Functional dynamics

The FUNCTIONAL DYNAMICS_^TMsystem has its roots in functional resistance training. Today the buzzword in the gym is functional training. It has many meanings to many practitioners in the health and fitness industry. The understanding and implementation of functional training has come from a variety of sources.

Functional training has its origins in rehabilitation. Physical therapists developed exercises that mimicked what patients did at home or work in order to return to their lives or jobs after an injury or surgery. Thus, if a patient’s job required repeated heavy lifting, rehabilitation would be targeted towards heavy lifting; if the patient were the parent of young children, it would be targeted towards moderate lifting and endurance; and if the patient were a marathon runner, training would be targeted towards rebuilding endurance.

Functional training mainly involves weight-bearing activities targeted at core muscles of the abdomen and lower back. Most fitness facilities have a variety of weight training machines that target and isolate specific muscles. As a result the movements do not necessarily bear any relationship to the movements people make in their regular activities or sports. Functional training attempts to adapt or develop exercises that allow individuals to perform the activities of daily life more easily and without injuries.

Functional training leads to better muscular balance and joint stability, possibly reducing the number of injuries sustained and improving an individual’s performance in a sport. These benefits may arise from the use of training that emphasizes the body’s natural ability to move in three anatomical planes of motion. In comparison, though machines can often be safer to use, they restrict movement to a single plane of motion, which is an unnatural form of movement for the body and may potentially lead to faulty movement patterns or injury.

Isolation training achieves results in terms of increasing muscle mass and strength because it allows you to fatigue individual muscles, but this often comes at the expense of physical freedom.

Have you seen how some body builders walk around stiff and rigid? This is often the result of a lot of isolated exercises based on training individual muscle groups like a biceps curl. Athletes, on the other hand, may use isolated training, but will then use integrated training to achieve more effective movement patterns.

BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF
THE FUNCTIONAL DYNAMICS_^TM SYSTEM

Three dimensional natural and functional multi-axis movements

Everyday natural motion demands movement in all directions. Exercises that force us to make one-joint single-axis movements are simply less effective and less useful and can sometimes cause stress on involved joints. In contrast, the FREESTYLER_^TM allows exercising using natural body movements.

When creating the FUNCTIONAL DYNAMICS_^TMsystem the basic principles of PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) were incorporated. They may be summarized as the use of spiral and diagonal movement patterns, recruitment of all movement components (e.g. flexion-extension), movement free of pain but not free of effort, comfortable full-range movement, application of maximal resistance throughout the range of non-ballistic movement, use of resistance to promote overflow (irradiation) of muscle activity, and use of multiple joint and muscle action.

Different types of muscular contraction

The FREESTYLER_^TM enables different types of muscular contraction even within a single exercise, a rarity among known methods of training. Physical exercise science has come to an agreement that exercising in eccentric conditions is more effective than exercising in concentric conditions only. An advantageous characteristic of elastic resistance is the balance between these two ways of exercising. With this method the amount of training in eccentric conditions can continually increase toward the end of rehabilitation or during advanced training. A more effective eccentric component has been proven as a specific feature of controlled exercising on the FREESTYLER_^TM.

Synchronized whole body workout

A synchronized whole-body workout also promotes specific benefits. The first and most obvious benefit is a whole body coordination that is possible only with the cooperation of many factors involved. Throughout the test period FUNCTIONAL DYNAMICS_^TMprinciples were exposed to different practical applications. Our voluntary test subjects reported feeling a whole body workout, in contrast to feeling a local fatigue associated with conventional means of training. This means that no pain or any other discomfort was felt during the entire workout, even during periods of maximum calorie burn.

Continuous exercise flow (body flow)

The way elastic tubes are attached allows continuous exercise flow. It means you can progress from one exercise to another without changing equipment or significantly changing body position. Workout routines choreographed to music ensure fluid transitions between exercises, which assures continuous workout intensity.

Assured muscle balance

All choreographies on the FREESTYLER_^TM are developed in a way which assures balanced muscle strength in the lateral (left right) plane, agonist – antagonist muscle balance, which is balance between working muscle and muscle on the opposite side of the joint, and also a balance between upper and lower parts of the body.

