What type of movements does functional movement training focus on?

Functional movement training primarily emphasizes movements that mimic daily activities. This type of training is designed to improve strength, flexibility, stability, and coordination, which are critical for performing everyday tasks such as squatting, lifting, pushing, and pulling. By focusing on these practical movements, individuals can enhance their overall functional fitness, reduce the risk of injury, and improve their performance in daily life.

Training in this manner also promotes better movement patterns, which can translate into more effective and safer execution of both leisure and occupational activities. For instance, an individual who engages in functional movement training is likely to experience improvements in simple tasks, such as sitting down and standing up from a chair or carrying groceries, due to increased core strength and body awareness.

In contrast, high-level athletic skills and competitive sports techniques tend to concentrate on specialized skills for specific sports, which may not have direct applications to daily life activities. Static stretching routines, while beneficial for flexibility, do not engage the whole body in the way functional movements do and lack the dynamic elements needed to simulate real-life tasks. Thus, the emphasis on mimicking daily activities makes functional movement training particularly valuable for individuals seeking to enhance their overall functional capabilities.