Are your workouts functional?

I was chasing my crawling son earlier today around the living room and watching as he is learning to pull himself up on the table as well as the stairs. Did I mention my cardio has increased significantly over the last few days? It got me to thinking about working out and the different muscles we all use daily.

How many sets of leg extensions or leg curls or bicep curls do you see done in the gym or do yourself? I personally have seen members take nearly an hour doing all types of these isolation exercises and wonder how much this benefits them in the long run... Note, there is nothing wrong with isolation exercises, especially if you are a bodybuilder in competitions. Sure, I isolate certain muscles for a few sets each week, but my workouts are not centered around these types of exercises. Anyone that has trained with me knows that is a big part of my philosophy as a trainer.

Sometimes I daydream and put myself in a position where I am on a cliff and my only hope to survive is to pull myself up from pending doom. Can I do it? Does my back have the energy to pull myself up and save myself? (Luckily, I can pull myself up.) Anyway, I certainly don't have the big guns but I don't need to isolate them and waste precious time in the gym doing set after set. The best "pump" I feel in my biceps is directly after a set of pull ups. That one compound movement hits the upper back and biceps, both of which are critical in saving yourself from falling off a cliff.

We all get older and things will get more difficult for us such as getting out of a chair. The first muscle to contract (that should contract) when getting up is your hamstring. What is the best exercise to simulate getting up? Squats! I have an earlier post about squatting so I won't get into my thoughts here. But, really think about it, how important are those leg curls and extensions to you later in life when you are struggling to get up from a chair or other seated position.

These are just a couple of functional movements to think about when going to the gym that hit more than one muscle and will decrease the amount of time you are in the gym.

Please feel free to comment or ask any questions about this. I look forward to your feedback. Good Luck!