The muscles of the body are mostly arranged in opposing pairs. When one muscle in the body is stronger than the other, muscle imbalance occurs, which leads to improper body alignment or possible injury. Muscle imbalance distorts alignment and sets the stage for undue stress and strain on joints, ligaments and muscles (Kendall et al. 1993). For example, we use our arms in front of our body to lift, carry, eat, drive, and work on the computer. This causes the development of stronger and shorter anterior deltoids and pectorals (front of shoulder) compared with posterior deltoids and rotator cuff (back of shoulder). Hours of sitting at a desk with slumped posture can further aggravate this muscle imbalance by weakening and stretching the posterior deltoids, middle trapezius, and rhomboids. This in turn produces rounded shoulders with tight pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, and anterior deltoid (Clippinger-Robertson 1989). Correction involves strengthening the upper back and stretching the chest. To promote flexibility, joint stability, and muscle balance, the fitness professional must include exercises that strengthen and stretch the muscles pairs appropriately.

All FREESTYLER_^TM programs follow and execute these demands. Assured muscle balance is found in all choreographies. This is extremely important since improper muscle balance accounts for most sports related injuries.

Maximum range of motion

The FREESTYLER_^TM allows you to achieve maximum muscle activation and greater strength gains. The FUNCTIONAL DYNAMICS_^TM system on the FREESTYLER_^TM is superior to mainstream methods of training because it simulates a full range of natural human movements.

Core stability

The aim of core stability training is to effectively recruit the trunk musculature and then learn to control the position of the lumbar spine during dynamic movements. When the “core muscles” are weak or there is an imbalance, a common side effect is back pain. By definition, the deep-trunk muscles act as "stabilizers" and are not involved in producing movements. Furthermore, they must act as stabilizers continuously throughout everyday activities as well as fitness and sport activities, and so require very good endurance of low-level forces. These muscles do not need to be very strong, but they must be correctly coordinated and capable of working continuously. In addition, we want these stabilizer muscles to act by holding the lumbar spine in the neutral position, which is the correct alignment of the pelvis that allows for the natural 'S' curve of the spine. These characteristics underpin the deep-trunk muscle training in all of the programs in the FREESTYLER_^TM group workout system, especially in the Pilates program.

Proprioceptive workout

From the initial pursuit of rehabilitation goals, proprioceptive workouts currently play an important role in prevention of injuries (especially of the ankle, knee and shoulder joints), and in the improvement of strength, static of the backbone and quality of movement control in general.

For young people, the goal is to prepare for more serious strength training, whereas for older ages the aim is to prevent injury and to develop functional strength and coordination.

Visualisation techniques

The great advantage of visualization is that by merely imagining the action, the same neuron firing occurs as if we had actually performed the act. It also gives an instructor a supreme methodological tool for enhancing the technique of those who attend one of three group workout classes.

Enabled progressive resistance

The quantity of force can easily be adjusted according to the capabilities of the individual. This is achieved with seven pairs of elastic bands of different strength. Progressive resistance is also achieved by either increasing or decreasing the initial straining (pre-stretch) of the elastic band. Progressive resistance is one of the most important rules in any physical activity and is defined as a strength training modality in which the overload is constantly increased to facilitate adaptation. Without this there would be no progress. There are many ways to achieve overload on the FREESTYLER_^TM. Different strength elastic bands can be selected or body positions can be changed to adjust the length of the tubes (pre-stretch).

Endless exercise and future workout possibilities

Why not just do the same exercise routine day in and day out? Because performing the exact exercise routine time and again actually hinders progress. According to the specific adaptations to imposed demands (S.A.I.D.) principle, the body adapts over time to the demands imposed on it. By repeating the same exercises, the neuromuscular system becomes stronger and better coordinated so that the body is eventually more energy-efficient. As efficiency increases, caloric expenditure can drop by as much as 25 percent, resulting in less effective workouts and plateaus. Therefore it is very important to continually challenge the body to achieve results.

The FREESTYLER_^TM development team is also preparing additional workouts to add to existing ones in order to meet the specific demands of group workout clients. New workouts will be developed using extensive customer satisfaction feedback and suggestions from freestyler instructors all over the world.

