Is Functional Fitness the New Strength Training?

Functional fitness is everywhere—on Instagram reels, in boutique gyms, and most recently, in your member requests: “Do you guys do functional training?”

This presents both an opportunity and a trap for gym owners and coaches.

Let’s define functional fitness, define what it isn’t, and discuss how to integrate it into your gym without sacrificing the foundations that get clients real results.

What Functional Fitness Means

The term “functional” is as vague as “clean eating,” so let’s define it:

Functional fitness is training that improves real-world movement, coordination, and resilience, preparing people to move better in everyday life.

It emphasizes:

• Multi-joint, compound movements

• Stability, mobility, and core strength

• Balance, proprioception, and injury prevention

• Translational value, carrying over to daily tasks and sport

It’s not new. It’s just been rebranded. That rebrand is working, especially with general population clients over 35, who are more interested in staying pain-free and mobile than chasing a new bench press PR.

The Controversy: Functional vs. Strength

Here’s the spark for most professional debates:

“Functional” training is often positioned against traditional strength training, as if it’s better.

This usually leads to:

• Coaches rolling their eyes at people balancing on a wobble board

• Clients are confused about what matters in a workout

• Gyms are chasing trends while losing sight of measurable progress

Functional fitness is not a replacement for strength training; it’s a complement.
We don’t need to pick a side. We need to integrate smartly.

What the Best Coaches Are Doing

The highest-performing coaches and gyms are:

• Using traditional strength lifts (squat, hinge, push, pull) as their base

• Layering functional movements into warm-ups, finishers, and mobility sessions

• Educating clients on why both are necessary: “Function without strength is unstable. Strength without function is rigid.”

They’re not abandoning the barbell. They’re just building better movers around it.

For example:

• Add carries to build grip and trunk integrity

• Use single-leg RDLs to challenge balance and hip control

• Rotate in offset loading (e.g., one-arm front rack lunges) to train anti-rotation and core stability

• Sub in kettlebell flows for warm-up variety and coordination training

These tools are powerful. But only when programmed intentionally, not as fluff.

Selling the Concept to Clients

Your average client doesn’t care about the academic definition of “functional.”
They care about:

• Not tweaking their back unloading the dishwasher

• Having more energy on the pickleball court

• Carrying their kid without pain

So don’t sell the exercise. Sell the outcome.

Say this:

“This movement pattern builds the strength and balance you’ll use getting up off the floor or carrying groceries.”

Not this:

“We’re working anti-rotational core control with contralateral loading.”

Speak their language. Then deliver the results.

Programming Tips for Functional Integration

Here’s how to add functional training without compromising progressive overload:

1. Warm-Ups

• Mobility + core + pattern primers

• Add movements like Turkish get-ups, crawling patterns, and banded walks

2. Accessory Blocks

• Swap isolation work with carries, landmine rotations, and bodyweight balance drills

• EMOMs and circuits with functional emphasis

3. Finishers

• Short, explosive finishers using sleds, kettlebell swings, sandbag tosses

• Train coordination under fatigue safely

4. Standalone Classes

• Branded “Functional Strength” or “Foundations” sessions attract new demographics

• Ideal for deconditioned or 50+ populations

_{Who It’s Perfect For}

Functional fitness is made for:

• Aging clients focused on longevity and injury prevention
  

• Athletes and recreational players needing real-world agility
  

• Deconditioned members who need movement patterning before loading
  

• Gen Pop clients bored with classic strength splits

It’s also a huge retention lever; clients who move better feel better and stay longer.

Functional Fitness Isn’t...

Let’s clear out the confusion:

❌ It’s not “just bodyweight stuff”
❌ It’s not “stability ball nonsense”
❌ It’s not inherently safer or easier
❌ It’s not a complete program without load progression

Just like HIIT, CrossFit, or yoga, it’s only as smart as the coach behind it.

The Takeaway for Gym Owners

Don’t fall for the “functional vs. strength” false choice.

Instead, ask:

• How can I build stronger, more capable humans?

• How can I give members both strength and movement quality?

• How can I use this trend to differentiate our coaching expertise?

Your job isn’t to sell circus tricks. It’s to build durable, capable people.

Functional fitness is another tool in the box, but strength is still the foundation.

Done right, they amplify each other.

Ready to Add Functional Fitness to Your Programming?

Start small:

• Add movement prep with purpose

• Educate your coaches on practical progressions

• Run a test block or “Foundations Month” to introduce the concepts

• Watch your clients’ movement, and your retention will improve

Functional fitness isn’t fluff. It’s your opportunity to teach clients that strength is more than just a number—it’s fundamental to living. 

See you in the gym!