Functional strength training: The more natural approach

What is functional strength training?

Building functional strength is all about building strength that can be applied to everyday human movement, such as lifting heavy objects, climbing and building strength that can help you perform more effectively at a given sport. 

Many people spend hours a week sweating away in the gym performing countless reps of bicep curls and assisted chest press and building little functional strength in the process. The Primal Strength method is focused on preparing the body to tackle all sorts of physical demands, not only in building a better body composition.

Functional Strength exercises 

We believe that some of the strongest people in the world are powerlifters, gymnasts, and Olympic weightlifters. Therefore it makes sense to observe what makes them so strong and see where we have apply some of what they do to our own training. 

So we take the three powerlifting exercises - squat, deadlift and bench press and use them as some of our benchmark lifts (an exercise we use to measure an increase of strength). These exercises help you build a tremendous amount of functional strength that can be applied to everyday human movement. We insist that these exercises are performed using free weights so that the stabilising muscles are equally strengthened.

Olympic weightlifters perform two main exercises in competition, the clean & jerk, and the snatch. Because these lifts involve a very fast and explosive movement, there is great potential to improve ones speed and power when practicing these exercises. The power-clean for example (which involves explosively lifting a weight from the floor into a standing position) has become a staple exercise for many Olympic sprinters.

I consider gymnasts to have the most balanced strength attributes of any athlete. Take something like the Olympic Rings which require incredible strength, core stabilisation and explosive power. I would love to have the freakish strength of a high level gymnast, but their strength comes from years of training and most gymnastics require a great deal of technique, so we are limited to what we can borrow from there training. Pull-ups, other calisthenics and bodyweight isometrics are a a great way to challenge the body and provide a ton of core stability like a gymnast. 

Compound weight lifting - Exercises that recruit three or more body parts when performing a movement and are usually a multi-joint movement. An example of this is a deadlift, which taxes the legs, back, arms and core stabilisers and involves movement at the knee and hip. Most human movement requires multiple joint movement and uses more than one muscle group at once, imagine what is required to lift a heavy object up off the ground! For this reason I prefer compound exercises to isolated exercises (a single joint or muscle exercise e.g a bicep curl). 

Programme design:

Where traditional bodybuilding workouts focus on isolating different muscle groups, our functional method is primarily based around human movement patterns, for example splitting workouts in workouts that focus on pushing movement and pulling movements separately. Separating your workouts by body part groups is fine, however I prefer to group exercises that mimic a similar movement pattern.  

Here is am example of a strength functional strength programme:

Weeks 1-2

Focus on building core stabilisation and endurance:

Workout 1 (push emphasis) -

3 x 15-21 reps of dumbbell press using 50% of 1rm (1 rep max)

3 x 12-15 standing military press using 60% of 1 rm

2 x 12 bodyweight dips

3 x 15-21 reps of a squat variation using 60% of 1rm

3 x 20 steps of walking lunges using a light weight

WOD (circuit performed back to back without rest)

6 pull-ups

15 press ups

21 air squats

30 sit-ups 

400m run 

Complete the circuit 3 times round trying to maintain a steady pace.

Workout 2 (pull emphasis)

3 x 12 back extensions using bodyweight 

21, 12, 15 kettlebell swings

3 x 12 reps of bodyweight or band assisted pull-ups

3 x 15 Standing single arm cable row 

4 point stabilisation: front plank, side planks and hip bridge all held for a minute each

WOD - exercises to be performed back to back without a break

10 Renegade rows

10 Burpees

10 Inverted rows

10 kettlebell swings

Weeks 2-3 Strength focus

Workout 1 - Push emphasis

Squat 5 x 5 reps using 85-90% of 1rm

Bench press 5 x 5 reps using 85-90% of 1rm

Dumbbell Bulgarian split squat 3 x 12 reps each leg

Dumbbell floor press 2 x 12 reps

Push press 3 x 5 reps using 85-90% of 1rm

Handstand push-ups (heels touch wall) 3 x 6-12 reps

Military press isometric hold (hold a relatively light barbell above head) 30 second hold

4 point isometric hold

Workout 2 - Pull emphasis

Deadlift 5 x 5 reps using 85-90% of 1rm

Weighted Pull-up 5 x 5 reps of 1rm

Glute ham raise or back extension for 3 x 12-15 reps

Inverted row underhand grip 3 x 12-15 reps

Isometric leg raise from pull-up bar for 5 x 5 second holds with a ten second rest between reps

