How can problem solving skills help you stand out in functional training?

1 What are problem solving skills?

Problem solving skills are essential for many aspects of life, such as work, education, and personal development. These abilities involve using various cognitive processes, such as observation, reasoning, evaluation, decision making, and learning from feedback. With problem solving skills, you can improve your functional training outcomes by selecting the right exercises and equipment for your goals and needs, adjusting your technique and intensity according to your feedback and performance, overcoming challenges that may arise during your training, finding new ways to make your training more enjoyable and engaging, and applying your functional training skills to other contexts and scenarios.

2 How to assess your problem solving skills?

Before you can improve your problem solving skills, it is important to assess your strengths and weaknesses. To do this, you should reflect on your functional training experiences and ask yourself questions such as: how do you plan, execute, and evaluate your functional training sessions? Are you clear and realistic with your goals? Do you consider resources and limitations? Do you research options? Do you follow a plan or improvise? Are you monitoring progress and feedback? Are you adapting and modifying exercises as needed? Are you measuring results and outcomes? Are you identifying what worked and what didn't? Are you learning from mistakes and successes? Answering these questions can help gain insight into your problem solving skills, as well as identify areas for improvement.

3 How to improve your problem solving skills?

Improving your problem solving skills requires effort both in and out of functional training. To get started, try different types of functional exercises that challenge your body and mind in various ways, such as circuit training, interval training, compound movements, balance exercises, agility drills, and coordination tasks. Additionally, experiment with different variables and parameters in your functional training like duration, frequency, intensity, volume, rest, tempo, load, range of motion, and equipment. Don't forget to seek feedback and guidance from others like trainers, coaches, peers, or online sources. This can help you get advice on your functional training plan, execution or evaluation. And lastly, challenge yourself by setting higher goals or trying new exercises. Joining a group or competition can also push you to perform better.

4 How to apply your problem solving skills?

Improving your problem solving skills can be beneficial for not only your functional training, but also other areas of your life. You can apply these skills to various situations and problems you may encounter, such as work-related issues, educational challenges or personal matters. To apply these skills, it’s best to use a general framework consisting of four steps. First, define the problem by identifying and clarifying its nature, scope and cause. Then, generate alternatives by brainstorming possible solutions and options while considering the pros and cons of each one. Thirdly, choose and implement a solution by selecting the best alternative based on your criteria and goals. Finally, evaluate and revise the solution by assessing its effectiveness and efficiency while making adjustments as needed.

5 How to stand out in functional training?

By developing and applying your problem solving skills, you can stand out in functional training and achieve better results and satisfaction. Enhancing your functional fitness and performance can be done by optimizing exercises and equipment, adjusting technique and intensity, overcoming challenges, and finding new ways to make training more fun. This can help you improve strength, endurance, mobility, stability, and coordination. Additionally, problem solving can boost your confidence and self-efficacy by demonstrating competence and capability as well as increasing self-esteem. Furthermore, it can expand your knowledge and skills by exploring different types of functional exercises, variables, parameters, seeking feedback from others, and challenging yourself. All of this helps broaden horizons while acquiring valuable knowledge and skills.