He may look relaxed but could spring at any moment!

“Functional Fitness” is a term that gets thrown around a lot.Athletes need it, Crossfit is great for it, we all tout the benefits of it. But what really is “Functional Fitness” though?

I can answer that in one word… it is “Awesome”

Functional fitness is being able to walk around feeling like you are filled with coiled little springs that are ready to unleash and do anything at any time. Someone could say “Hey… go hop that wall”… and you know what? You know that you COULD in fact go hop that wall.

The best way to achieve functional fitness is through natural movement.Everything on the body was designed with a purpose. You have legs and feet for walking and running. You have arms for throwing, pushing, pulling and carrying. Eyes so you can see… etc. Your body really wasn’t designed to rep out bicep curls in the gym. There are not to many functional, practical applications for that.

Which would you rather be able to do? Bicep curl 140 pounds or climb a rope or a boulder? Which one might safe you life?

What got me started in this line of thought is all of the recent information out there on Erwan Le Corre.This guy is awesome. He trains outdoors in the Brazilian jungle. His workouts consist of sprinting up beaches, climbing trees and rocks, carrying and throwing logs… etc. This guy never goes to a “gym” but he is considered one of the best all around athletes in the world (if not THE). I highly recommend reading up on him and “MovNat“, his fitness method.

In honor of all this great info, I have been trying to workout less with “weights” and more with “bodyweights” via natural movements. This is not an easy task in the middle of the desert but I have been doing things like sprinting at walls and climbing them, lifting boulders, going rock climbing etc. The results have been awesome. My level of confidence in myself and my athletic ability and coordination has sky rocketed. As I said, i feel like I am packed with little springs ready to explode if i need them. Yes… I can climb that wall.

Oh, and another note – this type of training… is just more fun. It is a lot more like “play” than “work”.

Still, I think that weights have their place too.The best weight lifting exercises to incorporate in my mind are those that best mimic natural movements. These are the compound movement exercises that simulate lifting things, carrying things etc. Squats, Deadlifts, Clean and Presses. Incorporate these with a lot of natural body movements and you have yourself a recipe for success.

Try to incorporate some explosive natural movements in your exercises this week… jumps, pullups, sprints, climbing, throwing.As I said… this has been awesome for me. I am so jealous of Erwan running around in his Brazilian jungle. More proof that you can get in better shape than 90% of the people at the gym without even setting foot in one.

How do you feel after doing this?Have you been training this way? Have you ever been in a situation where you had to 150# curl your way to safety lol? What are your thoughts?

*Edit* I dont know how I missed this but check out Conditioning Researches interview with Erwan Le Corre here!