Optimal elongation range

Elastic resistance offers increasing force with elongation. All elastic products have characteristic force – elongation curves, which are typicallly three phased. The first phase is marked by an exponential increase in the first 25 % elongation. Next, there is a linear increase between 25 % and 500 % and finally a sharp exponential increase until failure. Therefore, it is recomended that exercise is performed between 25 % and 250 % elongation and resistance increased by progressing to the next tubing strength rather than increasing the stretch on the tubing

The FREESTYLER_^TM solves this problem at its root. Its unique system of hyperboloid rollers distributes force evenly which enables all the exercises on the FREESTYLER_^TMto be performed in the optimal elongation range.

Elastic resistance with no inertia

The adverse effect of inertia is caused by the forces that result when heavy weight changes direction or speed during an exercise movement. Not only does the adverse effect of inertia reduce workout benefits, inertia problems are also responsible for many weightlifting injuries.

Because of this property (no inertia), elastic bands have proven successful in the rehabilitation of athletes with a whole spectrum of injuries, especially those of the shoulder, knee and elbow joints. Some studies which included a number of exercises using elastic resistance when dealing with injuries of the shoulder joint reported excellent rehabilitation results. The essence of the FUNCTIONAL DYNAMICS_^TM is that with the help of elastic resistance, an injured person can engage in active and painless execution of exercises on different levels throughout the entire range of motion. This is achieved by effectively avoiding excess torque of limbs around the joints. In this way, stress on the joint ligaments is minimized, which is a unique advantage of the FREESTYLER_^TM elastic tubing. Studies offer statistically significant results which confirm the effectiveness of the FREESTYLER_^TM.

Simple, safe and efficient routines

While questioning what the market has to offer with regards to group fitness classes, one characteristic of exercise routines has continually been mentioned as problematic. People of different ages and different physical abilities stressed one and the same fundamental flaw in group exercise classes, namely the complexity of routines. This spurred us to create a system that enables simple and safe movements and still provides an effective calorie burn and good exercise benefits. Rather than developing a complex routine, our aim was to develop a complex execution of the movement. This results in better control of the motion, better concentration and precision, and it eliminates confusion and increases satisfaction with the workout.

Increased muscular inervation

Among several possible options for sport training, the use of elastic resistance is on the rise as one of the most adequate and complete approaches to many rehabilitation programs as well as to programs for developing power. The use of elastic resistance enables a slow and controlled execution of exercises, with target muscle groups exercised in concentric as well as in eccentric conditions within every repetition. In contrast to exercising with free weights, the direction of the exercise does not depend on gravitation, but rather on the direction of the device straining the elastic band. This allows multidirectional and situational execution of exercises. Multi-axis movements employ not only prime movers but also a whole set of supporting muscle groups, which all adds up to increased muscle inervation. In addition, the quantity of force can easily be adjusted according to the capabilities of the individual. This is achieved by either increasing or decreasing the initial pre-straining of the elastic band, and in the case of FREESTYLER_^TM this is achieved with seven pairs of elastic bands of different strength.

Increased peripheral blood flow

is the cardiovascular response to Freestyler programs. Increasing rates of obesity and cardiovascular disease in recent years are likely to lead to a greater prevalence of peripheral arterial disease. Peripheral arterial disease is a broad term for a range of diseases that affect the vasculature (veins and arteries) of the peripheral circulatory system. The peripheral vasculature is mainly responsible for blood flow to the extremities, such as the arms and legs. Peripheral arterial disease is caused primarily by atherosclerosis (a buildup of plaque in the arteries) and blood-clotting mechanisms that alter the normal structure and function of the aorta, the arterial branches and the arteries of the legs. The disease can lead to pain, decreased ability to walk, limb amputation and increased risk of death. The most common symptom is leg discomfort during walking.

The FREESTYLER_^TM offers unique resistance on all four limbs which in effect promotes increased peripheral blood flow. This effect is further increased with thoughtfull exercise sequences which force muscles to pump blood into different parts of the body. Studies have shown increased distance, speed and duration of walking with a decrease in symptoms such as leg pain.