Functional Training

After explaining the reasons why we strongly recommend that cyclists do toning exercises, we’re going to give you some details of a more novel way to work the muscles and, more importantly, more effective.

What is functional training?
The world of fitness evolves by leaps and bounds, and in a few years we’ve gone from having typical gyms with 4 or 5 “hulks” who wouldn’t let go of the dumbbells, to sports and social centers where people go not just for strength training, but to play padel, eat or simply sunbathe by the pool.

Accompanying this huge change have been many advances in the purely athletic aspect, one of which is the improved methods used in weight training. All4Training incorporates these new advances and puts them forward as one more tool for improving fitness and quality of life. And I say new advances but only in Spain, because the pilates ball was already being used by the triathlon teams of other nations in 2004, and by Lance Armstrong.

Am I going to get stronger with a ball?We must reluctantly admit that ball called a Fitball, and used by people who are just starting to work out, offers a system that will “make you very strong.”

And when we say strong, we mean that you’re going to improve the strength you need for cycling and for everyday activities. If what you want is to look like a “fridge”, then this option isn’t for you. We cyclists, however, don’t need more muscle volume; we need to improve our performance.

Working out with equipment like the fitball or bosu ball lets you do exercises to build up your strength. More importantly, they improve balance and joint stability.

When should I do these exercises? This will depend a lot on your initial level and desired target. It’s not the same training a sprinter as it is a climber, and toning them isn’t the same either. For an athlete used to riding a bike and who’s done some toning work, we might recommend:

6 weeks of classic exercises with machines and some free weights. For example, leg presses, multipower, one-leg squats, dumbbell lunges, etc. The goal is to gain coordination and muscle tone so you can do the exercises that follow correctly.

4 weeks of exercises with free weights and an intro to unstable elements like the fitball. For example, fitball sit-ups, kneeling one-arm row, balancing on the fitball. This will continue improving your tone as you learn the right way to do these exercises.

6 weeks of functional exercises like planches, bosu jumps, free weights in unstable positions with bosu and fitball. Once you have the muscle tone and you’re comfortable with your upper-body fitness, you can start doing more complete exercises with bosu and fitball.

From then on, everyone can take their own path depending on their needs and level. There are thousands of possibilities and combinations, which must always be used with some logic and good judgment, as part of a program to improve muscle tone and the level of execution.

To find out more about these types of exercises, you can visit the website of one of the main proponents of this type of training, Domingo Sanchez, whom we want to thank once more for helping us discover this new approach to toning.