Coaching Corner: The 3 Components of Functional Fitness

Gym memberships are at an all-time high. High intensity, maximum effort fitness trends (running, CrossFit, Interval Training, marathons, triathlons….) have us pushing ourselves to exhaustion. We see our bodies changing: losing weight, building muscles, and carving out those 6-pack abs. So, why do we find ourselves experiencing muscle strains or tears cleaning out the garage or backaches from washing the car or a stiff neck from spending too long surfing the Internet?



The reason may very well be that your exercise regiment is lacking in FUNCTIONAL fitness. This is the type of training that prepares our bodies for everyday life. It helps us keep our bodies strong enough to perform simple daily activities, i.e. house chores, carrying groceries, getting up from a chair, reaching up in a cupboard, bending over to tie our shoes or cooking a meal. The exercises mimic real-world activities that are performed in real-life positions.

Not everyone aspires to be an athlete. Some of the population simply desires to be strong and healthy and able to carry on their daily activities without fear of injury or falling. The exercises in a functional fitness program are basic, low-impact, easy to follow and best of all can typically be performed at home with no equipment. All you need is your own body. The benefits are huge, including improvement in endurance, range of motion, posture and core strength.

There are three main components to functional fitness:

1. AGILITY: Agility enables your body to move in multiple directions, stop and start movements suddenly and respond quickly to sudden changes (such as trying to catch a box dropping off of the counter). Without agility, you are more likely to strain/tear muscles or tendons when forced to react quickly to a situation.

2. STRENGTH: A strong body is a confident body. Strength training helps you build and tone muscles, increases metabolism which in turn helps to burn fat, improves bone density and boosts energy levels and mood. You want to be able to pick up a basket of laundry, lift a bag of dog food, push a table aside to clean or pull a child in a wagon.

3. BALANCE: In general, balance exercises help us stabilize our bodies, improve our alignment/posture and strengthen our core muscles. As we age, balance becomes an increasing concern, because balance in our bodies diminishes. Proper exercises help us to reduce the risk of falls or injury, as well as, prepare the body to react more instinctively and efficiently if such an event should occur.

Many of the best activities to enhance functional fitness are activities you probably already do. But, it’s never too late to add a few more from the list below to optimize your fitness level:

• Dancing


• Power Walking


• Bike Riding


• Pilates


• Yoga


• Gardening


• Tennis


• Golfing


• Swimming

Coaching Corner: Cool Off and Burn Calories with Water Fitness

If you’re ready to break out of your indoor gym routine and enjoy some outdoor activities consider taking the plunge with Aquatic Exercise.



Of all the types of fitness programs available, water workouts likely offer the most options and accommodate the greatest number of participants.  Here are some of the many reasons:

1. Water exercise provides all of the following components of fitness: cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength/endurance, core strength and flexibility.


2. Injury rates are substantially lower than any other form of exercise; making it a good option for individuals suffering from back problems, arthritis or recovering from an injury, as well as elderly or pregnant participants.


3. The buoyancy of water reduces a person’s “weight” meaning the stress on weight-bearing joints, bones and muscles is also reduced.


4. Hydrostatic pressure in the pool allows you to work the body at a lower heart rate (which is great for cardiac patients) while providing results similar to land workouts.


5. Water exercises can use more muscles at one time, which increases calorie burn and, in turn, helps reduce body fat.

Many individuals find that certain movements on land like running, kicking, dancing or even walking can be painful.  All of these activities can be performed in the water with little to no impact on the body.  Try putting on an aqua jogger belt and doing some deep water walking or running.  There are classes for aqua boxing and even aqua Zumba.

The natural resistance of water makes it a perfect environment for strength training workouts.  Simply cupping your hands and pushing/pulling water away from you (known as sculling) increases the resistance.  You can also add water gloves, hand paddles or aqua weights for a more intense workout. You can check out these H3 aquatic exercise routines to get started: Hydro Circuit, Deep Water Conditioning, Nautical Noodle and Aqua Resistance.


One of the greatest benefits of water exercise is its effect on flexibility.  Because the effects of gravity are reduced in the water, it is possible to move your joints through a greater range of motion and improve overall flexibility.  Stretch based workouts, such as pool Yoga or Pilates, provide an additional element of relaxation.

