Category: Fitness

Train for Life: Why Functional Fitness Matters

Posted on by Michael Devon

Most people work out to lose weight, build muscle, or feel healthier—but have you ever thought about how exercise affects your everyday life? At SA Functional Fitness, we train in a way that makes you stronger for the movements you do every day—whether it’s lifting a heavy bag of groceries, climbing stairs, or just getting up from a chair without discomfort.

Why Functional Training?

A lot of traditional workouts focus on isolated movements (like bicep curls or leg presses), but life doesn’t work that way. In reality, your body moves as a whole. That’s why we train your body to move better, not just look better.

Here’s what that means for you:

  1. Move Better, Feel Better

If you’ve ever had back pain, stiff joints, or tight muscles, it’s often because your body isn’t moving the way it should. Our workouts help:
✔ Loosen up tight muscles
✔ Strengthen weak areas
✔ Improve balance and coordination

So instead of just getting stronger, you’re also preventing injuries and pain.

  1. Strength That Matters

Being “strong” isn’t just about lifting heavy weights—it’s about having the strength to do the things you love without struggle or pain. We focus on exercises that help you:
✔ Lift and carry heavy objects safely
✔ Climb stairs without feeling out of breath
✔ Stay active as you age

This means you’re not just working out—you’re building a body that supports you in real life.

  1. Say Goodbye to Aches and Pains

Do you ever wake up with a sore back? Or feel pain in your knees after a long day? A lot of pain comes from weak or imbalanced muscles. Instead of just “pushing through” discomfort, we focus on:
✔ Fixing your posture to reduce strain on your joints
✔ Strengthening your core to protect your back
✔ Teaching you better movement habits so you don’t keep making the same mistakes

  1. Workouts That Fit YOU

No matter your fitness level, our training is designed to fit your body, your needs, and your goals. Whether you’re a beginner or have been active for years, we make sure you’re moving safely and effectively.

It’s Time to Train Smarter

If you want to move better, feel stronger, and avoid injuries, functional fitness is the way to go. At SA Functional Fitness, we’re here to help you build a body that works for you—not against you.

Ready to get started? Book your first session today and feel the difference!

Functional Exercise and Natural Human Movement

Posted on by Michael Devon

When it comes to fitness, one of the most effective approaches to building strength, mobility, and resilience is functional exercise. Unlike traditional training that focuses on isolating muscles, functional exercise mimics the natural movements of daily life and ancestral human activity. Movements like walking, running, throwing, and lifting objects reflect our evolutionary design and ensure that our bodies perform optimally. Two fundamental aspects of this approach are the gait cycle and contralateral reciprocation, both of which are rooted in our natural biomechanics.

Functional exercise emphasizes training movements rather than muscles. It focuses on multi-joint, multi-plane motions that mirror the activities we perform in our daily lives. The benefits include improved coordination, balance, and strength while reducing the risk of injury.

This type of training is rooted in the premise that human movement evolved to navigate complex, natural environments. To understand its significance, let’s delve into two key elements that contribute to functional motion: the gait cycle and contralateral reciprocation.

The gait cycle refers to the sequence of movements that occur during walking or running. It’s a rhythmic, repetitive process that involves:

1. Foot Strike: The foot contacts the ground, initiating the cycle.

2. Midstance: The body balances over the supporting leg.

3. Push-Off: The foot pushes off, propelling the body forward.

4. Swing Phase: The opposite leg swings forward to repeat the process.

Functional exercises that align with the gait cycle build strength, stability, and mobility in the necessary muscles, while enhancing joint health and motor control in what you do naturally everyday.

This intent behind exercising, supports efficient movement patterns and protects against imbalances caused by sedentary lifestyles or improper training.

Contralateral reciprocation refers to the natural coordination of opposite limbs. For example, when you walk, your right leg swings forward as your left arm moves in tandem, creating balance and momentum. This cross-pattern movement is essential for efficient energy transfer and stability.

Functional exercises that incorporate contralateral patterns activate deep core muscles, improve coordination, and simulate real-world tasks. By training these patterns, you prepare your body to handle dynamic movements like running, climbing stairs, or even balancing while carrying groceries.

Why Train Natural Movements?

Modern life often limits our physical activity to repetitive, linear motions (e.g., sitting, typing, driving). Over time, this can lead to muscular imbalances, poor posture, and joint stiffness. Functional exercise rooted in natural movement helps to:

• Improve overall athleticism and resilience.

• Enhance mobility and joint stability.

• Prevent injuries by reinforcing balanced movement patterns.

• Foster a connection between mind and body for better proprioception (body awareness).

How to Incorporate Functional Exercises into Your Routine

1. Focus on Multi-Plane Movements: Incorporate exercises that move through all planes of motion (sagittal, frontal, and transverse).

