As someone who is considered the father of functional sports
training I think it is time to revisit the concept in order to better
understand it – Where did it come from, how it evolved, where it is today and
where it is going. Functional training is a label for a concept. As with any
label it is subject to various interpretations. I originally conceived it as multi
lateral training integrating various training modalities (medicine ball,
stretch cord, weight training, dumbbells, body weight etc.) to produce
significant adaptation in specific performance parameters. It trains all
systems of the body while recognizing and respecting the wisdom of the body. The
end result is a highly adaptable athlete who is able to perform without
limitations in the competitive environment. Contrast this to biased one- sided
training that results in adapted athletes who are inconsistent in performance
and prone to injury.
For me the concepts came together and solidified in the late
1980’s. I was alarmed at the biased one-sided training regimens that I saw
being imposed on athletes. We were trapped in a reductionist, mechanistic approach that segmented
the body into parts and separate systems. We were creating robotic athletes
that were good in a sterile training environment but had difficulty
transferring training to the sport. It was also clear to that if you are doing
too much of one thing then you are probably not doing much of something else,
it was a zero sum relationship. The result was an athlete fully adapted to that
one component of training.
To thrive in the performance arena demands the polar
opposite, a versatile highly adaptable athlete whose training is not biased,
but reflects the demands of the sport and the needs of the individual athlete. The problem was the failure to
recognize that for the body to execute movement, whether it is a sustained
endurance activity, explosive bursts or fine motor skill that all parts and
systems need to work together in harmony. Movement is s symphony not a solo.
You can’t do a “cardio” workout, just like you can’t do a “neural” workout. You
better hope every workout has a cardio vascular and a neural component, because
all systems of the body work at all times with the demand on a particular
system determined by the intensity of the activity. To continue the symphonic
metaphor a section of the orchestra is featured or highlighted while the other
parts of the orchestra are still playing, albeit in the background. Let's also
give credit to the conductor; the brain, the muscles and all systems of the
body are slaves of the brain. It is the brain that drives, connects and
controls movements to enable us to accomplish the desired task. To use Tim
Noakes term the brain is the "central governor." So we can’t lose
sight of the whole, the big picture in the desire to understand the parts. What
evolved as functional training gives the body credit for it’s inherent wisdom
and it’s ability to learn to link, sync, connect and coordinate in order to
play the beautiful movement symphony we call sports performance.
At the time I had been coaching close to twenty years and
been exposed to many ideas and methods of training, some of which worked and some
of which failed. I was at a stage in my career where I thought there had to be
a better way, I realized a better way was an eclectic approach that combined my
interpretation of sport science research, study in methods and concepts of
rehabilitation coupled with my practical experience both as a coach and as an
athlete. Someone labeled it “functional training” and the name stuck; to me it
is just common sense training.