6 Best Functional Exercises Every Athlete Must Do

Functional exercises are the bread and butter of athletes. These are well-known and effective ways to make athletes injury-proof, especially for joints that tend to get hurt the most, such as knees, shoulders, and backs.

These moves are harder versions of common exercises that are more strenuous on your core and mobility. They can improve overall performance if you do them with moderate weight focus on movement integrity.

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Functional Exercises That Every Athlete Must Do

Check out these six functional exercises that are necessary for all athletes.

1) Turkish Get-Up

This multi-step move takes you from lying down to standing up while you hold a kettlebell perpendicular to the floor. It uses all your major muscle groups.

Here is how you can do this functional exercise:

• Lie on your back with your legs stretched out and your elbow locked.
• Hold a kettlebell straight up over your left shoulder.
• Stretch out your right arm and look up at the weight.
• Bend your left knee and put your left foot on the floor close to your glutes.
• Use your right hand and left foot as support as you roll toward your right side.
• Bring your hips together and bend your right knee, sliding it under you and coming up into a half-kneeling position.
• Stand up from here. To go back to the beginning, do the steps backwards until you're back on the floor. Keep going, switching sides.

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2) Jump Squat

This simple bodyweight exercise combines the best overall resistance exercise (squats) with a plyometric component. This trains the fast-twitch muscle fibers in your lower body to fire as you propel into the air and contract as you come down.

Here is how you can do this functional exercise:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and quickly squat down, kicking your hips back and bending your knees to load up your back muscles as you swing your arms in front of you.
• Throw yourself into the air by extending your knees and hips and reaching your arms back to gain height.
• Land softly and drop down into the next squat right away.

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3) Sled Push/Pull

Pushing and pulling are natural human movements, so you use almost every muscle in your body when you do them. This is a good functional exercise for your routine and works out your entire body at once.

Here is how you can do this functional exercise:

• Attach a rope firmly to one end of a sled that is full of things.
• Stretch the rope along the floor and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, facing the sled.
• Grab the rope with both hands, bend your knees, and lean away from the sled to pull the rope tight.
• Keep your back straight. Pull the sled towards you, hand over hand, until it is at your feet.
• Then put your hands on the uprights and push the sled back to the starting point by bending your elbows and keeping your hips low. Take strong, steady steps.

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4) Pull-Up

Everyday strength includes being able to pull yourself up to a bar. A strong and functional body starts with a back that has been trained with pull-ups.

Here is how you can do this functional exercise:

• Grab a pull-up bar with a wide overhand grip and hang with your arms fully extended and your ankles crossed behind you.
• Pull your shoulder blades in toward each other, then push down and back on your elbows to pull your body up until your chin is above the bar.
• Hold for a moment, and then slowly go back to the beginning.

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5) Crab Reach

The crab reach is a great way to stretch and strengthen key areas like your shoulders, hips, lower back, and stomach. It is also a great exercise for those who sit for long periods.

Here is how you can do this functional exercise:

• Sit on the floor with your knees bent and your hands behind you with your fingers pointing backward.
• Press down on your hands and feet to lift your glutes off the floor, then keep lifting your hips as high as you can.
• Reach your left hand up towards the floor and turn your head to look at your right hand.
• Pause, then go back to the beginning. Keep going, switching sides.

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6) Farmer's Walk

This is the simplest way to see how long you can carry heavy things without dropping them. This kind of long-lasting grip strength is useful for chipper-style deadlift workouts or doing pull-ups over and over again, as well as for unloading all of your grocery bags at once.

Here is how you can do this functional exercise:

• To stabilise your shoulders, pick up a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand and pull your shoulder blades down and back.
• Walk forward with even, steady steps for a set amount of time or distance. Keep your core tight, your chest up, and your head up.

Include these six functional exercises in your daily routine if you are an aspiring athlete or wish to improve your training.