2. Prioritize Core Stability: Exercises like planks and proper rotational movements build a strong foundation for all movement.

3. Train Unilaterally: Single-leg or single-arm exercises replicate real-world tasks and correct imbalances.

Functional exercise compliments natural human movement by aligning fitness goals with how our bodies were designed to move. Training with an emphasis on the gait cycle and contralateral reciprocation not only boosts strength and stability but also enhances your ability to navigate daily life with ease.

So, next time you step into the gym, think beyond isolated biceps curls or stationary machines. Instead, embrace exercises that flow with your body’s innate rhythms and help you move through life as nature intended.

The Biology of Movement: How Bipedalism Shapes Our Lives

Posted on by Michael Devon

Human movement is deeply rooted in our biology, particularly in our evolution as bipedal creatures. Walking on two legs—bipedalism—is a defining characteristic of humans, setting us apart from our primate ancestors and other animals. But what does this mean for our movement, and how does it impact our overall health?

Bipedalism evolved millions of years ago, offering early humans several advantages. By walking upright, our ancestors could cover long distances more efficiently, conserve energy, and free up their hands for tool use, carrying objects, and gesturing—key factors in our development as a species.

This shift also changed our skeletal structure, leading to the development of a unique spine curvature, a broader pelvis, and stronger leg muscles. These adaptations have made us incredibly efficient walkers and runners, capable of sustained physical activity that other species find challenging.

Despite our evolutionary advantages, modern lifestyles often clash with our biology. Our bodies are designed for movement, yet many of us spend hours each day sitting, which can lead to health issues like back pain, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Bipedalism is meant to keep us active, not sedentary.

Regular movement—whether walking, or more intense exercise—helps counteract the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle. It engages the muscles and joints designed for movement, promoting better posture, balance, and overall physical health.

Embracing our bipedal nature has numerous health benefits. Moving regularly helps maintain a healthy weight, supports cardiovascular health, and strengthens bones and muscles. It also improves circulation, delivering oxygen and nutrients more efficiently throughout the body.

Beyond the physical, movement also positively impacts mental health. Physical activity reduces stress, anxiety, and depression, boosting mood and cognitive function. It’s a natural way to align with our biology and keep our minds sharp.

In essence, our biology as bipedal beings is a reminder that we are built to move. Whether it’s walking, running, or simply standing more throughout the day, embracing our natural movement patterns is crucial for maintaining our health and well-being.

So, listen to your body and move in ways that reflect your natural movement. Your biology is hardwired for it.

How Our Muscles Evolved from Walking: The Foundation of Human Movement (Part 2)

Posted on by Michael Devon

Walking is more than just a daily activity; it’s a fundamental movement that shaped the evolution of our muscles and overall physiology. Our ability to walk upright on two legs, known as bipedalism, is one of the defining characteristics of being human. This evolutionary milestone not only set us apart from other species but also influenced the development of our muscular system in profound ways.

•The Evolution of Bipedalism

Millions of years ago, our ancestors transitioned from moving on all fours to walking on two legs. This shift was driven by various factors, including the need to cover long distances efficiently, free up the hands for tool use, and adapt to changing environments. As we began to walk upright, our bodies underwent significant changes to support this new mode of locomotion.

•Key Muscles Developed from Walking

1. **Gluteal Muscles (Glutes)**: The gluteal muscles, particularly the gluteus maximus, are among the most prominent muscles developed through walking. These muscles are responsible for stabilizing the pelvis and powering our stride. Over time, they evolved to become larger and stronger, enabling us to walk and run efficiently.

2. **Leg Muscles**: Walking helped develop the muscles of the legs, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. These muscles work together to propel us forward with each step. The strength and endurance of these muscles were crucial for early humans who needed to travel long distances in search of food and resources.

3. **Core Muscles**: The core muscles, including the abdominals, obliques, and lower back muscles, play a vital role in maintaining balance and stability during walking. As our ancestors began to walk upright, these muscles became more developed to support the spine and prevent injury.

4. **Foot and Ankle Muscles**: Walking also influenced the evolution of the muscles in our feet and ankles. The arches of our feet, supported by various muscles and tendons, act as natural shock absorbers, while the muscles of the ankles provide stability and mobility. This adaptation allowed humans to walk on diverse terrains, from rocky landscapes to soft grasslands.

•The Impact on Human Evolution

The evolution of our muscles from walking not only made us more efficient walkers but also laid the foundation for other forms of movement, such as running and climbing. These adaptations provided a survival advantage, enabling our ancestors to hunt, gather, and migrate across vast areas.

In modern times, walking remains a fundamental exercise that continues to engage and strengthen these evolutionary muscles. Regular walking promotes cardiovascular health, improves posture, and enhances overall mobility—benefits that are deeply rooted in our evolutionary past.

