• No one exercise can challenge both prime movers, stabilisers and
core muscles equally.
• No one movement – with the exception of the actual sporting
activity or the ‘activity of daily living’ – can replicate the unique
demands of sports, so we can use the terms ‘functional’ or ‘sports
specific’ with the big proviso that they are closer in some of the
physical demands than others. I have sympathy to the view that
functional training is a meaningless descriptor in practice.
• There is a continuum with which we should view strength
exercises, and the precise choice depends on the training goals
of that particular phase of training.
• As a rule, the more stable the exercise, the higher the prime mover
muscle recruitment is, with stabiliser, core and peripheral activity
being reduced. The more unstable an exercise becomes, the
greater the neutral drive to the stabilising, core and peripheral
muscles, typically those that are in contact with the ground.
• Exercise can be periodised in two primary ways: the first, in a
classical manner commencing with exercises that demand higher
stability levels and therefore a lower training load. As the programs
progress, more stable and traditional exercise choices would be
incorporated.
The second approach, proposed by the late Yuri Verkohsanski and
known as conjugate sequencing, would be to perform both stable
and unstable exercises within one session. The sequencing of stable
to unstable, or vice versa, would be made on the training goal. This
utilises the concept that states we are only as strong as our weakest
link 17 , with the advice to identify and strengthen ‘energy leaks’.
Exercises must be viewed on a continuum – from highly unstable to
highly stable – with each offering unique stressors. A wise coach or
trainer will periodise all exercise types in the long-term development
of their client and athlete.
REFERENCES
1. Boutagy, T (2002). The Fundamentals of Functional Training. Personal
Trainer Network.
2. Siff, MC. Functional training revisited. Strength and Conditioning Journal:
October 2002 - Volume 24(5): 42-46. Dr Siff passed away several months
after this article was published.
3. Santana, JC (2016) Functional Training. Human Kinetics
4. McNeill Alexander, R. (1971) Size and Shape. London: Edward Arnold.
5. Strength & Power in Sports (1993). Ed. Komi, PV
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11415593
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11415593
8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24427423
9. https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2010/07000/Training_
Adaptations_Associated_With_an_8_Week.32.aspx https://www.ncbi.
nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6443166/
10. https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2009/12000/Seven_Weeks_
of_Instability_and_Traditional.4.aspx
11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4126284/
12. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2017.00643/full#B3
13. https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2010/02000/Muscle_
Activation_Patterns_While_Lifting_Stable.4.aspx
14. Not his exact words!
15. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18076235/
16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4656700/
pdf/40279_2015_Article_384.pdf
17. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2017.00643/full#B7
Tony Boutagy PhD
Tony is a strength coach and personal trainer who has
been providing educational resources in the fitness
industry for over two decades. He holds a PhD in sports
science and is accredited with ESSA as an exercise
physiologist.
22 | NETWORK WINTER 2020