Strength: 1: The state, property, or quality of being strong.   2: The power to resist strain or stress.

The renowned Strength and conditioning coach, Vern Gambetta summed is up best when he asked the question, “How much strength is enough?”

Muscles have multiple functions.  They help stabilize our joints, absorb shock, and produce force.  Muscle is also an incredible sense organ. Our muscles give us the ability to appreciate how heavy things are.  They feed us information regarding the position of our bodies in space, and the position of one part of the body in relation to the others.  They are able to respond to changes in speed of movement and allow us to increase and decrease strength output automatically.

“Mass, acceleration, inertia and momentum, the primary physical qualities shared by all material objects have no meaning apart from the amount of effort that is required to make the objects which possess them move or  stop moving.  Our muscles are the scales by which we continually assess these invisible forces.”
Deane Juhan

Strength development can directly impact our activities of daily living as well as our sports and leisure activities.  Physical activity requires a given percentage of your muscular capacity or strength.  Improving your strength can help you perform these tasks more efficiently and with less physiologic stress to your body.  In laymen’s terms, the stronger you are the easier it will be on your body to withstand the daily forces you encounter.  Improving your muscular fitness level may also help you develop other health related benefits like a reduction in the risk of osteoporosis, low back pain, hypertension and diabetes.  It will also be used in conjunction with cardiovascular exercises to help you burn more calories and lose weight.

The Center for Functional Fitness will address your strength needs with a customized
 program.   Functional strength training will involve training multiple movements and muscles .  Our approach will incorporate the following principles:

1. Develop strength that will create functional transfer:  The ability to express the functional strength gains you make at home, work, and play. 
2. Provide strength training with a spectrum of activities.
3. Train movement and muscle.
4. Train core before extremity strength.
5. Train the control of your own body weight before the application of external resistance (free weights, machines, resistive bands).