Our muscles evolved to support walking, a movement that has been central to human survival and success. From the powerful glutes to the supportive core, the muscles developed through walking are a testament to our evolutionary journey. By walking regularly, we not only maintain the health of these muscles but also honor the legacy of movement that has shaped who we are today. So, the next time you take a walk, remember that you’re engaging in an activity that’s been essential to human evolution for millions of years.

What’s Your Excuse?

Posted on by Michael Devon

Common reasons people don’t exercise:

⁃ Kids

⁃ Stress

⁃ Work

⁃ Pain

The reasons you should exercise:

⁃ Kids

⁃ Stress

⁃ Work

⁃ Pain

When you see it like this, it makes sense. Don’t be the person who always comes up with excuses- find a way to prioritize your health… you only have one body, don’t take it for granted.

Take care of your health while you still have a choice; before your current habits catch up with you and you’re forced to deal with your health on your doctors terms, physical therapists terms, big pharma’s terms, or your surgeons terms.

When you prioritize your health your body works more efficiently as a system, from better energy to more physical strength, and you can spend this on your kids, your stress level, your job, and other obstacles life deals you.

Life isn’t stopping until you’re in the grave. So you can be miserable for however long your life is, or you can take steps towards a healthy, fit, and fulfilling life. It all starts with how you take care of your body.

Good Form on a Bad Exercise

Posted on by Michael Devon

You can’t get your body to do what it can’t do… unless you teach your muscles how to do it.

If your body doesn’t have the contractile potential to move a certain way (correctly & efficiently) then it will compensate and use other muscles to achieve a certain function or range of motion, resulting in dysfunctional & suboptimal movement patterns.

From the simplest of exercises to the more advanced sports scenarios, we believe this is the leading cause of injuries and chronic pain. From dysfunctional movement on the tennis court to repetitive movement patterns done incorrectly and lead to wear and tear on your body over time.

The precision required to reprogram your mechanics and prevent dysfunction is more than any “functional” group class or pain management program provides. It’s requires more than fatiguing a group of muscles, but coordinating your brains connection with how your muscles function (or don’t) to move your structure.

The next time you’re exercising, consider how you’re moving and if that movement is reinforcing the posture you’re already stuck in, or if it’s developing new muscles to build a resilient structure. Hint; it goes deeper than just having good form on a bad exercise.

This is why our training dives deeper into the pattern of the exercise and the way you’re performing the exercise. Exercise patterns that go against your natural movement patterns send the wrong message to your muscles and how they need to work. Learning to strengthen your body for the way it moves will result in a structure that’s not limited to certain ranges of motion, because every muscle tissue is potentiated when exercise aligns with your biological blueprint.

Can Exercise Be Medicine?

Posted on by Michael Devon

What’s the point of having a “6 pack” or a strong chest if you can’t function at a basic level and walk more than a city block without some form of pain or discomfort; or if you are exercising regularly but regularly suffer from a stiff back or achey knees. Exercise is medicine for all of that- when implemented correctly.

Wake up and recognize that if you’re in some form of pain or your body doesn’t feel quite right there is something you can do about it. Educate yourself with Functional Patterns, the evolutionary standard in the fitness industry, find a new trainer, and rediscover your body and the way it was meant to move and feel- even as you age!

Working with a trainer for over a year without noteworthy changes in strength, most importantly strength gains without pains, is time and money you can’t get back. Not stronger arm muscles, but an entire body ready to function- function without any knee pains or back aches.

You only have one body and unless you’re on an active pursuit to take care of it and treat it right, the mainstream fitness industry will get the best of you. Tricking you into thinking that building muscle and getting stronger means you have to lift massive amounts of weight, or until your body “adapts” your joints might hurt and your lower back might feel stiff until it gets “stronger” etc.

FYI, your body WILL adapt… to whatever stimulus you’re putting it through. So if the way you train (or the way your trainer trains you) is harming your body then your brain will think it’s supposed to be that way and program it as normal. Then you’re stuck in the vicious cycle of trying to workout and be healthy but also hurting, poorly conditioned, and living with aches and pains. Spending more time and money “supplementing” your training with massages, chiropractic adjustments, physical therapy, acupuncture, and cryotherapy to recover from the gym. Only to go back to the gym to do the same harmful things that landed you there in the first place.

A trainer who’s evolved their skills with Functional Patterns techniques work to mitigate the need for all the “supplemental” practices and heal your body with a holistic approach to strength, flexibility, cardio, rehab, prehab, posture, and wellbeing all in one. A program that is sustainable and promotes longevity.

Challenge your trainer and insist on results that matter to you (playing tennis without knee pain, living without daily back pain, exercising without joint pain) or find another trainer!

