In everyday life, side dominance probably dictates how you go about your tasks. If you only ever train with barbells , the strength imbalances that may follow might seep into your training.

Training both sides of your body independently is one of the most functional things you can do every day that you train to both improve your lifting and day-to-day movements. Just try to be mindful of subbing out your barbell in favor of dumbbells or kettlebells when you can. Include unilateral lower body moves like lunges and split squats in your regular routine.

However, if you know you need the extra attention to balancing your muscles and strength, try this session out two or three times a week. You can perform your lunges and split squats unweighted if you need to.

Scale up the weights slowly when the time comes to keep your form excellent. Any time you lunge , hinge , or rotate can be considered functional training.

Whether your main goal is to improve movement outside the gym, crush your next max squat attempt , or be the coolest kid in your CrossFit box, sprinkling functional fitness training into your program can help you get there. Bree-Anna Burick holds the Nationally Accredited Group Exercise certification from the Athletics and Fitness Association of America AFAA.

Since , she has been a fitness coach and an avid exerciser at Orangetheory Fitness in Canton, OH. View All Articles. BarBend is an independent website. The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization.

BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting. Skip to primary navigation Skip to main content Skip to primary sidebar Training Workouts. What is Functional Fitness? Benefits Programming. About Bree-Anna Burick Bree-Anna Burick holds the Nationally Accredited Group Exercise certification from the Athletics and Fitness Association of America AFAA.

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Policies Accessibility Advice Disclaimer Cookies Policy Disclaimers Disclosures Editorial Policy Privacy Policy Terms of Use. Instruction is also good, with demo videos and written instructions included for each exercise in your workout.

Related: Power Athlete founder John Welbourn shares mobility tips. CompTrain is a popular functional fitness workout program designed by Ben Bergeron, a renowned coach in the CrossFit world. Bergeron has coached many elite CrossFit athletes to success, including Katrin Davidsdottir, Brooke Wells, and Cole Sager.

As you might imagine, CompTrain follows a pretty typical CrossFit format with strength, skill, and conditioning segments. However, Senior Editor for Garage Gym Reviews, Kate Meier, followed the classroom training option for months at a time in various CrossFit gyms.

Another functional fitness program, Misfit is geared toward aspiring competitive CrossFit athletes. Like other CrossFit programs, Misfit Athletics provides a daily workout of the day with strength and conditioning prescriptions. Misfit also offers remote coaching for those who want extra accountability and personalization.

Fitness equipment company Sorinex sponsors Squatober and Deadcember, two-month-long powerlifting programs in which you solely squat and deadlift along with some accessory exercises during the months of October and December, respectively.

RELATED: How to Survive Squatober. But, the programs lack an educational aspect and assume people know the intricacies of powerlifting programming. The coaches try to answer as many questions as possible on the social media platforms, but there are some that go unaddressed.

P90X is an at-home workout that combines weightlifting, bodyweight exercises, HIIT, and cardio all in one. The program is really effective in that it helps you lose fat while building lean muscle to get a toned physique. We would love to see it made available on a more streaming-friendly platform. HWPO stands for Hard Work Pays Off.

There are three HWPO tracks: the traditional one, HWPO 60 for people who are tight on time, and HWPO PRO for elite level athletes. Garage Gym Reviews staff writer Sosha Lewis has been following HWPO for about 4 months and is a huge fan. The programming is intentional and each week builds on the last.

The quiz asks you about your fitness experience, goals, and your height and weight before recommending a training and diet regimen. If you want to follow what a fitness champ follows, follow PRVN. This programming is led by coach Shane Orr and Tia-Claire Toomey, five-time CrossFit Games champion.

PRVN60 is intended for the everyday athlete, while PRVN remote coaching is reserved for competitive CrossFit Athletes. With PRVN60, you get strength training, skill work, and conditioning packaged neatly into a one-hour workout. There are a number of coached or self-guided workouts, apparently designed by the training actor Chris Hemsworth underwent for his roles, including Thor.

With 20 daily live classes and more than 8, on-demand options, Obé Fitness seems to be a great option for anyone looking to shake up their workout regimen. Daily Burn is an online workout program dedicated to making fitness fun and accessible for everyone which is a mission we support percent!

Because we always want to know what our community is up to, we posted a poll in our Home Gym Community Facebook group asking what fitness programming our members follow.

