Think about the sneaky athletic tasks you do throughout the day. You might bring in groceries from the car or pick yourself up from the floor after playing with your kids. You might have to balance on a stepstool as you dust the ceiling fan. But what would happen if you lost the ability to do these tasks? Fitness for daily life helps you maintain these crucial skills.
At The Fitness LAB, we bring physical therapists and personal trainers together to ensure you can meet all of your fitness needs. Our physical therapists will work with you to address musculoskeletal pain, rehabilitate after surgery, and manage chronic conditions. Our personal trainers provide support and structure so you can stay active even after you complete your physical therapy treatments.
One area of fitness we’re especially focused on is functional fitness. Functional fitness is about exercising to improve your quality of life. Our personal trainers will train you on the specific movements and skills you use in your day-to-day life, helping you restore or maintain mobility and independence.
Want to know more about how we help improve fitness for daily life? Keep reading–or request an appointment at our clinic!
How To Improve Fitness for Daily Life
The first step in improving your functional fitness is understanding your specific goals. Often, these goals will grow out of your reasons for working with our physical therapists in the first place. Here are a few examples (we’ve changed the names):
- Gladys had osteoarthritis of the hip and was worried about her fall risk. She went through a dedicated fall prevention program with our physical therapists and then worked with a personal trainer to further improve her balance and strengthen her core.
- John was a plumber who suffered from persistent back pain stemming from a herniated disc. After addressing his herniated disc, he worked with a personal trainer to build the strength and mobility he needed for his profession.
- Michael noticed that certain movements were becoming challenging as he got older. He wasn’t as spry as he used to be and worried he might start to experience serious mobility challenges in the future. After working with our physical therapists to address joint pain, he began a functional fitness program with our personal trainers.
Once we understand your goals, our personal trainers will design a personalized exercise program to address those specific needs. To continue our examples…
- We guided Gladys through a general strengthening program that helped build her core stability. We interspersed this with specific balance challenges, like standing on one foot.
- We designed a strength training program for John that mirrored his movements as a plumber, such as hinging over and reaching overhead.
- With Michael, we started with a list of movements that had become harder for him, like lifting himself up off the floor or moving around heavy objects. Then, we designed a program that helped him gradually build up the strength and mobility to perform these movements.
How Can The Fitness LAB Help Your Functional Fitness?
Ready to see how you can improve your fitness for daily life? Our personal trainers can help you just as we helped Gladys, John, and Michael. Schedule an initial appointment today to get started!
