Adam Sinicki - Functional Training and Beyond

Praise for Functional Training and Beyond

Adam has an extraordinary and unquenchable thirst for knowledge that draws the reader in and opens up a whole new world of functional fitness. He doesnt just think outside the box; he breaks the box right down, giving anyone and everyone an inspiring and motivating view on health and fitness for the mind and body. This is a must-read book. Adam has an unbelievable depth of knowledge stemming from a very genuine passion and fascination in his subject. If anyone needs to find something to motivate them to get fit and find a different way of looking at health and fitness, look no further!

Alex Gregory, English rower and a two-time Olympic Gold medalist

Adam on The Bioneer is one of the most intellectual and informative people Ive ever had the pleasure of watching. Each video leaves you blessed with new knowledge quite helpful for everyday life. Hes a great creator and I respect his work.

Jordan JaxBlade Downs

Adam is the new breed of educator and has loaded Functional Training and Beyond with a ton of information not contained in any one textnot even mine. Adam covers definitions, physiological processes, cognitive and neural mechanisms of movement, different training perspectives, and ties all in with historical accounts and applications. I recommend this book to all personal trainers, training geeks, and people who just want to learn about different training methods and philosophies.

JC Santana, author of Functional Training

Adam Sinicki

Coral Gables

Copyright 2020 Adam Sinicki

Cover and Interior Layout Design: Jermaine Lau

Published by Mango Publishing, a division of Mango Media Inc.

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Functional Training and Beyond: Building the Ultimate Superfunctional Body and Mind

ISBN: (p) 978-1-64250-503-0 (e) 978-1-64250-504-7

BISAC: SPO047000, SPORTS & RECREATION / Training

LCCN: Requested from the Library of Congress

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

Table of Contents

Kettlebells:
A Secret Weapon for Functional Power

To a lot of people, fitness simply means getting really strong, or perhaps being able to run long distances. Others equate fitness with yoga, losing weight, or looking good.

Some people just want to be able to move freely and without pain.

Whatever the case, when someone makes the determination to get fit, they often start by choosing a training program and attempting to stick to it for a given duration. Invariably, this training program will revolve around a specific set of goals and will thus follow a predictable structure.

If they want to build big muscles, they might try a bodybuilding bro split.

If they want to lose weight, they might start doing cardio or high intensity interval training (HIIT).

If they want to get stronger, they might try weightlifting.

If the aim is to improve mobility and pain-free movement, they might try yoga.

If they want to get fit and have fun doing it, they might choose football or dance.

After a few months, as the person starts to see changes, they declare this experiment a success: they are now fit! And as they grow more and more with their chosen sport or program, investing time in their chosen hobby and becoming a part of the community, they might well adopt a tribal mindset. They might covet their particular form of training at the expense of all others. This is the one true way to get fit.

The big three lifts are all you need!

CrossFit is a way of life!

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is real martial arts.
Wing Chun is fake!

In this book, Im going to argue for a different approach. Limiting yourself to a single form of training is unnecessarily restrictive. Every system of training has something to offer. Likewise, theres no single style of training that can possibly cover the entire gamut of what constitutes fitness.

There are arguments as to what is a more functional approach to training. Maybe its calisthenics, maybe its weightlifting. Maybe its using the cable machine and medicine balls. But I believe that true functionality comes from versatility and variety. It comes from being able to thrive in any situation.

This demands a multidisciplinary approach.

If the aim of your training is to feel and perform better, why would you pick just one narrow aspect of your performance and focus purely on that? A person might dedicate years of training to being able to lift a few kilograms more in a particular movement pattern, despite being extremely weak in others.

This makes sense if youre a professional competitive weightlifter. But if youre simply training for self-betterment, it isnt the best strategy. There comes a point of diminishing returns: 5 kg more wont benefit you all that much outside of the gym. Especially when there are so many other aspects of fitness you may have overlooked.

Unfortunately, this has become the norm. Ask a personal trainer to write a general fitness program for a beginner and they will often prescribe a series of static lifts, with perhaps a little running on the side. It doesnt occur to most people that they can train every aspect of themselves. Or that these select few movement patterns do a poor job of emulating the variety of movement challenges we face in daily life.

This is even truer for athletic coaches. Relying on just three powerlifting moves to build every type of runner is an extremely limited approach, as we will see.

If youre just training for aesthetics, you may well be making yourself less functional and mobile in the long run, piling dysfunction on top of dysfunction.

What makes even less sense, is that 99.99 percent of programs completely neglect to train the brain. This is the form of training that would no doubt have the most direct and meaningful impact on your day-to-day lifestyle, after all. Brain training is extremely functional.

As well soon see, the brain can be trained just like our muscles. In fact, it may even be significantly more plastic! Using tools like meditation, brain-training exercises, breathing techniques, and more, we can actually develop specific brain areas and sculpt our brains the way we want them.

The human body is capable of moving and reacting in a hugely varied number of ways. It can adapt to truly remarkable circumstances. Anything can be trained.

I believe that a more modern approach to fitness should acknowledge this. I believe that a truly comprehensive training program should aim to bring every human trait up to a formidable level.

The move toward functional training is a step in the right direction. It reflects a desire, not just to look good, but to develop strength and skills with real-world applications, be it in sports or in life.