How can you improve your client's physical abilities through functional training?

1 Assess your client's needs and abilities

Before you start any functional training program, you need to assess your client's current level of fitness, health, and functional abilities. This will help you identify their strengths, weaknesses, limitations, and goals. You can use various tools and methods to evaluate your client's functional fitness, such as movement screens, performance tests, and questionnaires. Based on the results, you can determine the appropriate level of intensity, complexity, and specificity for your client's functional training program.

2 Choose functional exercises that match your client's goals

Functional exercises are those that simulate or enhance the movements that your client performs in their daily life, work, or sport. For example, if your client wants to improve their balance and stability, you can choose exercises that involve single-leg or unstable surfaces, such as lunges, step-ups, or bosu ball squats. If your client wants to increase their strength and power, you can choose exercises that involve multi-joint or explosive movements, such as deadlifts, kettlebell swings, or box jumps. The key is to select exercises that are relevant, challenging, and safe for your client.

3 Use progressions and regressions to adjust the difficulty

Progressions and regressions are ways to modify the difficulty of functional exercises by changing one or more variables, such as load, speed, range of motion, stability, or complexity. Progressions make the exercises harder, while regressions make them easier. You can use progressions and regressions to adapt the exercises to your client's current ability, progress, and feedback. For example, you can progress a squat by adding weight, increasing depth, or jumping. You can regress a squat by reducing weight, decreasing depth, or using a chair.

4 Incorporate variety and fun into your functional training program

One of the benefits of functional training is that it offers a lot of variety and creativity. You can use different types of equipment, such as dumbbells, bands, balls, ropes, or kettlebells. You can also use different modes of training, such as circuits, intervals, supersets, or partner drills. You can also mix up the exercises, order, duration, and frequency of your functional training sessions. By incorporating variety and fun into your functional training program, you can keep your client motivated, engaged, and challenged.

5 Monitor your client's performance and feedback

The last tip is to monitor your client's performance and feedback throughout their functional training program. This will help you evaluate the effectiveness of your program, identify areas of improvement, and make adjustments as needed. You can use various measures to track your client's performance, such as repetitions, time, distance, weight, or power output. You can also use subjective feedback, such as ratings of perceived exertion, pain, fatigue, or satisfaction. By monitoring your client's performance and feedback, you can ensure that your functional training program is meeting their needs and expectations.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?