Find Your Flow - 7 Functional Movement Patterns for a Better Workout Routine

A well-planned workout programme should move your body in every direction - forward, backward, sideways, and even rotationally. Functional movements are actions based on real-world situational biometrics, helping to improve joint motion across different planes of the body. Not only do functional movement patterns help to improve motion, they also minimise your chance of injury. 

To begin, what are functional fitness movement patterns?

Functional movements prepare you for all life situations by enhancing and supporting your body to perform in everyday activities. 

Functional fitness movements have real life application, helping you move around your day better. They often include multiple joints and large muscle groups - also known as compound movements. 

Functional movement patterns, as a rule, mimic daily motions such as; sitting down, picking something up from the floor, or putting something away overhead. 

Why use functional movement patterns within your training regime?

Improved movement efficiency - During everyday life, you use multiple muscle groups - this is because functional movement patterns involve more than one joint. By emphasising these range of movements daily, you are able to perform these movements more easily and efficiently. 

Increased coordination and balance - functional training promotes the use of your own bodyweight to perform various movements. 

Increased flexibility and mobility - functional training allows your body to stretch to its full range of motion - increasing posture, balance, strength, and reducing the risk of injuries. 

Prevention of injuries - training the muscles you use everyday helps to make them stronger, reducing the likeliness of injury. You're not only training your muscles and joints, you are also training your soft tissues such as; tendons and ligaments. 

You challenge your whole body - you can challenge yourself gradually by increasing the weight you lift over time. 

7 functional movement patterns include:

Hinge:

The hinge is a fundamental movement pattern that allows you to perform essential tasks such as; bending over and picking things up. A hinge movement pattern is a lower body exercise which targets your posterior chain - typically focusing on the back of your legs - hamstrings and glutes, and even the lower back. The hinge helps to strengthen your core, which helps alleviate back pain or injury, improve balance, and enhance flexion.  

Squatting:

Squats focus on several muscles in your lower and upper body working together simultaneously. Squats are categorised as a knee dominant compound movement. Daily life applications for squats include sitting down and standing up. - however squats also help with many daily talks including; walking, climbing stairs, bending and carrying heavy loads. 

Lunge:

A lunge is known to be a knee dominant pattern - it is a single leg movement that targets your lower body, including your hips, glutes, quads, hamstrings, and core in multiple distractions. Lunge examples include: step ups, forward, lateral, reverse, and walking lunges. 

Lunges help with basic everyday activities such as going upstairs, kneeling down, or react and change in direction activities such as walking, running or playing sports. 

Push:

A push or press functional movement includes moving weight away from your upper body - it is a key part of functional training exercises. A push can be carried out in a horizontal or vertical motion. Horizontal pushes include; pushing a weight away from your body, for example, performing a push up or pushing a door open. Vertical pushes include; pushing a weight away from you in an upwards motion or serving in racket sports.

Pull:

A pull motion is the opposite of a push. A movement is classed as a pulling motion, when you’re moving a weight towards your body, in a horizontal or vertical movement. Examples of this movement include; a dumbbell or barbell row. 

Carry:

Carrying items is a functional movement pattern used in everyday life. Wherever we walk, it is likely we are carrying items such as; handbags and groceries. Carry actions require your body to have strength, coordination and balance. Training your body in a way that replicates carry movements will help you develop better control and efficiency. 

Twist/rotation:

Nearly every movement within functional training includes a rotation movement. Rotating your body requires head-to-toe stability, helping your body to move as a single unit. 

Find your flow 

Mindset meets movement with the Flow Collection, crafted for focused performance. Through four-way stretch fabrications, the Flow collection ensures enhanced freedom of movement for optimum functionality. 

Shop the Flow Mens Gym Clothing Collection.