Hurting After Exercise Is Not Normal

Posted on by Michael Devon

It’s one of those days, you just finished a grueling workout at the gym and your joints are aching, your lower back is stiff, and your tendonitis is flared up.  Your workout buddies deal with the same aches and pains so you write it off as normal, just part of getting old, and what it takes to stay in shape.

We’re here to tell you that it is not normal, getting old doesn’t have to feel painful, and if you really were “in shape” your body wouldn’t be in a state of chronic aches and pains. Although all the above is commonly experienced by the majority of gym goers, it’s not supposed to be that way. In fact when you move correctly and your muscles contract properly you experience a state of wellbeing.

Imagine this; you just finished an intentional workout, your body is feeling light and springy, you feel a pump all over your body like your muscles are getting stronger, yet you feel like you just stretched out your entire body, your spine feels decompressed, and your shoulder and knees don’t hurt.

This is what your body should feel like after exercising, and it can once you learn how to use your muscles to move correctly. This is what our trainers teach; we don’t count reps, we make sure every rep counts. We train you to intentionally move your body against your default mechanics to override dysfunctional patterns and optimize your movement.

One thing is for sure, our training is not like what you see in the mainstream (maybe that’s why so many people are in pain) or like anything you’ve felt before. Come in and learn what you need to be feeling to fix your body, with our beginner friendly introductory session!

Your Guide to Squats

Posted on by Michael Devon

It’s time to educate yourself on the relevance of the squat. Prioritizing this movement in your training routine when it makes up a small amount of daily movement, neglects movements that you do majority of the time, like walking. Think about it… outside of the gym how many times a day do you squat compared to how many steps you take?

We aren’t kangaroos, we’re humans. We move around by transferring our weight from one leg to another in a contralateral pattern. Whereas a squat is going to keep your legs confined to a bilateral position. We aren’t saying squats aren’t important, but in the real world when you need to bend over and pick something up it happens a fraction of the time, it usually doesn’t happen repetitively, and you’re doing it for a specific purpose that normally doesn’t make up your entire day (unless your job or sport requires that, but we’re talking about general function).

When you use the squat as an exercise, you’re performing it for numerous reps with the intent to build muscle and get stronger. The problem with using squats (or any bilateral/sagittal based exercise) as the bulk of your leg training is that you’re building arbitrary muscle mass, meaning it doesn’t serve a purpose. The strength you built doesn’t carry over outside of the squat pattern, so the way your body moves most (ie; walking) doesn’t have the support it needs.

Come train with our trainers to learn how to build muscle that aligns with it’s function. Carrying over the strength you build in the gym to a stronger body outside of the gym. You’re human, it’s time you start training like one.

Exercise Less?!

Posted on by Michael Devon

Exercise can be bad when we go through the motions of our default movement patterns. We just pack on more muscle imbalance that causes a subconscious stress on our mental and physical state, affecting our physiology. Then we cope with drugs, alcohol, food, sex, whatever dopamine fix we need to temporarily feel better. We enter the cycle of trying to outwork our coping behavior and beating our body up in the process, but we can only do that for so long until we feel “old” because our habits caught up with us.

Taking a few steps back to heal our body with intentional movement might not feel or look like society’s idea of exercise but it starts to retrain our brain and body to function better, promoting muscle mass that is symmetrical and “balanced” to help us respond to stress better. Then when our muscles are in balance we’re consciously and subconsciously able to handle stress more efficiently- physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc. and then we don’t feel the need to cope. Then it comes time to break out of the habits that we developed from coping that we no longer need.

This behavior change is painful and uncomfortable but time well spent and can start seeing changes in weeks for little things, months for some bigger things, and sometimes years for habits we’ve built over our entire lives. This is the change that helps our physical health- from muscle strength, weight loss/ weight maintenance, hormone balance- which in turn helps our mental health like anxiety, mood, depression, and the ability to not have to cope the way we used to. And when we do need to cope we are able to be more aware of what we’re doing and why, and maybe not even coping the same way we did in the past because our stress response is improving.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t exercise, as most doctors and so called fitness experts will tell you that you need to eat less and move more to stay healthy. But if you move wrong and use your muscles in a state of imbalance then all of the above cataclysm of events happen- and that’s not healthy. You need to understand more about your body in order to make sure you behave in a way that promotes health. When you’re over exercising and under eating for so long, your body’s hormones get thrown out of whack and it makes it a lot harder to lose weight and body fat. You end up spinning your wheels trying to lose weight or build muscle but you’re fighting an uphill battle, up  a water slide. When you learn to fix your muscle imbalances when you “exercise” instead of just going through the motions of various movements, you’ll be able to address the subconscious stress on your body- aligning your posture and your hormones. This equates to a healthier body inside and, most importantly, outside of the gym!

Contact our gym to learn how our team can help you start and sustain your journey to a healthier you!