The Art of Multifunctional Training

People often complain about how they just do not have enough time to spend working out in a gym. It seems every year the lives of many Americans become more hectic and they have less time to devote to bettering their health. As a certified personal trainer I often hear people stating that they just have to spend too much time working out to get the results they desire. They tell me how they have to rush to the gym before or after working out, in some cases change into workout clothes or work clothes, then they have to workout, shower and then rush to work or home to tend to their families. Working out can defiantly be a time consuming process.

However it does not have to be. When a prospective client approaches me and asks how I can help them get a great workout with results, but without the time commitment; I just smile and introduce them to Multifunctional Training. Multifunctional Training, which also consists of many core training components, is the concept of working multiple muscle groups in a single exercise. Multifunctional Training is a great way to work multiple groups, which allows for a shorter workout time, because time is no longer spent working one muscle group at a time. While, single muscle isolation is great for body builders or those who are trying to build or shape a particular muscle most people do not need to spend time isolating a muscle with multiple exercises. With Multifunctional Training you can hit multiple muscle groups in a just a few exercises.

Multifunctional Training is also a great way to build balance and coordination, an especially important aspect of training for athletes. Athletes can gain explosiveness using multifunctional training, increasing the weight as they become more comfortable. Many multifunctional exercises replicate the movements used in a game by many sports. Equipment such as the bosu, stability ball, balance bar, dumbbells, and medicine balls can all be used during multifunctional training. Because a person is performing exercises that target more than one muscle, the core area (abdominal and lower back muscles) are often engaged as well, during multifunctional training. If a person adds an unstable surface such as a bosu, stability ball or foam roller, stabilizer muscles are also engaged which replicates performance in sports by athletes.

An example of a multifunctional workout would be dumbbell flies performed on a stability ball with a crunch motion. In this exercise the chest and deltoid muscles are engaged with the dumbbell flies, as well as the abdominal muscles when performing the crunch. Another example is a squat with an over head press using a medicine ball or dumbbells. Holding the chosen weight close to the chest a squat is performed, then at the top of the motion and overhead is done using the selected weight. This exercise will work all the major leg muscles, the core, as well as the anterior deltoids.

With Multifunctional Training a strength training workout time of normally one to one and a half hour can be reduced to about forty five to thirty minutes. If you wish to learn how to transform your workout into a more effective fat burning and muscle training process with out the time consumption, let a professional help design you a program you can do on your own.

Copyright 2005 William Mackie