The Benefits of Functional Training for Athletes
by Melinda Burris

A well-rounded training program consists of more than simply doing traditional weight training-based exercises to build strength. While strength is certainly essential for the development of the power and endurance hurdlers and sprinters need on the track, other types of training, specifically functional training are necessary as well so that the athlete learns to teach the mind and all elements of the body to work together in tandem.

This article explores how functional training is designed to train the body holistically so that the athlete has increased stability, balance, posture, and mobility which means a higher level of performance is reached with a lower risk of injury and a higher speed of recovery when injury does occur.
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Vernon Gambetta and Functional Training

Vernon “Vern” Gambetta is Director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems. Gambetta is a highly reputable and recognized expert in sports training and conditioning in elite levels of competitive sport. He has coached for nearly four decades in numerous pro sports including track and field, as a strength and conditioning coach in the NBA and MLB and he has been active in soccer, having coached numerous teams in the MLS and having served as a conditioning consultant for the US Men’s World Cup Soccer team.¹

He has been dubbed “the ‘Godfather’ of functional training”² throughout the professional sports world for his dedication to functional training, as demonstrated by his writing multiple books and countless articles on the subject and sharing his expertise in the proper training and conditioning of the body and mind for world-class competition through clinics and lecture series held in Australia, Canada, Europe, and Japan.¹

What is Functional Training?

As mentioned at the outset of this article, functional training is holistic training, rather than simply concentrating on building up specific muscle groups, functional training focuses on teaching all aspects of the human body—combining physical, mental, and perceptual abilities to enable the athlete to achieve peak performance by elevating four crucial elements: stability, balance, posture, and mobility. Gambetta often emphasizes that functional training is at its core, simply “getting back to the basics of movement. It is learning to tune into the body and its inherent wisdom to produce rhythmic flowing movement.”¹  

According to Gambetta, functional path training is based on the way the body and all its “respective muscle groups and involved areas”¹ are designed to work together and through training and conditioning, teaching the body to optimize these natural functions so that movement becomes more fluid, more agile and more adaptable. All of which are key elements in increasing an athlete’s ability to move quickly without hesitation and pivot when necessary to complete a movement even when a challenge arises.

Gambetta has described functional training (also referred to as functional path training) as “a full spectrum of training designed to elicit the optimum adaptive response appropriate for the sport or activity being trained.”² This is significant because here Gambetta stresses that the approach to functional training can and should be tailored to prompt the best result to achieve peak performance in the specific sport the athlete is participating in.

Why Strength and Explosive Power Matter on the Track

For sprinters and hurdlers, functional training should be used together with weight training to increase strength, which is defined as the capacity to exert force as needed irrespective of the time it takes to create the amount of force required. Explosive power is the capability to exert an immense amount of force as quickly as possible. Gambetta sums it up this way, “Power is the ability to apply strength in the time frame required by the specific sport.”² In order to execute hurdle jumps and sprints, an athlete must be conditioned to have explosive power based on strength which is drastically aided by a well-conditioned body with all its parts working in harmony in accordance with the principles of functional training.

Proprioceptive Demand: What Is It and Why Is It So Important?

The case has been made that while weight training trains muscle groups, functional training is all about teaching proper movement, an element every coach must teach to truly develop athleticism. Proprioception, also known as kinaesthesia is the self-awareness of your body’s movements and where you are in relation to your surroundings.

Mike Thorson, an Assistant Coach at University of Mary, argues that functional training is based on “training in all planes of movement, employing multi-joint actions, and [that] it has a high proprioceptive demand.² In contrast, weight training often focuses on particular joint movements or on increasing strength in specific areas rather than taking a multidisciplinary, proprioceptive approach.

We gain our sense of proprioception or understanding of our body’s current position from sensors called proprioceptors which are housed within subcutaneous body tissues. These sensors signal our body position, motion, and load, along with joint angle, muscle length and muscle tension, all of which allow the brain to know the position of our limbs in space at any time. This is a normal body function, but with the right training anyone can develop a keener sense of proprioception and in so doing, increase their agility.³

Science has shown this to be true as recent studies demonstrate proprioception training enhanced movement speed and position in average adults and “improved the joint position sense in elite female handball players.”³ Balance exercises that also challenge your sense of equilibrium are excellent for developing a higher level of proprioception.

The Balancing Table or Table Top is a standard move in Yoga practice that challenges you by having you maintain your balance while you extend your arm and leg in opposite directions with the added challenge of raising the limbs off the floor:

• Instructions:

1. Use a yoga mat or towel to protect the knees
2. Get on all fours resting on your elbows and knees, in the table top position.
3. Keep your back flat and your spine in alignment.
4. As you keep your gaze to the floor, raise your right arm and extend it out, while simultaneously extending your left leg.
5. Keep your core firm throughout to maintain your balance.
6. Hold this position for 3-5 seconds.
7. Do the same exercise on the opposite side – left arm raised and extended; right leg extended out.
8. Hold the position for 3-5 seconds.
9. Repeat 10 times on each side.

*Challenge – Try the exercise while holding the position for 20 seconds with your eyes closed. Concentrate on maintaining a firm core and balance, making sure that the arm and leg remain parallel to the floor at all times.

Summary

It is not a choice of either or when it comes to functional and strength training. Rather, the two approaches work together to form a more well-rounded, self-aware, agile, and resilient athlete.

References:

1. Gambetta, V. (n.d.)
2. Thorson, M. (26 March 2020). Functional Training – Developing Strength and Power in Sprinters and Hurdlers.3. Oliver, K. (14 January 2016). 4 Proprioception Exercises to Improve Balance and Strength.

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