Functional fitness workout for women

Functional fitness helps to develop the movements and motor skills of the muscles. The need for complete functional training for women is growing daily. For women working or students, having strength and mobility will help improve performance at the workplace and school, respectively. She must gain knowledge about fitness and its importance in their everyday lives.

What is Functional Training?

Functional training is a form of strength training that emphasizes real-life activities over the traditional benchmarks of bodybuilding. You'll work with weights and resistance devices in a typical functional training regimen. Still, instead of isolating muscles, you'll train movements more similar to those you might perform in everyday life, like bending down to pick up a suitcase or running to catch a bus.

Is It the Same Thing as CrossFit?

Often confused with CrossFit, the two are not at all synonymous. While both are comprised of various exercises that emphasize overall strength and conditioning, functional training has a more holistic approach to fitness. Functional training focuses on improving specific movements and body functions, using exercise to address imbalances in your body. Meanwhile, CrossFit is a competitive sport involving completing high-intensity exercises in short bursts.

Best Functional Full-Body Workout for women

They include:

High Knees to Inchworm

You may have seen this one in the gym or on Instagram, but it’s a great full-body move that works your glutes and hamstrings. Start in a high plank position with your hands underneath your shoulders. Keeping your back flat and core engaged, lift one knee toward the chest and then reach it back behind you while simultaneously bringing the opposite arm forward and reaching it up overhead. Repeat on each side for one minute.

Wide Mountain Climbers

Get into a push-up position with your hands underneath your shoulders and your feet hip-width apart. Jump both feet out wide like you’re doing a flying squirrel jump, but keep them elevated at all times. Bring them together quickly, then jump them back out wide again, repeating for one minute straight (without resting).

Lateral Lunge and Hop

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, hands on hips. Step to the right, bending both knees until thighs are parallel to the floor. Explosively jump up and switch positions by stepping to the left as you raise your right arm overhead and bend down toward your left knee as if you were going for a high-five. Repeat for 30 seconds; then switch sides for 30 seconds.

Plank Diagonal Reach

Start in plank position with hands under shoulders and toes on the floor. Keep back flat, abs tight, and body in a straight line from head to heels. Bend your left elbow to touch your right hand with your left fingertips. Hold for 10 seconds; then return to starting position before repeating on the opposite side for 5 reps per side.

Fast Feet Sprawl

The Fast Feet Sprawl is a great warm-up exercise that gets your body moving and loosened up for the workout ahead. The key is to move your feet fast, but stay in control and keep your elbows bent. Keep your head up and look forward as you move your feet quickly from side to side.

Frog Squat

The Frog Squat is an effective squat variation that targets the glutes, hamstrings, quads, and core muscles. Start in a squat position with your feet wider than hip-width apart and toes turned out slightly. Lower down into a squat while keeping your weight on the balls of your feet until you reach 90 degrees of knee flexion (when the knee joint reaches 90 degrees of flexion). Press through your heels to return to starting position.

Hip Thrusters

Hip thrusts are a great way to strengthen your glutes. The hip thrust is the most effective exercise for building stronger, rounder glutes. It is also one of the best exercises for developing a strong core and improving overall lower body strength.

Bicycle Crunches

Bicycle crunches are a great abs exercise that will tone your abs and obliques quickly. This exercise works all three sections of your abdominal muscles—the rectus abdominis (upper abs), the transverse abdominis (lower abs), and the obliques—and it targets different sections of each muscle group depending on how you perform it.

What Are The Benefits of Functional Training for women?

Functional training for women focuses on proper movement patterns and ensuring that every part of the body is engaged in every exercise. There are no single muscles or anatomical regions—instead, it's about using every part of your body together as one unit, like a machine.

Functional training has been shown to improve balance and flexibility, which are two crucial components of healthy movement. It also helps women avoid injury by teaching them how to use the appropriate muscles during certain movements. Functional training can help you carry groceries easily in the car or up the stairs at home; it can make your daily walk more comfortable and even help you get up from the couch without huffing and puffing or experiencing lower back pain.

Because functional fitness is more concerned with movement skills than isolated muscle development, this training can help you lose weight through calorie expenditure combined with a healthy diet and exercise routine. That's because functional fitness involves using your whole body to complete tasks like lifting, pushing, and pulling, which burns more calories than isolating individual muscle groups and using machines that only work one or two muscle groups simultaneously.

How Often Should You Do Functional Training?

The answer is that it depends. The frequency of functional training sessions will vary from person to person and daily. If you're just starting and are not used to any strength training, then three days a week may be best.

Five days a week might be better if you're an experienced athlete or a professional trainer. And if you're an advanced athlete who trains like one every day, that's fine too.

The key is consistency and staying active throughout the week, so your body doesn't get used to any specific routine or exercise.