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Fitness is more than just going to the gym and doing the same exercises over and over again.
If you want to improve your overall strength, you need to work on your functional strength. Functional strength means being able to carry out everyday tasks with ease — whether that's picking up heavy objects or climbing stairs.
How To Improve Functional Strength
Balance is important for all sports and activities. It's essential to keep your body stable and able to react quickly, whether you're playing baseball or doing yoga.
On that note, here's a look seven easy ways you can improve your functional strength at home or in the gym:
#1 Balance training equipment
- Work on your balance using a Bosu ball or other balance training equipment. A Bosu ball is basically a half-inflated rubber tire with a flat base; it forces you to engage both sides of the body when balancing, improving strength and stability in both legs.
- Use a balance board or wobble board (the board that looks like an egg carton on top of two skateboard wheels) while standing on one leg at first. Try squatting down as low as possible without falling over while balancing yourself on one foot.
- Try using a BOSU ball (short for 'Bounce Universal'; it looks like half of an exercise ball cut in half), which has built-in sensors so it knows when it's been tipped over by leaning too far forward or backward. That allows you to work towards becoming more balanced overall! You can also try doing squats with different weights attached around your waist for an added challenge.
#2 Deadlift
The deadlift is a weight training exercise that works in conjunction with your lower body and back muscles. By picking up and lowering a barbell or dumbbell, you strengthen your lower back and glutes. You can also perform this movement with a kettlebell, which targets your core as well.
Why should you do deadlifts?
Deadlifts are great for building strength throughout the entire body while improving balance, flexibility and coordination. They help improve posture by strengthening the muscles of the back and core so that they work together properly during daily activities like standing up straight when carrying groceries or walking stairs without losing balance.
#3 Claw Walk
This move is great for improving your functional strength. It’s also fun and a great way to get a good laugh out of your friends.
Place your hands on the floor, fingertips pointing forward with palms flat. Push yourself up into the plank position, balancing on your forearms and toes. Walk forward by taking one step at a time with each foot - don't worry, it doesn't matter which leg goes first.
Keep your knees bent and back straight, and try to keep each step the same length as the one before it. When you've walked as far as you can go without falling over backwards or losing balance (usually about ten steps), return to the plank position by stepping backward with both feet. Repeat for the desired number of reps.
#4 Farmer's Carry
Farmer carries are a great exercise for building functional strength. They require you to walk a set distance with heavy weights in each hand, rest, and repeat. You can increase the weight each time you do this exercise or increase how far you walk.
You can also try doing farmer carries faster or slower, as well as with a partner or by yourself.
#5 Plyo Pushups
Plyo pushups can be done in two ways: high and low. The high plyo pushup is done from a normal plank position with the hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
The arms should extend straight as you lower your chest to the floor. As you press back up, bring your feet into a pike position by bringing them up towards your hands while simultaneously extending your hips and knees (looking like an upside-down V).
The low plyo pushup is done in a reverse plank position where you have one foot under each hand with the feet together. From here, you do everything else exactly as described above. However, when going into the pike position, instead of extending your hips and knees, bend them towards each other (bottom leg closer to bottom arm than top leg) until both legs are parallel to each other, with toes facing forward before returning back down again.
#6 Bounce
Bouncing is a great way to improve your functional strength. as it activates multiple muscle groups at once, which helps in both strength and coordination.
Bouncing can be done on a trampoline, a mini trampoline, or with any number of other tools—including medicine balls and kettlebells. However, one of the best tools for bouncing is a rebounder (aka those mini exercise trampolines).
Try bouncing while holding weights in each hand or while holding a ball between your feet. You might even want to get creative with this one: try doing some squats as you bounce.
#7 Fireman Carry
The Fireman Carry is a great exercise for building strength in your upper body, core and legs. It’s also one of the most versatile exercises you can do, as it can be performed with different variations to suit any goal.
How to do it:
- Place the barbell on your back with both hands by grabbing it from behind your neck. Lift one leg up behind you as high as possible while keeping your knees straight. Lower that leg onto the ground before repeating with another leg.
- Using dumbbells or plates instead of a barbell will make this variation easier because there's less weight to carry around. Set up with feet shoulder-width apart then hold weights at shoulder height.
- Lunge forward bending both knees 90 degrees while keeping back straight till the front thigh is parallel to the floor.
- Return to the start position by pushing off the front foot till it almost touches the ground again.
- Repeat ten times before switching legs so the left side becomes the dominant side of movement; continue alternating between legs till all sets are complete.
- If you have a gym partner, you can also do this with them by picking them up and following the steps mentioned above.
Takeaway
The aforementioned exercises you can do at home or in the gym to improve and maintain your functional strength. They’re simple and effective, and will help you become a better athlete.
