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What Is This Functional Fitness Thing Anyway?
By Nathanael Morrison

I was in REI a month or so back and as I was filling out their membership form the woman handed me a receipt which I took and filled out without looking from the form. The woman immediately asked me how many kids I had and I answered that I had two. The question struck me as a little odd for a stranger to ask so I asked her why she asked me that. She responded that I was doing multiple things with my hands while carrying on a conversation and I saw everything she was doing. I smiled and responded that my two boys definitely keep me on my toes and left. The truth of the matter is that I only see them once a year. Being in special operations is the real reason. As a shooter, medic, and a commo man there is a lot going on at one time. I am particularly proud of having called in an air strike while running and eating an MRE one desert night. But this article is not about war stories and it is not about individual accomplishments. It is about functional training and just what the hell does that mean any way?

In the modern fitness world there is a great deal of emphasis placed on certain words like "dynamic" or "functional" and "volume" but the reality is that people have no real understanding of what it really is. They just like to use those words to make themselves look smarter. I view functional fitness as a multi-tiered method of training designed specifically to train movement patterns that occur subconsciously in the operational and training environment. In fact, while these patterns - such as the proper way to take a knee - are vital to combat, they are just as vital to every day life. That said, it is important to understand that these movement patterns are not just something you do in the gym or on the range, you use them everywhere, other wise you are contradicting yourself and taking away from the training.

Level One of Military Fitness Integrated Functional Training involves training specific movement patterns until they become second nature. For military fitness this involves tasks such as the proper way to sit, kneel, gain sight alignment, dodge a knife, pick up a wounded man, etc...

Level Two begins to build on this by combining fine motor movements such as dropping to a knee but also gaining sight alignment and firing on the way down. Other drills may include coming under physical attack while firing so the student must get off a shot or two, and deal with the attacker nearly simultaneously.

Level Three begins to get into heavier loaded tasks and task saturation such as dragging a wounded comrade, coming under fire and having to return fire and reload. It graduates to drills of greater risk such as a firemanÕs carry while returning fire, dropping behind cover and calling out the enemy position to the team leader. It can graduate again to a firemanÕs carry on the run while shooting and talking on the radio at the same time. This can be enhanced by calling an air strike or relaying enemy positions and then switching channels and relaying the wounded manÕs injuries all while running, returning fire, dropping behind cover, etc... It is vital to have trained the body properly in methods of high tension and loose movement throughout because by the time you get to this point the risk of hurting yourself is pretty high. For you safety Nazis out there, the enemy doesnÕt care so you need to push the envelope from time to time.

It is very important throughout to always try to refine your movement and cut out any extraneous movement. This extra movement wastes time and energy. The training should always progress from very, very slow to fast only as fast as the skills are actually picked up. It is also important to incorporate live fire and full kit during the majority of your training. If you have the ability and budget to use Simunitions I cannot recommend that enough, but you still need to use live rounds often to get used to the sound, recoil, and the real danger.

In daily PT, there should be many movements drilled that are used in combat to reinforce this live fire training. Daily PT is also where you work on weaknesses. If the team isnÕt doing well coming through windows and such, work on weighted pull-ups on a finger board or the single and dual suspension pull-up bars. If the team is slow with their overland movement, work high tempo KB swings and snatches as well as longer endurance snatches and swings. This is how you begin to functionally mold a team into an elite fighting unit.