The problem with exercise machine technology is that all movements begin at the core. Sitting inside a metal cage takes the place of your core: the padded seat absorbs all the tension. People who spend most of their time exercising while sitting in an isolation booth do not enhance their balance mechanisms, core stability or functional capacity.

Functional training is working out in ways that mimic the normal movement patterns of daily living. People who spend their time inside a one-dimensional machine will be very good at leg pressing 500 pounds but very bad at raking leaves. Functional training requires no equipment, or simple pieces of equipment such as stability balls, dumbbells, body bars, agility ladders, step boxes, medicine balls, bands, etc. A full set of functional training tools costs less than the price of one leg press machine.

Since most functional training exercises use light weight or your own body weight, they help bridge that false gap that exists between cardiovascular and strength training exercises. Gyms usually write "cardiovascular" on the wall by the treadmills and strength training is considered the free-weight area. Few commercialized gyms have an open space dedicated to functional training. Some functional training exercises require as much as 6 feet or more of open space per person and all the functional training equipment is kept separately -for example, all the stability balls and steppers are kept in the aerobics room.

Many functional exercises are exhausting although you are using light weight or your own body weight because functional training works out movements instead of individual muscle groups. If you sit down on the leg extension machine, both of your quadriceps are small compared to the rest of your body. Leg extensions also neglect the largest muscle in your body -the buttocks. Grab a set of dumbbells and perform some lunges to get the whole body involved.

Below are 3 examples of how to make traditional exercises more functional.