What Is Functional Fitness and Why Does It Matter as You Age?

Functional fitness is your ability to use your body effectively for the movements and activities that matter in everyday life. As you age, functional fitness becomes increasingly important because strength, balance, mobility, stability, coordination and endurance all contribute to your ability to stay active and independent. Rather than focusing only on how much you weigh, how fast you can run or how much weight you can lift, functional fitness looks at a bigger question: How well is your body performing?

Whether you want to travel, play golf, hike, garden, climb stairs, lift your grandchildren or simply remain independent, maintaining functional fitness can help you continue doing the things you enjoy.

What Is Functional Fitness?

Functional fitness focuses on the physical abilities you use in everyday activities. It involves how effectively your muscles and body work together to produce and control movement.

Important components of functional fitness include:

• Strength — your ability to produce force
• Stability — your ability to control your body and maintain alignment
• Balance — your ability to maintain and recover your position
• Mobility — your ability to move through the ranges of motion you need
• Endurance — your ability to sustain physical activity
• Coordination — your ability to efficiently control movement

These qualities work together during almost everything you do.

For example, climbing stairs requires leg strength, hip stability, balance, coordination and endurance. Reaching overhead requires shoulder strength and control along with mobility through your upper back and neck. Walking requires coordinated movement between your hips, knees, ankles and feet while your trunk provides stability.

This is why functional fitness is about much more than simply being “strong.”

It is about having the strength, control and physical capacity to use your body effectively.

Why Does Functional Fitness Matter as You Age?

Functional fitness becomes particularly important as you age because maintaining physical function can help you continue participating in the activities that make life meaningful.

Aging does not automatically mean becoming weak, stiff or less physically capable. However, changes in muscle mass, strength, balance, mobility and physical capacity can occur over time.

Regular physical activity and muscle-strengthening exercise are important components of healthy aging. Maintaining these physical abilities can also help support independence and your ability to perform everyday activities.

The goal isn’t necessarily to become an elite athlete.

The goal may simply be to remain capable.

Capable of getting up from the floor.

Capable of carrying your luggage.

Capable of climbing stairs.

Capable of walking on uneven ground.

Capable of playing with your grandchildren.

Capable of continuing to travel, exercise and participate in the activities you enjoy.

That is one of the reasons functional fitness is closely connected to healthspan—the years of your life spent in good health and with the physical capacity to live the life you want.

Functional Fitness Is More Than the Muscles You Can See

When people think about fitness, they often focus on the larger muscles of the body.

But functional fitness depends on many muscles working together to create stability, control and efficient movement.

For example, your gluteal muscles help control your pelvis and lower extremity during walking and single-leg activities. Your calf muscles contribute to propulsion, balance and endurance. The muscles surrounding your spine contribute to postural control and spinal stability. Your shoulder muscles help maintain control of your arm during reaching and lifting.

These muscles may not always receive the same attention as the larger muscles trained during a traditional gym workout, but they can play an important role in physical function.

This raises an important question:

Which areas of your body should you focus on as you age?

The 6 Green Zones™: A Functional Fitness Assessment

At PhysioFit, we developed the 6 Green Zones™ concept to focus on six key areas of the body that contribute to physical function as we age:

1. Shoulder
2. Neck
3. Thoracic spine
4. Lumbar spine
5. Hips
6. Lower legs and ankles

Within these areas, the 6 Green Zones™ assessment looks at specific muscles and movement characteristics related to strength, activation, stability, symmetry and physical control.

The goal isn’t to suggest that these are the only areas that matter for functional fitness.

Instead, the 6 Green Zones™ provide a focused way to examine several important areas that can contribute to how your body performs as you age.

Think of them as six areas worth paying attention to—not simply because you want to become stronger, but because you want to maintain the physical abilities that support an active life.

How Do You Know If Your Functional Fitness Is Improving?

This is where assessment becomes important.

You can exercise regularly and still have areas of your body that aren’t performing as well as they could.

You might have strong legs but poor single-leg stability.

You might have good cardiovascular endurance but limited shoulder control.

You might be able to lift heavy weights but have poor muscular endurance or movement asymmetry.

You may not notice these differences during your normal workout routine.

You can’t improve what you haven’t identified.

A functional fitness assessment can provide a starting point by identifying areas of strength and areas that may benefit from additional attention.

Instead of simply asking:

“How much do I exercise?”

you can begin asking:

“How is my body performing?”

Introducing PhysioFit Age®

Your chronological age tells you how many years you’ve lived.

Your PhysioFit Age® provides a snapshot of physical performance relative to chronological age.

PhysioFit Age® is calculated using performance information from the 6 Green Zones™ assessment along with other components of the assessment.

The purpose isn’t to predict how long you will live or determine your overall health.

Instead, PhysioFit Age® provides another way to look at your physical performance and gives you a measurable starting point.

This can help shift the conversation from:

“How old am I?”

to:

“How is my body performing?”

And perhaps more importantly:

“What can I improve?”

Your Functional Fitness Assessment Gives You a Starting Point

Knowing your 6 Green Zones™ results and PhysioFit Age® gives you information you can use to make more intentional decisions about your exercise and physical activity.

Instead of simply exercising because you know you should, you can identify areas where you may want to focus more attention.

Your results provide a baseline.

Then, after implementing a targeted exercise program or plan of care, you can re-test to track your progress.

The process becomes:

Measure → Improve → Re-test → Track Your Progress

This approach can make functional fitness more measurable and personalized.

Functional Fitness and Your Healthspan

When you think about longevity, it’s easy to focus on the number of years you want to live.

But longevity without physical function may not provide the quality of life you are hoping for.

A more meaningful goal is to maintain the physical capacity to participate in your life for as many years as possible.

That means maintaining:

• Strength
• Balance
• Mobility
• Stability
• Endurance
• Coordination

Functional fitness provides a framework for thinking about these physical abilities.

The 6 Green Zones™ provide a way to look more closely at six important areas of your body.

And PhysioFit Age® provides a snapshot of how your physical performance compares with your chronological age.

How Is Your Body Performing?

You don’t have to wait until you experience a major decline in strength, balance or mobility to start paying attention to your physical function.

Understanding where you are today can be the first step toward deciding where you want to go next.

The 6 Green Zones™ functional fitness assessment provides a snapshot of how six important areas of your body are performing and contributes to your personalized PhysioFit Age®.

Your chronological age tells you how many years you’ve lived.

Your PhysioFit Age® provides a snapshot of how your body is performing.

If you’re interested in improving your functional fitness, supporting your healthspan and maintaining your physical capabilities as you age, the first step is understanding your current baseline.

Discover Your 6 Green Zones™ and PhysioFit Age®

Take the 6 Green Zones™ assessment, understand how your body is performing, and create a starting point for improving the physical qualities that matter most to you.

[Explore the 6 Green Zones™ Functional Fitness Assessment →]

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