Functional Training - Woodbridge, VA

About Functional

“Let’s think about your body like an orchestra, all of the individual pieces need to function well for the music to happen, but it is when they are played together that you create beautiful music (functional movement).”

– Ruth Gordon

Traditional weightlifting, pumping iron, and endless sit-ups are impressive, however, can you lift a heavy box without harming yourself? Are you able to roll and play with your grandchildren without throwing out your back? Can you run to catch a bus or take the stairs at work without feeling completing winded? At CORE, we like to call Functional Training, “real-life fitness”.

Functional fitness allows you to perform daily life skills without injury and strain. Functional fitness can improve your balance, posture, muscular endurance, aerobic capacity, and flexibility.

The key? Integration. Learning how to move your muscles in different planes and build the necessary strength (with proper form) to improve function, stability, mobility, and productivity is not only practical but essential. The real world is dynamic and ever-changing. Just as the terrain changes, so does our body. Picking up children, groceries, or completing yard work may not be as easy as it used to be.

Initially used by physical therapists for rehabilitation, functional training involves a number of exercises targeted at core muscles of the lower back and abdomen. By working these muscles, you’ll be able to perform activities of daily life more easily. During a functional fitness workout you might use body weight or other resistance equipment to strengthen your muscles.
Our workouts utilize many types of functional training equipment such as stability balls, resistance tubing, medicine balls, slides, BOSU, Core boards; FM Cable Dual Cable Cross, free weights as well as utilizing many body weight exercises.

We will begin your fitness journey with a complete evaluation of your movement patterns (FMS), a cardio assessment, and other body metrics all catered to your goals, fitness needs and health history. We will discuss past injuries and physical habits that impact they way your body moves. Together we will create a fitness routine for both the studio and at home that will help you achieve your fitness goals.

Benefits of Functional Fitness

From goal setting to achievement, your CORE Personal Trainer is with you every step of the way, providing education, motivation, accountability, and support. Working one-on-one with a CORE Personal Trainers is a safe, fun, and effective way to begin or transform your fitness journey.

Trainer availability is flexible to meet your busy schedule. Whether your goals may be weight loss-based, sports-driven, or simply to improve stability and balance, personal training can provide you with the education and fitness experience necessary to meet your goals.

Personalized instruction such as demonstrating correct form and technique, proper use of gym equipment, and safe progression plans not only reduce the risk of injury but can advance goal achievement faster, safer with longer lasting results. To schedule private sessions, you must first schedule your consult so we can help you to get started on the right track!

Functional Training Assessments

Have you ever joined a gym or fitness program just to be shuffled into a large group, a number on a monitor or tv screen, never talking face to face with a trainer who takes the time to listen, understand and help you gain insight into your total body makeup? These practices are incomplete and impersonal.

At CORE Personal Training and Pilates we take the time to assess YOU! Yes, the entire YOU! From body composition to fitness assessments, CORE utilizes a variety of tools to better understand you, your journey and your fitness goals.

We take the time to inquire about previous workout experiences, preferred style of training, hurdles to your success, and most importantly- What motivates you! From this information, your CORE Trainer can begin to develop a program that will match your behavior patterns and personality. That is personal training!

Obsessing about a number on a scale rarely delivers a successful outcome. Rather than asking, “what is your weight?”, we ask “what is your weight made up of?”.

Body Composition Testing compares the percentage of stored body fat in a body versus lean mass. (See MORE DETAIL IN OUR BLOG) Many people invest in personal training services to improve body composition measures. Skinfold measurements are taken to help provide a baseline and track progress (whether that be fat loss and/or muscle gain).

Your CORE Trainer may ask you to perform a variety of fitness “tests”. Don’t worry! This is not a pass or fail exam! Simply put, Functional Movement Screens (FMS) and other standardized fitness assessments provide tangible documentation of movement patterns. They assist in Identifying functional limitations and asymmetries that with corrective exercise can reduce/prevent injury. These results provide our trainers with a starting point, identifying those exercises that will be most effective to restore proper movement and build strength in each individual.