Weeks 3-4 Power focus

Olympic weightlifting workouts 1

Snatch 3 x 3 reps using 80% of 1rm

Snatch grip high pull 3 x 5 reps using 75% of 1rm

Overhead squat 3 x 5 using 75% of 1rm

Olympic weightlifting workout 2

Front squat 3 x 5 using 85-90% of 1rm

Jerk 2 x 3 reps using 80% of 1rm

Push press 2 x 5 reps using 75% of 1rm

Clean & jerk 6 singles working up to 1rm

Mixed power workout 3

Back squat superset 3 x 5 reps Back squat - followed by 10 box jumps

Bench press superset 3 x 3 reps using 90% of 1rm - followed by medicine ball chest pass 10 reps

Clean high pull superset 3 x 3 - into 10 medicine ball slams

Tabata interval training - 20 sec of max effort cycling or running with 10 second rests between efforts. Repeat 8 times around

Our method of madness

The Primal Challenge is all about living on a primal diet and doing activities that minic our hunter gatherer ancestors. Of course it sounds like a novelty, and I guess it is, but the simple principles of living that we can observe from our primal ancestors can help to build a stronger, fitter, faster and leaner body.

Our core principle consist of:
eating lean meat
lifting heavy arse weights
moving fast like hunter

Practically this means lots of functional exercises, focusing on compound weight lifting exercises and human movement (rather than individual body parts). We would not advocate a standard run of the mill split-routine you see most wanna be bodybuilders performing at a local "globo gym". And we are primarily concern with ticking all the boxes when it comes to working out, that means - increased strength, speed, power, endurance, fitness and improved body composition.

Our core exercises consist of:
Squats
Deadlifts
Bench Press
Weighted pull-ups and bodyweight pull-ups
Olympic weightlifting:
Cleans
C&J
Snatch
Jerk and Pressing
Track running:
Various distances

Lifting heavy weights:
We tend to use these as our 'benchmark' exercises and will keep a record of how much weight we can lift/ times we hit with these exercises. We will always try to progress in these exercises by adding more weight or reps each time we lift. We may from time to time include 'isolated' movements such as bicep curls, but this is more to help improve strength in other areas, or to acheive a certain goal, e.g. a hypertrophy stage of training.

Moving fast:
This refers to focusing a lot around high intensity interval training (HIIT), this could be in the form of a metabolic conditioning circuit (a circuit that could consist of weightlifting, bodyweight calathetics and cardiovascular exercises designed to tax all the human energy systems). I am also big on running, biking and swimming but prefer to complete shorter distances quickly with a short rest period between efforts.

Eating lean meat:
Of course this refers to the diet we recommend that is largely a low carb - high protein diet. Although we do support a Paleo or Primal diet, we also understand that different training goals will require a different approach to the diet. For example, someone looking to lose weight will want to reduce their carb intake and maintain a higher protein and fat (healthy fats) intake, whereas a marathon runner would be better off consuming a higher number of carbohydrates.

If you choose to get involved in the Primal Challenge I first want to state that we do not preach that our method is the best or the most complete, but it is a method that has worked well for us to achieve our own training goals.


Train hard and have fun!


Blog posted by - JimC

WOD Blog >> Strength and Power Endurance

This section of the blog will document the training completed by my gym partner "Mr. Simon Aldous" and myself so that we can measure what has worked well for us, and thus report our recommendations.


Last week's workout consisted of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and a circuit of Power Cleans, Deadlifts and Front Squats using a relatively low weight.

This workout was designed to tax the three energy systems:

• ATP-CP system (Phosphogen system) - This system is used only for very short durations of up to 10 seconds. The ATP-CP system neither uses oxygen nor produces lactic acid if oxygen is unavailable and is thus said to be alactic anaerobic. This is the primary system behind very short, powerful movements like a punch, a 100 m sprint or powerlifting.

• Anaerobic system - Predominates in supplying energy for exercises lasting less than 2 minutes. Also known as the Glycolytic System. An example of an activity of the intensity and duration that this system works under would be a 400 m sprint.

• Aerobic system - This is the long duration energy system. By 5 minutes of exercise the O₂ system is clearly the dominant system. In a 1 km run, this system is already providing approximately half the energy; in a marathon run it provides 98% or more.

We started our workout with a Tabata Protocol. This is a method of intense anaerobic conditioning which consists of 20 seconds of hard activity followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated 8 times over. The benefit of Tabata intervals is that it can help to improve anaerobic fitness and also aerobic conditioning despite being only 4 minutes of exercise!

