training Exercises You Should Be Doing

Doing exercises is a great way to keep the body healthy and strong. It can also help you get stronger, increase your endurance, and improve your performance in sports.

While there are many types of workouts that can help you reach those goals, one of the best ways to work out is with strength training exercises. Strength training involves using resistance (like weight) to build up muscle and improve overall fitness.

It's something anyone can do at home or at the gym. In this article, we'll go over a few common strength training moves that will strengthen your body and are easy enough for beginners.

Functional Strength Training Exercises

Here's a look at five such exercises:

1) Single-leg Deadlift

It's an excellent exercise to strengthen the lower back and support muscles, which can help prevent injuries.

It also engages the thigh muscles, glutes, and hamstrings to help you build a strong foundation for everyday activities, like walking up stairs or getting out of a chair.

The single-leg deadlift is done as follows:

Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and toes facing forward or slightly outwards (not turned in). The wider stance will target more muscle fibers in the lower body while turning the foot inward targets more fibers around the ankle joint. So it’s best not to do both variations at once unless you're working on strengthening these areas separately from each other.
Lift up one foot off of the floor by bending that knee so that only one foot remains grounded while keeping both knees bent throughout this entire exercise.
You may need someone else’s help with this step at first so that they can hold onto your free arm till you get enough balance). Your arms should be fully extended out in front of you; keep them straight, but don’t lock them into place.

2) Push Press

It's done as follows:

Start with a barbell on the floor, or use dumbbells.
Lower down, and push up while keeping your elbows close to your body and hands at shoulder height. Think of it as a half squat before you push the weight up.
Keep your back straight while you lift the weight off the ground, and lower it back to the starting position after doing ten or so reps.

3) Overhead Squat

It's a great exercise to help improve your squat form while also working on shoulder strength and mobility.

The overhead squat is done as follows:

Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell over your head with straight arms.
Squat down till your thighs are parallel to the ground, and stand back up.
Repeat for 8-12 reps per set three times per week.
If you're new to the exercise, start by only performing one set of five repetitions each workout session till you've mastered it before increasing your sets or repetitions as needed.

4) Lateral Lunge to Jump

Lateral lunges are a great way to work the glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps. They also help build lateral stability, which is important for everything from sports injury prevention to everyday activities like walking up and down stairs or balancing on one leg.

To perform this exercise:

Stand with feet hip-width apart, and hold dumbbells in each hand.
Keep the chest lifted and shoulders back as you bend both knees.
Keeping your torso upright throughout the movement, step sideways into a lunge with your left foot.
Push through both feet to return to the starting position.
Repeat 8–10 times on each side of the body before repeating the sequence two more times for 12 reps per set.

5) Kettlebell Swing

The kettlebell swing is a great exercise to build strength in the posterior chain, which includes the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back.

The basic movement is done as follows:

Swing the kettlebell between your legs.
Bring it up between your legs, andraise it up to chest height before bringing it back down between your legs again.
Do that for ten reps — it should feel like a light weight when you perform them correctly.
This exercise is also excellent when done standing on one foot or while one foot is elevated on a step.

Takeaway

So, there you have it — five strength training workouts that can help you build your functional fitness. Whether you’re looking to improve your overall strength or just want to feel better in everyday life, these moves will take you there. You can start with any of these moves and build from there.