Functional Fitness Workout with Minimal Equipment

Fitness is not only a way to improve our aesthetics, but it can also be used as a way to improve the quality of our life.

The training style that helps us achieve this is called functional fitness, and is specifically aimed at making the body more efficient in our day-to-day activities and helps prevent injuries from common movements, like standing up or picking up objects.

Therefore, functional fitness targets all the muscles and includes both strength and power movements (i.e. plyometric exercises).

Below we provide a full-body functional workout that can be performed with minimal equipment. This workout is ideal for beginners who are new to this way of training or people who are looking to improve their functional strength as they get older.

Perform this workout a minimum of twice per week to effectively improve your strength, balance, mobility, and endurance. 

To further work on your endurance and strengthen your lungs and heart, you can perform this workout as a circuit. 

Squats

This exercise can be performed with or without weights. 

Technique

1. Start by standing up, with your legs hip-width apart and your torso upright. If you are training with weights, hold a dumbbell or a kettlebell against your chest using both hands
2. Keeping your core engaged and your back neutral, hinge at the hips and bend your knees to squat down until your quads are parallel to the floor
3. Push through your legs and glutes to stand up. This is one repetition

Reps and sets

Perform 12 repetitions for 4 sets

Walkouts

Technique

1. Start by standing upright with your feet hip-width apart 
2. Bend forward at the hips to reach your toes with your hands. Bend your knees slightly if needed
3. Place your hands flat on the floor in front of your feet, then walk your hands away from your body until you achieve an extended plank position, with your arms in line with your shoulders
4. Walk back with your hands, until you reach your toes
5. Slowly move your torso up to get back into an upright position. This is one repetition

Reps and sets

Perform 12-15 repetitions for 3-4 sets

Front Lunges

This exercise can be performed with or without weights. 

Technique

1. Start by standing upright, with your legs hip-width apart. If you are training with weights, hold a dumbbell/kettlebell in each hand
2. Step forward with your right leg while moving your whole body weight onto that leg. Meanwhile, keep the left leg behind
3. Bend the right knee at 90 degrees to lunge down
4. Push through your right leg to move back to an upright position
5. Move back the right leg, next to the left leg, to get into a standing position. This is one repetition. Repeat on both legs

Reps and sets

Perform 10-12 repetitions on each side for 4 sets

Shoulder Press

Technique

1. Start by holding a dumbbell in each hand, then stand upright
2. Move the dumbbells to shoulder height, with your elbows next to your waist and the palms facing out
3. Push through your shoulders to extend your arms up and move the dumbbells above your head
4. Gently bend the elbows to lower the dumbbells down to shoulder height. This is one repetition

Reps and sets

Perform 8-12 repetitions for 4 sets

Farmers Walk with Dumbbells

Ideally, this exercise should be performed with a set of heavy dumbbells/kettlebells to provide appropriate stimulus to the muscles

Technique

1. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand, then stand upright
2. Extend your arms down to lower the weights on your sides, next to your hips/legs
3. Keeping your core tight and your back neutral, perform 10 steps forward
4. Turn around, then perform another 10 steps to walk back to the starting point. This is one repetition

Reps and sets

Perform 20 repetitions for 5 sets. As you get stronger, you can increase the number of steps and/or the weights/repetition/sets

Final Words

If you want to prevent injuries when performing your daily activities and want to develop strength, balance, mobility, and endurance, you can add this functional fitness workout to your exercise regime. For the best results, aim to perform this workout a minimum of twice per week. 

References

Whitehurst, M.A., Johnson, B.L., Parker, C.M., Brown, L.E. and Ford, A.M., 2005. The benefits of a functional exercise circuit for older adults. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 19(3), p.647.