Over the years, it’s fairly common for someone new to walk into the gym for the first time, look around and nervously ask… “I don’t see any machines in here. How will I know what to do?” Obviously we take care of the “what to do” part but I don’t often talk about why we do what we do in terms of exercise selection. I describe what we do as “functional strength training”. With functional strength training, we don’t use many machines. This is very intentional because our exercise programs need to check 3 boxes… They need to help clients look better. They need to help clients feel better. They need to help clients move better. In my opinion, the last one is the most important because life is all about movement and being able to do the things you want to do until the day we roll you into a casket (hopefully that’s still a ways off). This means having the strength to go hiking, pick up a grandchild off the floor, golf 18 holes, play tennis, put a bag in the overhead bin on a plane, etc. Whatever your goals and hobbies, we believe functional strength training is key to improving your quality of life and doing the things you want to do for many years to come! Disclaimer… this is not to say machines are “bad”. What matters most is that people are exercising so if the alternative is doing nothing at all then by all means, use those machines baby! My belief is simply that functional strength training is better given the goals and needs of our audience. That being said, there are always exceptions to the rule… just not that many ;) #NowYouKnow Looking for a personal trainer in the Chesterfield area? Check us out at Blue Ocean Fitness on Facebook and Instagram, or give us a call!