Functionality doesn’t have to be dull

By Paul Balsom and Pete Estabrooks
Photography By Tye Carson

We don’t believe there is ever a time when you should not be training, either goal training or life training. With goal training, you follow a specific program, which means you are busy and won’t need this workout until such time as you are life training. If you are life training, you’re training for everything, building a platform from which you’ll be ready to go at a moment’s notice when a specific goal does arise.

Here is a workout from Paul Balsom at the Athlete Factory that takes a fundamental functional movement from serious exercise, the hip drive, and lets it evolve to easier movements and spreads some fun around the gym.

All good exercises come from a functional base, so the teaching points are essentially the same: using hip drive to complete the moves, rather than momentum, is the key to success. All athletic movement, including running at any pace, comes from hip drive.

Take some time to go over these exercises carefully to ensure excellent execution, and don’t be afraid to hire a coach or trainer for a session if you think their skills might contribute to a wealth of proper workouts for you. Either way, play safe, have fun and get ready for anything.

The Warm-Up
Athlete Factory warm-ups are based on a five or 10-minute jog or bike followed by track drills, mobility work and dynamic stretching. If you don’t have room or guidance on the track, warm-up drills start with 12-15 minutes of cardiovascular work followed by a few sets of un-weighted, full range of movement squats and dynamic stretching. Build up with 2 or 3 warm-up sets before you reach that day’s working weight.

The Workout
Three to five sets each exercise, with one to two-minute breaks, dependant on weight used and goals desired. Post workout cool down and stretch as required.

Squat
With hands barely shoulder-width, place bar on the back of your shoulders, not the traps. Place feet just outside shoulder-width, with toes turning out slightly, engaging hip and glutes. Tilt the pelvis slightly to support the lumbar spine and shift the weight back to the posterior chain. Use the whole foot to balance while lowering as far as you can without releasing the back, or sliding forward over your knees. Ideally, the bottom point is with the hamstrings parallel to the floor, only try to get into the full sit when you can keep your back set properly. Exhale while returning to start position.
* The key to the lift is to use the torso (core) to stabilize while you move through the hip joint, giving true functional movement and core stability. If the pelvis drops at any point, the back is in a weak position and the discs are under significant stress.

Deadlift
Take a narrower stance, about shoulder-width or just inside, allowing a greater range of motion through the hip joint. Keep hands just outside shoulder-width for the same reason. Tighten the lower back and push the chest up and in front of the shoulders; in order to be able to drive through the hamstrings, the back should stay tight through the lift. Push into the floor, extending your legs and hips. Squat back into your start position.
* Imagine you’re pushing through the heels to push your upper chest up as you make the lift, rather than pulling at the weight, which might allow the back to collapse, putting it in a dangerous position. In both lifts, the knees should only move a few inches forward from a straight-leg position; any further will allow the quads to do too much work and put excess stress on the knees.

Lateral Squat and Press
Assume the beginning squat stance, holding a weight plate or medicine ball at chest height. Lower as in a squat. Drive through the outside leg step, then through both legs to push up the momentum from the hip drive, lifting the weight overhead. Repeat, driving off the other leg.
* Follow through, making sure the back does not release and stays round, and that the hips stay high so the weight stays on your posterior chain.
 

Medicine Ball Toss
Holding a medicine ball at chest height, dynamically drop into a sit position. Drive through the legs, jumping and driving the ball up and away from you. Run, grab the ball and repeat, or, if you are with a partner, catch and repeat.

Medicine Ball Lateral Toss
Holding a medicine ball at chest height, dynamically drop into a sit position, while straightening the arms and pulling the ball off to one side.Drive through the legs, jumping and pulling the ball from low on one side of your body to high and across your torso, driving the ball up and away from you.

November/December 2010 Issue