Even though summer weather makes water workouts appealing, remember that many facilities have indoor pools; allowing you to keep your water fitness workouts a part of your year round program.  Check out options that may be available at your local YMCA, recreation center, a private club, community pool or even your local high school.  Check out a variety of classes and find one that you feel most comfortably matches your fitness level.

Look for classes that include a proper warm-up, cardiovascular and muscle conditioning segments, a cool-down and a full body stretch.  Be sure to check out the instructor’s qualifications.  They should be experienced and certified in Aquatic Exercise instruction.

The following chart gives you an idea of how many calories you can torch during a one hour water workout, depending on your weight:

Activity, Exercise or Sport (1 hour)	130 lb	155 lb	180 lb	205 lb
Swimming laps, freestyle, fast	590	704	817	931
Swimming laps, freestyle, slow	413	493	572	651
Swimming backstroke	413	493	572	651
Swimming breaststroke	590	704	817	931
Swimming butterfly	649	774	899	1024
Swimming leisurely, not laps	354	422	490	558
Swimming sidestroke	472	563	654	745
Swimming synchronized	472	563	654	745
Swimming, treading water, fast, vigorous	590	704	817	931
Swimming, treading water, moderate	236	281	327	372
Water aerobics, water calisthenics	236	281	327	372

8 Tips for Proper Alignment and Perfect Posture

Proper alignment of your body provides the foundation for allowing your muscles to work most effectively, while putting the least amount of stress on your joints.

When your body is in proper alignment, your hip, knee, and ankle joints balance your back’s natural curves when you move making it possible to maintain good posture in any position.  Conversely, when your body is out of alignment it can place stress on your low back, hips, knees and ankles.

Poor posture can cause neck and back strain and pain, headaches, and fatigue.  It can restrict your oxygen intake and reduce your overall calorie’s burned.

Proper posture helps your body function at peak performance. It promotes movement efficiency and endurance.  Good posture makes you look taller, thinner, healthier, younger, and contributes to an overall feeling of wellbeing.  According to the National Exercise Trainers Association (NETA), “ posture and good body mechanics are quite possibly the most important considerations in making exercise effective and preventing Injury”.

STANDING: Good posture—when you are standing—is straight vertical alignment of your body from the top of your head, through your body’s center, to the bottom of your feet.  The feet should be relaxed with the body’s weight resting on three points: the heel, the base of the big toe, and the little toe.

FRONT VIEW: Good posture shows equal heights of shoulders, hips, and knees. The head is held straight, not tilted or turned to one side.

SIDE VIEW: Good posture can be seen as an imaginary vertical line through the ear, shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle. In addition, the three natural curves in your back can be seen.

BACK VIEW: The spine and head are straight, not curved to the right or left.

NETA provides the following keys to proper alignment:

1. The head must be in line with the ribs and hips

2. The back of the neck is kept long and in line with the spine, neither thrust forward nor back.

3. The upper torso and the shoulders should be relaxed, shoulder blades retracted and depressed.

4. The rib cage should be directly in line with the hips, lifted, but not forced forward.

5.  Avoid arching the back as this can put undue stress on the vertebrae.

6. The pelvis is at the midline of the body, neither tucking under nor rotating back.

7. The natural curves of the spine should be neither exaggerated nor entirely flattened out.

8. Contracting the abdominals and lifting the torso will keep pelvic and spinal alignment in neutral.

When the body is carefully stacked in correct alignment, the muscles will use less energy to maintain this position, and there will be less strain on ligaments, bones and muscles.  This is known as physiologically efficient posture.

Eleanor Metheny suggests: “There is no single best posture for all individuals.  Each person must take the body he/she has and make the best of it.  For each person, the best posture is that in which the body segments are balanced in the position of least strain and maximum support.  This is an individual matter.”

Finding The Best Workout

So here we are. It’s almost the end of February and two of the biggest ‘food holidays’ are behind us (literally!) Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukah. We also have one of the ‘candy’ holidays under our expanding belts. And, of course, who can forget the Super Bowl. Most of us don’t even care who is playing, but we have made it the second biggest food consumption day of the year! Now it’s time to get our butts in gear! I believe most instructors would agree that the most common question we get is ‘what is the best workout’? This is really the million-dollar question in the fitness industry.

