What’s All the Talk About Functional Fitness? by Erica Willams, ACSM-H/FI Lift AND rotate. Balance AND reach. Walk AND bend. Functional fitness teaches muscle groups to work together... as they would in your day-to-day life. Whether you are hefting that bag of trash out of the can and taking it out to the curb, putting away groceries, putting your child into their car seat or a stroller or simply picking up something you dropped, every day we use multiple muscle groups simultaneously to do daily activities. According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Council on Exercise (ACE), and as reported in the January 2008 issue of Redbook, functional fitness is one of the fastest growing workout trends... one that is predicted to continue growing at a rapid pace. Why? Because with functional fitness as part of a workout routine, exercisers become more efficient and productive in their activities of daily living (ADLs) and reduce chance of injury. Functional fitness helps to develop flexibility, coordination and balance using a combination of multi-muscle group floor exercises and fitness equipment like wobble boards, weighted balls, etc. At SIFT® Personal Training (with two facilities: one in Oceanside, one in Fallbrook), functional fitness is part of "The SIFT Way" as has been since SIFT’s inception in 2002."They were ahead of their time," says SIFT client, Joe, "I'm glad that I found them years ago as I've already had the training most are just now becoming aware of." If you haven’t already done so, you should try a workout session that includes functional fitness. Your daily life is sure to be easier and more productive. Erica Williams, BS, ACSM H/FI, who is also a resident of Fallbrook, graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology and a Minor in Gerontology and is an America College of Sports Medicine, Health and Fitness Instructor. She has been in the field of Health and Fitness since 1991 as a Certified Personal Trainer and since 1998 as a Sports and Fitness Director. She has specialized in working with baby boomers and older adults, encouraging a quality of life through an active lifestyle. www.siftpersonaltraining.com, 760-439-2FIT (2348). <<< Back to In The News