Functional Training

Definition

Exercises designed to mimic real-life movements, because apparently we need specialized training for activities like picking things up off the floor and carrying groceries. It's the gym's way of preparing you for the extreme sport of everyday existence.

Example Usage

"I spent an hour doing functional training so that I'd be better at real-world movements, and then I threw out my back reaching for the TV remote."

Related Terms

Intermediate

the engine

Your aerobic system and cardiovascular capacity—the unglamorous base fitness that determines whether you can sustain any athletic effort. Slow to build, embarrassing to lack.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Beginner

pump class

A group fitness format using light weights and high reps to music, like BodyPump. Aerobics married strength training and produced exhausting offspring.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Intermediate

pyramid sets

A set structure where you progressively increase weight while decreasing reps (ascending), or vice versa (descending), or both (triangle). Math class meets the weight room.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Intermediate

bioelectrical impedance

A method of estimating body composition by passing a weak electrical current through the body to measure resistance. The scale that judges you with science and electricity simultaneously.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Advanced

cluster sets

A set structure with brief rest periods (10-30 seconds) between small rep clusters, allowing higher quality reps with heavier weights. The commercial break approach to strength training.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

Advanced

mesocycle

A training phase lasting several weeks to a few months within a periodized program, typically focused on a specific goal. The middle child of training blocks that nobody talks about but does most of the work.

⚽ Sports / Fitness

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