Functional Training A Traditional Scam ?

I just got back from the infamous 24 hour fitness and the first thing I noticed was the Stairmaster Stepmills my favorite cardio machine besides the versaclimber were moved. Actually the first thing I noticed was the beautiful Asian girl who I always see who was on my favorite moved cardio machine, but that’s beside the point.

They moved the machines because they cleared a spot from the cardio floor which is now enshrined with Functional Training Area – Yield to Trainers, etc.

When I saw this I got thinking…

1. What an Ingenious Move by the Management

If you haven’t been to the 16th & Bryant St. 24 Hour Fitness you will know it is large. There is a giant cardio area on the first floor with probably around 50-75 cardio machines. Many people who goto that gym never make it upstairs where all the weights are and where the trainers do the bulk of their work.

If their training sales were down I could see this move as a direct result. Now the casual cardio gym goers will be force fed the 24 hour fitness trainer’s “functional training” even if they decide to slack off on an easy cardio day.

They make it evidentially clear that their trainers do “functional training” and not just _____ training. This would cause any casual gym goer to wonder what exactly is functional training and possible chat with a used car salesman…….errrrr personal trainer at 24 hour fitness.

2. Is Functional Training a Scam ?

As I was “quoted” in an article in Popular Science the new fad in the fitness industry is balance and so – called functional training. This is what is selling currently. 20 years ago it was Jane Fonda’s step aerobic class, then Body By Jake’s Fitness machines, then ESPN’s brand of silicone and skin bodybuilding show BodyShaping, then Tae Bo and now it’s “Core Secrets”

Since I did my master’s degree studies in injury prevention/functional anatomy/performance enhancement I have some knowledge in the subject. Basically I have been through 5 years of university classes and I still find it difficult to grasp some of the complex relationships between agonists and antagonists during certain phases of functional movement.

I find it difficult for the 24 hour fitness personal trainer or any trainer for that matter, who has completed their certification after studying for a few hours in a book and taking an hour long test to get a firm grasp on the topic.

All this is not to say I think functional training, core strength, balance etc. is all a scam but I think it is used against the uninformed to sell fitness services and products.

It is also an excuse for an inexperienced and uneducated personal trainer to use crazy, tight rope walking, circus style exercises when they are unaware of any method to their madness. They know and their clients think that it is functional training which is the “new thing” and better than the traditional style of training which “is so 1990″

In conclusion functional training is not a scam, but is analogous to an abdominal product which you see on TV. The product is not a total sham, it does work, but instead of spending “3 easy payments of $99.99″ you can get the same benefit from doing a few core and ab exercises on your floor in front of your television.

When an experienced educated personal trainer uses “functional training” it can possibly be more beneficial than a traditional workout program with some free weights and machines. When a poorly educated, inexperienced trainer uses what they think is functional training it usually ends up to be a mess and a waste of time and money for the client.

As a San Francisco Personal Trainer and founder of AskTheTrainer.com I try to keep everything true to the current, and most importantly the past research which has stood the test of time.