A whopping members voted that they create and follow their own programming, but many also voted on these programs. Day one includes squat and bench press; day two includes deadlift and overhead press; and day three includes squat and bench press again.

Pen and Paper offers nearly 40 different strength-focused training programs, some generalized and some specialized for a goal, activity, or muscle group. You can filter plans by training frequency, upper or lower body, limited equipment, or fitness level. The Conjugate Method alternates between max-effort lifts and dynamic exercises in three-week cycles to refine strength and skills.

Starting Strength is a book about training methodology written by Mark Rippetoe, who is perhaps one of the most well-known strength coaches in America. Many fitness coaches use the Starting Strength method and you can be matched to one of these coaches through the Starting Strength website.

Starting Strength is a long-term systematic type of programming that follows several macrocycles and mesocycles with a focus on barbell training. RP, short for Renaissance Periodization, is one of the original functional fitness online workout programs.

With RP, you can choose to work with a remote coach or simply buy a customizable training template. With the custom templates, you choose your number of training days per week and which muscle groups you want to focus on. Mountain Tactical Institute designs online workout programs for tactical professionals and outdoor athletes.

There are programs specific for law enforcement, fire and rescue, military, and mountain, which includes climbing, snow, wilderness professional, mountain guide, and more. All Mountain Tactical Institute plans include strength, conditioning, and mobility aspects relative to the goal at hand.

RELATED : Guide to Outdoor Training. Most of the Garage Gym Reviews team has been working out for years. Just in the last six months, for example, members of our team have run cycles on JuggernautAI, Train Hard, Future, and more.

We started with our own experience with various online workout programs, creating a list of plans our team members have personally used in the past. We also polled our community to see what online workout programs they use and considered those results in our research. Finally, we collaborated among team members at Garage Gym Reviews to choose the best online workout programs you see in this guide.

Personal training can be expensive, and getting your workouts online is often more affordable and more convenient. We favored programs that offered a good value based on their offering. If the app offers personal training, it needs to be more affordable than a personal trainer.

We looked for programs that offer workouts that are easy to understand both in presentation and through expert instruction. Our goal was to find programs that most home gym owners could do with minimal equipment. True, some of the programs on this list cater to people with barbells and treadmills.

We rated each program on its accessibility and ease of use, favoring programs with great interfaces and user-friendly apps. One important factor we evaluated is accountability. Does the program offer ways to keep you on track? Each program received a score from 1 to 5 in this area based on workout reminders, motivating coaches, and interaction with trainers.

These are some of the top benefits of following an online workout program:. Having a coach or, at the very least, paying for a program will help you stay more accountable and not only show up to your workouts, but work harder.

Following an online workout plan eliminates this time suck. Designing workouts also takes brain power, and it can become very tiring to program for yourself. If you follow a program, your weaknesses will be written right into your weekly plan, giving you less opportunity to avoid them.

An online workout program helps to keep those things varied in a way that supports continual improvement. Those of us who get super enthusiastic about fitness may inadvertently skip rest days. Following a program ensures you take necessary breaks and avoid overtraining.

RELATED : Common Lifting Mistakes. To help you narrow down your choices, here are a few things to keep in mind when looking into online workout programs. Most of us are busy. Luckily, most at-home workout plans have minute workouts at the most; many have and minute options and some have workouts as short as 15 minutes.

Equipment availability is another big factor to consider when looking at home workout programs. Of course, budget remains a top factor. Most home workout programs require subscriptions, so when searching, make sure to verify that the monthly fee falls within your budget.

There are a lot of great home workout programs out there. Start by incorporating bodyweight exercises into your routine, like leg exercises such as squats and lunges.

These movements can also be incorporated into your daily activities, like squatting while doing household chores.

To add variety, you can use functional training equipment like resistance bands or stability balls. Remember to prioritize proper form and technique to ensure safety and effectiveness.

If you're new to functional training, consider consulting a fitness professional or joining a functional training class. Core strength plays a vital role in functional training as it helps maintain stability and proper alignment during movements.

Exercises like planks and Russian twists engage the core muscles, improving balance, coordination, and overall body control. Functional training targets deep core muscles essential for spinal stability, enhancing posture and reducing the risk of lower back pain.

