By Stacy Whitman

Let’s face it: We’d all like to look as ripped as Zac Efron or another Hollywood celebrity. But in reality, our gym workouts serve a much more important purpose: They prepare us for everyday challenges such as lifting a dog into a car, hoisting a carry-on into an overhead bin, and swinging a golf club.

Training the body to execute these kinds of real-world movements enables us to do them more effectively while minimizing the chance of sustaining an injury. In the fitness world, it’s called functional fitness–and it’s the focus of Zenegy’s new PIVOT Functional Movement studio.

The human body doesn’t move in just one plane of motion. In daily life, we bend, twist, turn, push, pull, climb, descend, lunge, push, pull, sit, stand, walk, jog, and reach. To perform these movements, muscle groups must work together in a coordinated way. With functional training, you prepare yourself for life.

Unlike exercises performed on old-school weight training machines, functional fitness exercises require stability. As a result, they build core strength, which can help improve your posture, combat low back pain, and lessen your risk of falling. Other potential benefits include better balance, coordination and agility.

Functional training isn’t meant to replace traditional weight training. Fact is, there are advantages to both. But incorporating functional strength exercises into your program can help you challenge your muscles to break through a plateau, and keep your workouts fun and interesting, says Zenergy Fitness Director Yvette Hubbard.

Functional fitness isn’t just for the young and fit! Research shows that it can be just as effective as traditional strength training for middle-age and elderly adults. Contact Yvette at yhubbard@zenergysv.com to learn more.