Is there a difference between functional training and prehab?
This I the article that made me want to ask:
http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/healthy-living-article/60/3630/what-s-t…
Hi Andrew,
just looked at the article that you made reference to.
Frankly, it sounds more like marketing to me than anything else. By that definition, all of my clients are either prehab or post-rehab since none of them are training for athletic performance. I have been training all of them to function better in real life, and that may be just a smart way of calling it something new.
To me, all training has the goal of making people move more efficiently but I really do not like the focus on injury prevention even though that may be the likely outcome. It puts the emphasis on a negative aspect, and I personally prefer to place it on something positive.
Karin Singleton
www.meltnc.com
Hi Andrew. To my mind, ‘pre-hab’ is truly nothing more than what should be the goal of all trainers working with their clients (unless of course the client has a very specific goal or target that precludes this). In other words, building functional strength, developing symmetry, improving overall fitness for daily living, preventing injury (or at least reducing its risk) through safe and effective exercise. By doing all of this, a trainer is satisfying the ‘goals’ and ‘definition’ of pre-hab as identified in this article. It’s NOT a new concept, just, in my opinion, a catchy phrase that some have thrown around and that has caught on. Nothing earth-shattering or surprising by what most people who use the term are meaning — just good old-fashion healthy exercise that addresses all of the body’s systems and body parts. Therefore, like “functional’ training (another one of those terms that I was talking about that has taken hold in the fitness industry), pre-hab training addresses the whole body/organism is addressing overall health and wellness.
LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com