Following a brief dynamic stretching routine we got stuck into our main workout which is to be completed as a back-to-back tri-set of:

Power cleans @70kg x 6reps
Deadlift @70kg x 10reps
Front Squats @80kg x 10reps (Simon lifted 80kgs while I wimped out and dropped my weight to 60kg as I felt sore from training the day before)

repeated 5 times, the rest period being when the time it took for Simon or myself to complete the circuit.

This circuit taxes predominatly the ATP-CP system and the anaerobic system which is responsible for producing powerful and explosive movements for short periods of time. Considering my main sport is Muay Thai and boxing, this sort of workout is perfect for mimicking the physical demands of a boxing match which consists of 3-5 three minute rounds.

Recipe: Tuna steak with a salsa and sweet potato

People think that having a clean diet = spending ££££. But the truth is healthy eating can be achieved on a budget.

Frozen tuna steaks from Aldis for £2.99 for a whole pack. Pack of sweet potatoes can be found for less that £2 in most supermarkets.

Here is what I russled up for dinner on Monday night...

Tuna steak with a salsa and sweet potato

Recipe:
2 tuna steaks
2 Medium sized sweet potatoes
Broccoli or side salad

Salsa:
1 spring onion
Half a red onion
1 avocado
Half a red pepper
1 green or red chilli (optional)
Half a lemon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to season


Serves 2

Chop all the ingredients for your salsa and add them to a medium sized bowl. Stir thoroughly and add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

I microwaved the sweet potatoes for convenice. Set at full power (900 wat) for 6-8 mins.

As these were frozen tuna steaks I fried them for a good 5 mins each side on a low-medium heat. 

Plates up and job done!

Why follow a Primal Diet?

We support the belief that an excessive consumption of carbohydrates - especially processed and refined carbs, are heavily linked to medical conditions such as, obesity, heart disease and diabetes. It was the popular belief that dietary fats were the main cause of increased body fat, however recent evidence has pretty much shut this belief out.

What foods should I eat and avoid?

Most low-carb diets bang on about the dangers of consuming too many "simple carbohydrates" and too few "complex carbohydrates".  The theories goes as so: simple carbs such as table sugar found in chocolate and cake, also white bread, pasta and white rice are largely comprised of one or two sugars, glucose and fructose. These are digested too quickly for our body to efficiently use it all as energy, they are therefore often stored as fat. Additionally, these foods tend to leave us feeling hungry soon afterwards.

A complex carb such as brown rice, sweet potatoes or porridge oats takes longer to digest, thus they are less likely to be stored as fat as they can be more efficiently converted into energy. This is not to say that all fast carbs should be avoided like the plauge, but they should be your staple, especially if your goals include fat loss.

There is a singular measure of carbohydrates that tells you which are the healthier sources of carbohydrates —“Glycemic Index.” Glycemic index is simply a measure of a food’s propensity to raise blood sugar. Avoid high glycemic foods and you’ll avoid many, if not most, of the ills associated with diet.

The Glycemic Index (GI) rates foods with a score of 1-100. Low GI carbs are consider to have a score of less than 55, medium GI have a score of 55-69 and high GI carbs have a score more than 70.

I personally would never do something as convulsive as measuring quantities of foods or calculating calories for every meal. Simply stick to eating the right foods:
Lean meat
Oily fish
Nuts 
Vegetables
Fruit
Low GI carbs
Few starchy carbs (to be consumed after working out)
Avoid sugar

What is the Primal Diet?

The 'Primal' or 'Caveman diet' is a culture of low carb, low calorie and high protein diet with the broad aim to improve health. It is fair to say that the concept of low carb diets took a bit of a media pummelling during the 90s, largely due to the dim view of the Atkin' Diet. However the trigger word "low carb" is about as far as the similarities go between Atkin's and the Primal Diet.

A summary of the Primal Diet

In a nutshell the Primal diet mimics the nutrition of our 'hunter gatherer' ancestors, based around lean protein, healthy fats and lots of vitamins and minerals. The menu typically consists of meat, fish, nuts, eggs, roots and vegetables.

Fats vs carbohydrates

Many low fat diets promoting low fat, low protein, high carb diets were commonly found in health magazines but a new age of nutrition has emerge with the understanding that fat is not the primary health concern but the excessive intake of carbohydrates - particularly processed and 'hi-GI-carbs' that have been linked to illnesses such as obesity, diebetes and coronary heart disease.

Paleo or our own method of madness?

Robb Wolf's: The Paleo Solution is certainly the most popular low carb or 'Caveman diets' and Mark Sisson's: The Primal Blueprint also contains some great information. Our take on nutrition does not differ greatly from these two approaches, but with the emphasis on making the lifestyle more accessible and more applicable to your average person constrained by money, convenience and of course a degree of want of indulgence.