Maybe you made a New Year’s Resolution to get dust off your gym membership, or maybe you are just beginning to analyze the fitness class options available to help you construct a plan, but can’t quite figure out where to start. After all, looking at the types of classes being offered these days is enough to scare anyone back under the covers. Names like Kempo, Tabada, H.I.I.T., Iron Yoga can be intimidating even to a well-seasoned gym rat!

Maybe you are longing for some of those workouts from days gone by. Let’s step into our time machine and reminisce! Anyone remember as far back as the days of Jack LaLane, a true pioneer of fitness, and his Saturday afternoon television exercise show in black and white in the 60’? Remember when we went ‘jogging’ around the neighborhood in the 70’s! Or how about those Jane Fonda style workouts in the 80’s, where we jumped as high as we could, landed as hard as we could, wore the wrong shoes, worked out on all the wrong surfaces and wore leg warmers, belts and shimmery spandex leotards with the thong on the ‘outside’! We thought we were so cool! Or how about those step aerobics classes where the instructor gracefully traversed the entire length of the step like a gazelle while you stumbled off the edge of yours! Remember working out lots of frustration while you were kicking and punching your way through a Tae Bo class in the 90’s with Billy Blanks and his perfect male physique? Anyone still have their Thigh Master? Feeling totally uncoordinated in that Jazzercise class? Who really needs to be reminded that they have no rhythm? Are you still watching ‘Gilad’ – he’s been around longer than all of us and hasn’t aged a bit!

Ah, fitness through the ages! And yet I have to admit I have done it all and actually enjoyed it – although I only remember Jack LaLane and his juicer!

So to get back to the big question – what is the best workout? The real question should be what is the ‘right’ workout for you! The best workout is the one that you will do and stick to. The right workout depends on several factors. With the overwhelming volume of information out there and the endless array of classes available, how do you know where to begin? Let’s try to make some sense out of the madness.

Your workout should include a combination of cardio, strength, flexibility and core exercises. Today’s fitness trends, as scary as some of the names might sound, are not all that different than what you may have done ‘back in the day’. We have just figured out ways to take a one-hour workout and condense it into as little as 4 minutes, in some cases. But remember, some of these programs are just that – trends. And just because something is trendy doesn’t mean is right for you. Here are some things to consider when planning your personal fitness program:

1. If you belong to a gym or are considering joining one, look over the fitness class options carefully. Try them all, if you can. At the very least maybe you can observe the classes and decide if they are appropriate for you.


2. Do what you like, not what is trendy. The adherence rate for participants in fitness classes is substantially higher for people who enjoy the classes they are taking. They will attend more frequently, work harder and improve their fitness levels much quicker than people who are doing it because it’s what everyone else is doing.


3. Know the difference between impact and intensity. Impact is the amount of force applied to the body during a particular exercise. High impact exercises are movements where both feet leave the ground simultaneously. Examples include, running, box jumps, plyometrics, and jumping jacks. These movements can effectively put more stress on the knees, hips, ankles, feet and back. Low impact exercises are ones where one foot stays in contact with the ground at all times. Examples include, walking, biking, low impact aerobics, and dancing. Swimming is another excellent low impact exercises. Intensity is refers to the level of difficulty or level of power you apply to a movement. Basically, how hard you are working. Intensity comes from using your muscles to create power and increase your heart rate. The important thing to remember is that low-impact does not mean low intensity. You can get an excellent workout doing low impact exercises, by keeping your intensity level up. This can be achieved by taking bigger or wider steps, lifting your knees higher, using your arms more and lifting them over your heart, adding light weights or using weighted gloves or just moving faster.


4. Form is everything! Make sure you are doing exercises in the proper form at all times. You will avoid injury by paying attention to form. Always consult your instructor or trainer when in doubt about proper technique or if any exercise feels stressful on your body. Ask for modifications for exercises when you feel it is necessary. As you get stronger you may find you need to rely less on modifications.


5. Listen to your body. If something doesn’t feel right stop doing it and evaluate what you are doing. Your body will let you know if something isn’t right. Know the difference between pushing yourself to a point of challenge and a point of pain. Progress slowly and build up to the next level of challenge safely. Your body will thank you for it!


6. Know your limitations and respect them! If you have orthopedic issues or health issues that put limitations on your participation in particular fitness options, work with your doctor, physical therapist or trainer to help you modify the workout or possibly prepare an alternate but equally challenging option.

Hold on to those good intentions. It’s not too late. It’s never too late to take care of YOU! Now put on some spandex and GO!