The term functional fitness comes from the world of athletics where the coach doesn't really care what you look like in a photograph or the mirror. Instead he cares about how fast you can run, how high you can jump, how far and how fast can you throw, how hard and how often can you hit, and how accurately can you shoot, etc? best-for-different-skin-tones
You can resemble the Frankenstein monster himself, but if you can perform these previously mentioned tasks with great efficiency, power, endurance, flexibility, fluidity, and coordination you'll look astonishingly beautiful to any coach. But to be fair to the coach, there's something inherently attractive, and yes beautiful about the human body in motion, just ask the ancient Greeks who turned the likes of a human discus thrower into great art, including sculptures that we still admire in the 21st century.
Air Jordan Mid-Air
But if we turn the page to the modern era, think of the silhouetted Michael Jordan launching himself from the top of the free throw circle, ball in one hand, en route to slam dunking a basketball. Think of Bear greats Gayle Sayers and Devon Hester bobbing and weaving their way through 11 defenders bent on their immediate destruction.
Think of Jumpin' Joe Dimmagio swinging his classic baseball bat, Jesse Owens sprinting or long jumping in Nazi Germany, Muhammad Ali demolishing Sonny Listen or George Foreman and you will recognize that there is a distinct sense of beauty in the powerful and efficient movements of the human body itself.
Opposed to Excess and Complication
In other words, in the world of functional fitness you don't need a movie star's face to be considered beautiful. In the world of functional fitness you don't need Mary Kay, Maybelline, Revlon, Rolex, Ralph Lauren, ear rings, or mega muscles to cause a viewer to stand awestruck over the beauty of the human body in motion. In the world of functional beauty it's all about the human body in motion doing what it's capable of doing with maximum efficiency and flow whether running, jumping, throwing, catching, swinging, hitting, climbing, shooting, diving, pushing, pulling, twirling, or dancing.
Self Confidence of Functional Fitness
And along with functional fitness comes a unique, inner form of self confidence and self respect that's not for sale at the cosmetic counter or the local pharmacy, on the latest television infomercial, or even over the vast Internet. Functional fitness is 33% earned, 33% genetic, and 33% inherited opportunity. But it's never 100% purchased. Functional fitness and functional beauty are essentially simple, natural, lean, efficient, and opposed to excess in any form. They're also fast, quick, flexible, balanced, coordinated, rhythmic, powerful, purposeful, and fully capable of enduring.
How Do You Get It?
So how do you get it? There's an age old adage that says "form follows function." In other words, what you do heavily influences or even dictates what you look like. So, for example, if you do a lot of long distance running your body will eventually begin to take on the form of a lean long distance runner. If you do a lot of swimming your body will eventually begin to take on the form of a swimmer's body. If you pump a lot of iron, do a lot of gymnastics, play a lot of tennis, take up ball room dancing, tai chi, or sitting in front of a computer eight hours a day week in and week out, those choices will be reflected in the form of your physical presence, your body.
You can resemble the Frankenstein monster himself, but if you can perform these previously mentioned tasks with great efficiency, power, endurance, flexibility, fluidity, and coordination you'll look astonishingly beautiful to any coach. But to be fair to the coach, there's something inherently attractive, and yes beautiful about the human body in motion, just ask the ancient Greeks who turned the likes of a human discus thrower into great art, including sculptures that we still admire in the 21st century.
Air Jordan Mid-Air
But if we turn the page to the modern era, think of the silhouetted Michael Jordan launching himself from the top of the free throw circle, ball in one hand, en route to slam dunking a basketball. Think of Bear greats Gayle Sayers and Devon Hester bobbing and weaving their way through 11 defenders bent on their immediate destruction.
Think of Jumpin' Joe Dimmagio swinging his classic baseball bat, Jesse Owens sprinting or long jumping in Nazi Germany, Muhammad Ali demolishing Sonny Listen or George Foreman and you will recognize that there is a distinct sense of beauty in the powerful and efficient movements of the human body itself.
Opposed to Excess and Complication
In other words, in the world of functional fitness you don't need a movie star's face to be considered beautiful. In the world of functional fitness you don't need Mary Kay, Maybelline, Revlon, Rolex, Ralph Lauren, ear rings, or mega muscles to cause a viewer to stand awestruck over the beauty of the human body in motion. In the world of functional beauty it's all about the human body in motion doing what it's capable of doing with maximum efficiency and flow whether running, jumping, throwing, catching, swinging, hitting, climbing, shooting, diving, pushing, pulling, twirling, or dancing.
Self Confidence of Functional Fitness
And along with functional fitness comes a unique, inner form of self confidence and self respect that's not for sale at the cosmetic counter or the local pharmacy, on the latest television infomercial, or even over the vast Internet. Functional fitness is 33% earned, 33% genetic, and 33% inherited opportunity. But it's never 100% purchased. Functional fitness and functional beauty are essentially simple, natural, lean, efficient, and opposed to excess in any form. They're also fast, quick, flexible, balanced, coordinated, rhythmic, powerful, purposeful, and fully capable of enduring.
How Do You Get It?
So how do you get it? There's an age old adage that says "form follows function." In other words, what you do heavily influences or even dictates what you look like. So, for example, if you do a lot of long distance running your body will eventually begin to take on the form of a lean long distance runner. If you do a lot of swimming your body will eventually begin to take on the form of a swimmer's body. If you pump a lot of iron, do a lot of gymnastics, play a lot of tennis, take up ball room dancing, tai chi, or sitting in front of a computer eight hours a day week in and week out, those choices will be reflected in the form of your physical presence, your body.
