Machines are not functional, but Turkish get-ups are, right?

Brandon Hyatt, MS, CSCS
Dec. 04, 2024

Functional Training Defined in 2024

Of the many types of training, “functional training” evokes the most ambiguous and confusing definition. It claims to improve strength, flexibility, balance, coordination, and activities of daily living while reducing the risk of injury and muscle loss, even though traditional training accomplishes this just as well (1, 3, 5, 6, 8). This poses questions like “Does regular training not already effectively accomplish these training parameters?” or “What exercise is non-functional training?”.

After all, the whole point of an exercise is to provide a specific training stimulus to improve a particular training parameter. It would be nearly impossible to perform an exercise that doesn’t deliver a specific stimulus. Is the fitness industry just getting too fancy here by making up terms to seem more knowledgeable? In this article, we’ll discuss the value of “functional training” as a training style.

What makes training functional? Is there any nonfunctional training?

Is it a style of training that doesn’t use machines? Does it involve balancing on an unstable surface? Does it have to be rotational? Is it superior to strength training because it will make you function better than strength training?

According to a conceptual review paper on functional fitness, here is how you can make your training more functional (2):

This implies that exercise is more functional (more challenging and better for you) if you aren’t sitting, going slow, etc. However, not every exercise follows this pattern. For example, a controlled bilateral leg press can be arguably much better for an older adult struggling to get in and out of a chair than a single-leg explosive squat. Making an exercise faster, harder, or more complicated doesn’t mean it will always lead to better adaptations or goal-reaching.

The distinction between aerobic and strength training is clearly defined and applicable. Furthermore, other types of training, such as flexibility, hypertrophy, powerlifting, etc., have primarily agreed-upon definitions.

According to the expert panel, functional training has finally been defined by a panel of internationally published researchers and experts to restate all of the confusion (7).

“Functional training is a physical interventional approach that contributes to the enhancement of human performance, according to individual goals, in sports, daily life, rehabilitation, or fitness, and takes into consideration the specificity of the task and the unique responsiveness of each individual.”

The experts acknowledge that many different training styles, such as bodybuilding, can be considered functional. Their main point about the definition of functional training is that it is centered around individual goals and needs rather than using specific equipment, planes of motion, or joints.

This means that functional exercise is a continuum, not a black-and-white label. In other words, a specific exercise can have a degree of functionality for the individual based on how it moves them closer to their goal within their needs. The same exercise can be more functional for one person and less for another. 

An Opposing View that Recommends Never Saying “Functional Training” Again

In a review of functional training from 2022, researchers searched the literature to determine if functional training differed from strength, power, flexibility, and cardiorespiratory training (4). According to the latest 20 papers published using functional training, the researchers found the following:

• There is no universally accepted definition of functional training. Everyone has their own definition.
• The benefits of functional training are already equally achieved by traditional training.
• Both functional and traditional training use the same exercise. You would think there would be a clear difference in the exercises used. 

The researchers recommend not using the term “functional” with “training” to avoid confusion and misconceptions. 

Final Thoughts

Both training and functional training (whatever it is) work. They work towards a goal individually and create a functional adaptation in our body, whether jumping higher or getting stronger (2). Nobody trains without a goal and in a way that isn’t individualized, so it makes sense to just not use the term “functional” after looking into both sides for the term “functional.” 

Sources

1. Balachandran A, Martins MM, De Faveri FG, Alan O, Cetinkaya F, Signorile JF. Functional strength training: Seated machine vs standing cable training to improve physical function in elderly. Exp Gerontol. 2016 Sep;82:131-8. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2016.06.012. Epub 2016 Jun 25. PMID: 27354031.
2. Da Silva-Grigoletto, Marzo & Resende-Neto, Antônio & La Scala Teixeira, Cauê. (2020). Functional training: A conceptual update. Revista Brasileira de Cineantropometria e Desempenho Humano. 22. 10.1590/1980-0037.2020v22e72646. 
3. do Nascimento DM, Machado KC, Bock PM, Saffi MAL, Goldraich LA, Silveira AD, Clausell N, Schaan BD. Functional training improves peak oxygen consumption and quality of life of individuals with heart failure: a randomized clinical trial. BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2023 Jul 29;23(1):381. doi: 10.1186/s12872-023-03404-7. PMID: 37516830; PMCID: PMC10386700.
4. Ide BN, Silvatti AP, Marocolo M, Santos CPC, Silva BVC, Oranchuk DJ, Mota GR. Is There Any Non-functional Training? A Conceptual Review. Front Sports Act Living. 2022 Jan 13;3:803366. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2021.803366. PMID: 35098121; PMCID: PMC8794631.
5. Khazaei L, Parnow A, Amani-Shalamzari S. Comparing the effects of traditional resistance training and functional training on the bio-motor capacities of female elite taekwondo athletes. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2023 Oct 20;15(1):139. doi: 10.1186/s13102-023-00754-9. PMID: 37864229; PMCID: PMC10589965.
6. Kong PW, Kan TYW, Mohamed Jamil RAGB, Teo WP, Pan JW, Hafiz Abd Halim MN, Abu Bakar Maricar HK, Hostler D. Functional versus conventional strength and conditioning programs for back injury prevention in emergency responders. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2022 Sep 9;10:918315. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.918315. PMID: 36159702; PMCID: PMC9500301.
7. Pereira, H., Teixeira, D., Fisher, J., Fleck, S., Helms, E., Ide, B., Izquierdo, M., Nedergaard, A., Phillips, S., Pinto, R., Plotkin, D., Turner, A., & Schoenfeld, B. (2024). International Consensus on the Definition of Functional Training. https://doi.org/10.51224/srxiv.433 
8. Silva DR, Meireles SM, Brumini C, Natour J. Effectiveness of functional training versus resistance exercise in patients with psoriatic arthritis: randomized controlled trial. Adv Rheumatol. 2023 Dec 13;63(1):58. doi: 10.1186/s42358-023-00342-y. PMID: 38093394.