When we entered 'Functional Training' into images.google.com, this was the fourth image that popped up. Exactly what was expected, and part of the reason this term is avoided in our gym. For some reason, people seem to think that complexity is synonymous with functional. This is not the case. 'Functional' is something which is designed to be 'practical and useful, rather than attractive'. Subsequently, we have defined functional training as:
' An exercise which aims to improve context specific performance '
Every exercise has the potential to be functional, depending on the person and sport. Different people encounter different activities day-to-day (elderly vs. adolescent), just like the goals of one sport may be completely different to another.
Let's look at the bicep curl. We normally don't prescribe this to our athletes because the movements in their sport are typically multi-joint. However, if we had a bodybuilder, it would most likely be part of their exercise prescription. Judging is based on aesthetics, and to improve their performance, the bicep curl is useful in attaining this goal (=functional).
Don't rule out an exercise just because it isn't being performed upside down on a bosu ball...