By focusing on the core, functional training strengthens the foundation for daily life activities, allowing you to move efficiently and with control.

Incorporating core exercises into your routine is a great way to enhance your functional strength. Activating your glutes and hips is key to improving functional strength.

Engaging your glute muscles during exercises helps enhance functional movements and overall lower body strength. Strengthening your hip muscles can lead to better posture, balance, and stability in daily life activities. By targeting glutes and hips, you can improve your body's ability to perform tasks efficiently and prevent injuries.

Focus on exercises like squats, lunges, and hip thrusts to activate and strengthen these muscle groups. Incorporating glute and hip activation exercises into your fitness routine is a great way to develop functional strength. To maximize your functional strength training, incorporate compound exercises that engage multiple muscle groups for a full-body workout.

Utilize bodyweight exercises to improve functional strength and focus on movements that mimic daily activities. Include specific functional fitness exercises in your routine and prioritize the quality of movement over heavy weights. Enhance stability and balance by targeting core muscles through functional training.

Strengthen your core for better functional movements and increased stability. Develop a strong and stable core to improve overall functional strength. Functional training differs from nonfunctional training by focusing on movements used in everyday life, rather than isolated muscle groups.

It directly translates to daily activities, improving overall functional fitness and application to real-life scenarios. Functional training is the ideal choice for burning calories due to its dynamic movements that raise the heart rate. By engaging multiple muscle groups, functional exercises help burn calories more efficiently.

Increase intensity and calorie expenditure by incorporating functional movements into your workouts. If you're new to functional training, there are several exercises that are perfect for beginners. Starting with bodyweight squats can help you build lower body strength.

Modified push-ups are a great way to work on your upper body strength. Planks are excellent for developing core stability.

Basic functional movements like lunges and step-ups are a good starting point. As you progress, you can gradually increase the difficulty of exercises such as squats, push-ups, and planks.

These exercises will help you improve your functional strength and prepare you for more advanced training. Squats, pushups, and planks form a functional training trilogy that targets different muscle groups for overall functional strength and fitness.

Squats are a great way to enhance lower body strength and improve functional movements in daily life. Pushups engage multiple upper body muscles, including the shoulders, chest, and arms , contributing to functional strength. Planks, on the other hand, focus on core stability and improve functional fitness.

By incorporating squats, pushups, and planks into your workout routine, you can achieve a well-rounded, full-body workout that engages multiple muscle groups. So, why not combine these exercises and take a big step towards improving your functional strength?

Progressing to weighted squats can greatly increase lower body strength. To challenge your upper body muscles, try advancing to incline push-ups. Introducing side planks into your routine will improve core stability and strength.

To further enhance your intermediate training, incorporate more challenging functional movements. Remember to gradually increase intensity and difficulty as you progress.

By incorporating these exercises, you'll continue to push your limits and take your functional strength training to the next level. Incorporating exercises like deadlifts , goblet squats, and single-arm dumbbell rows into your workout routine is a great way to enhance functional strength.

Deadlifts target the posterior chain, strengthening muscles crucial for functional movements. Goblet squats engage your core and lower body effectively, improving overall stability and strength. Single-arm dumbbell rows work on your upper body, enhancing strength and stability.

By incorporating these exercises, you challenge your whole body and create a well-rounded intermediate functional strength workout that can benefit you in daily life. Challenge your lower body strength by incorporating pistol squats, a complex exercise that targets multiple muscles and improves balance.

Push your upper body strength to new heights with handstand push-ups, a challenging movement that engages your shoulders, arms, and core. Take your core strength to the next level by adding dragon flags to your routine, an advanced exercise that works your abs and challenges your stability.

To enhance your functional strength, engage in complex movements that mimic daily life activities. Pushing the limits of your functional strength training will help you reach your fitness goals and improve your overall physical performance.

Mastering advanced functional exercises is an exciting way to take your workout routine to the next level. By understanding the difference between traditional weightlifting and functional strength training, you can challenge your body in new ways. Some examples of advanced functional exercises include renegade rows, Turkish get-ups, and burpees.

These exercises not only improve your balance and stability but also help prevent injuries. To maximize results and avoid injury, it's essential to focus on proper form and technique.

Incorporating these advanced exercises into your overall fitness routine can greatly enhance your health and performance. Functional strength training is suitable for everyone, regardless of age or fitness level.