For example, think about picking up a box from the floor and lifting it over your head to place it on a shelf. This involves your legs, abs, back, shoulders and arms. A functional exercise mimicking this would involve the same movement path while using additional resistance (e.g. a medicine ball, dumbbell, or cable machine).
Think about a golf swing as another example. Would doing push-ups be the best exercise if you want to hit the ball further? Or would a resistance twisting exercise similar to the golf swing motion be more effective? Of course, you would choose the second exercise because its functionality more closely resembles that of a golf swing.
Besides the benefits of functional exercises for sport and everyday life, they are also great time-saver exercises. Rather than doing exercises designed for one particular body part, functional exercises can work a number of muscle groups in one movement. Therefore, you end up getting a lot more done in less time.
Below I have listed some of my favourite functional exercises that can be helpful for sports or for everyday life.
1. Single Arm Dumbbell Squat and Press - This movement works the legs, abdominals, back, shoulders, and arms. If you are short on time do this exercise for 6-8 reps with each arm.
2. Standing Barbell Twist - great for activities that involve a lot of twisting such as golf, hockey, and baseball. The movement is excellent for overall core strength (abs, hips, lower back) development as well as shoulder strength. Do anywhere from 5 to 15 reps each side.
3. Single Arm High to Low Cable Back Row - this exercise works your legs, abdominals, back, shoulders, and arms in one movement. It can be applied to multiple sports as it challenges your balance because the movement is done with your legs in a split position. Do 6-10 reps with each arm.