 |
 |
 |  |  |
GearTrends'® Product Buying Guides: Functional Trainers Buying Guide
A GearTrends® Buying Guide brought to you by:
When home gyms in the late '90s broke away from the traditional arms and levers that were fixed in form and path, a whole new mode of strength-training was born. Although physical therapists had talked of "functional training" for a very long time, it was a concept just being learned and accepted in fitness training. And one that was to leave its imprint on all things moving forward.
What is functional training?
Basically, training functionally means training for life and for life's activities and movements, from day-to-day things like picking up the kids from the floor to reaching up into cabinets to the demands of sports endeavors like pitching a baseball or running. That means training the body as it will be moving, forcing the entire body and musculature to take part in the intended movement rather than artificially isolating one joint or muscle. Functional training by definition means you will in one exercise use multiple muscle groups that cross several joints. For example, doing a squat while standing up and forcing the torso muscles to keep you balanced is functional; doing a leg extension sitting on a seat so only your knee joint and the muscles that cross it are working is not considered functional.
What are functional trainers?
Today's functional trainers are therefore many things, but mostly they incorporate cables instead of fixed arms and have hand grips that move around on the end of a cable rather than a welded-on lever for the exerciser to hold. This allows you to stand, sit and lie down using a bench, the floor or other accessories such as balls or foam rollers, and then grab the handles on the cables and pull them against resistance to strengthen and tone muscles. That means you must use several muscle groups, including legs and core (such as abs and back), to do most exercises since they must stabilize themselves while pulling on a cable that will move around if they don't keep it tracking as desired.
In addition, with the cables, one can easily replicate upper- and lower-body sports movements, such as a golf swing or leg extension in running, as well as everyday movements, such as reaching high into cabinets. This is accomplished with the free-moving ability of the cables and exerciser's body since there are no immovable seats and rigid benches.
Is functional training for everybody all the time?
Not necessarily. It is great for everyday strengthening, but can be combined well with traditional fixed patterns too, which is why some functional trainers today provide seats that can move out of the way or benches as add-ons, and some gyms provide both cables and fixed arms so a user can do both types of training with one piece. And traditional home gyms will still strengthen and tone well, but with a little less versatility and, because of more isolated movements, a lower percentage of muscles used per exercise.
More variety in movements in functional trainers can also be what makes your use of the machine more difficult to learn at first. It looks easy at first glance or when you are shown certain exercises, but once you get home, remembering what to do or thinking of appropriate and safe movements that can go all ways is more complicated than a piece with fixed arms that you just push or pull one way.
That's why it's important to do your homework and know exactly what you want during a sales presentation, as well as to ask for instructions, charts or booklets that could come with the machine, and any personal training sessions for an introduction that the store may offer either gratis or at a reduced rate. You could also consider taking your digital camera along to a session at the store and take pictures of a variety of basic exercises performed by the store personnel.
Key reasons to consider a functional, cable-based system
1. You will never outgrow a functional trainer, no matter what your needs. One piece can be used comfortably by a beginner as well as advanced athletes in training.
2. Its applicability to many types of users in an entire family with different needs and different builds and heights allows everyone to get the workout needed with the same unit because the machines can be customized. In addition, machines with TWO cables and hand grips can be used simultaneously by two people during certain exercises.
3. A functional trainer can fit most any body size or exercise preference since the pulleys can be moved down low to the ground or high over head and anywhere in between.
4. You can easily mimic sports movements by holding onto the cables and then going through the normal swing, bat or throw as if the cables weren't there.
5. With the use of seats or benches, you can perform more traditional exercises and combine them in a routine with a few exercises standing or using balls -- until you are comfortable with using strictly functional and less stable movements.
6. Your routine won't get as monotonous since there are an infinite number of exercise possibilities.
7. A functional trainer can be a superior choice for injury prevention or rehabilitation. That's because it focuses on all muscles, including much smaller ones, and uses many different angles for a more thorough and balanced workout.
Other points to remember and consider:
• Printed education -- Machines from the better brands come with some kind of instruction, be it cards, placards, posters or booklets that demonstrate and explain how to do the movements. So keep an eye out for it, and if it is available, make sure it makes sense to you. Some also come with the ability for you to log your workouts on accompanying material, making sure it's never lost and always handy.
• Hands-on demonstration -- As with all sales presentations for fitness equipment, pointing and showing doesn't work as well as demonstration and hands-on experimentation by you. Make sure it happens. Don't hesitate to get on the machine, move the pulleys up and down, get the feel for some exercises, and ask the salesperson to explain them. The machine with cables hanging on it can look rather intimidating until you see how easily it moves and the cables pull.
• Demonstration of levels -- Ask how an exercise for one muscle can be done for beginners (with a seat and back support), becoming more functional for an intermediate exerciser (standing but supported), and then adding more instability for an advanced exerciser (such as balancing on one foot or sitting on a ball instead of a bench).
• Goals -- Don’t be shy to talk about your goals if the salesperson doesn’t ask directly. It’s important for you to be directed to the right trainer and exercises depending on whether you are a budding soccer player, a nationally ranked archer or simply want to start to decrease your chances of osteoporosis.
• Comparison to a traditional gym -- Take a look at the visual similarities between a fixed-arm gym and a cable gym. If you pull out the cables, they sort of look like the arms on a traditional home gym, except the functional trainers "arms" are loose and can move up and down.
Other variables to consider or ask about:
• Cuffs or bars that are standard; if optional, the additional cost
• Exercise instructions on the unit or that accompany it
• Accessories you might consider, such as a ball, foam roller or exercise mat
• Sport-specific attachments, such as bars with an end that swivels to simulate sports movements, or even sports-like clubs or equipment made to attach to a machine, which can help add variety to or customize a workout.
• Fit (height and curve or cut) of seats and cushions
• Space needs of piece, stored or in use
• Incremental weights that go low or high enough
• Optional or attached seats and benches or if they fold or move out of the way
• Footplates for performing rows
• Wheelchair accessibility
• Locking child-safety systems
• Length of warranty
|
Email this to a friend. |
 |
 |
