FUNCTIONAL TRAINING FOR SPORTS

Functional fitness training, is not a protected term, but in the wake of the commercial success of
“Functional Training”, is a way of thinking of which athletes and coaches are again becoming increasingly
aware: in its most diverse aspects, however, and without any prescribed definitions.

Functional fitness training means nothing other than athletes specifically gearing their training
towards their sport and predominantly doing things that will advance them in this type of sport.
Functional in this context is basically another word for purpose-oriented.

Example:

 A cyclist rides a bike or strengthens and stretches the muscle groups needed for cycling, as do
swimmers and runners.
 A sprinter works on his speed-strength, explosiveness, and technique, a marathon runner on his
endurance, foot muscles and long jogs.
 A powerful cardiovascular system is required for a marathon, it would not occur to anyone to do
their training exclusively on a bike in the run-up to a competition.

Functional training is a term used to describe exercises that help you perform activities in everyday
life more easily.

Functional fitness is key to injury prevention, movement integrity, and stimulation for enhancing
recovery as the intensity is often lower in loading due to greater necessities for core strength, balance,
and movement integrity.

Functional training consists of performing exercises that involve sport-specific movements in terms
of mechanics, coordination, and energy systems.

SPORTS SPECIFIC TRAINING/MOVEMENTS

Sport specific training is simply fitness and performance training designed specifically for athletic
performance enhancement.

Sport specific training can be beneficial if done by targeting the correct energy systems, proper
muscle groups, and movements.

Currently, its main purpose is to stimulate a movement or exercise in a weight room with the
intent of it transferring to the playing field, court, etc. Depending on the sport, athletes will focus on
training specific muscle groups and utilizing a specific energy system in order to strengthen their body
and improve the skills used in their sport.

Sport-specific training programs are carefully crafted to focus on conditioning the body and
mind to excel through the unique demands for endurance, speed, agility, balance and recovery required
by each sport as well as minimize injury.

BENEFITS:
  Increased speed
 Increased agility
 Improved conditioning
 Injury prevention
 Gaining a competitive edge
 Increased acceleration and power
 Improved balance and body awareness
 Increased flexibility
 Increased strength
 Improved endurance and ability to quickly recover from training and competition

Functional movement strategies or sport-specific skills consist of these movement skills applied to a
sport activity such as throwing a baseball, kicking a soccer ball, running a marathon, jumping to make a
basket in basketball, catching a football for a touchdown, or spinning in figure skating.

MECHANICS FOR BODY SEGMENT

Body movements involve force, balance, gravity, and motion.

https://www.physio-pedia.com/Biomechanics_In_Sport

Elements of Biomechanics

These are the key areas that biomechanics focuses on:

 Dynamics: Studying systems that are in motion with acceleration and deceleration
 Kinematics: Describing the effect of forces on a system, motion patterns including linear
and angular changes in velocity over time as well as position, displacement, velocity, and
acceleration are studied.
 Kinetics: Studying what causes motion, the forces, and moments at work
 Statics: Studying systems that are in equilibrium, either at rest or moving at a constant
velocity