Functional Movement Patterns Everyone Should Train From A St Johns Wood Personal Trainer

You’ve probably heard terms like functional training, functional movements, or functional patterns. But what do they actually mean?

Functional movement patterns are the natural ways your body is meant to move. Training these movements makes your workouts, daily activities, and even aging feel easier and more confident. If you get strong in these areas, you can stay independent and live well.

We focus on six main movement patterns in our training programs: • Squat • Hinge • Lunge • Push (aka press) • Pull • Carry Let’s look at each one: what it is, why it matters, and how it shows up in everyday life.

1. Squat What it is: This is like sitting down and standing up with control. Your hips and knees bend together while your upper body stays upright. Where it shows up in real life: Getting on and off a toilet. Sitting in a chair. Picking up your dog or kid from the floor. In the gym: Air squats, goblet squats, front squats, back squats. Why it matters: If you lose your ability to squat, you lose your independence — period. We train it so you can keep living life on your terms. We’ve worked with people that, when they first come in, don’t even realize that they can’t stand up from a chair or bench without momentum and/or using assistance by pushing up on the chair’s arm. It becomes important to strengthen that movement.
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2. Hinge What it is: This movement focuses on your hips. Your upper body leans forward while your hips move back, and your knees bend just a little. Where it shows up in real life: Deadlifting groceries from the trunk. Picking up a laundry basket. Bending over without blowing out your back. In the gym: Romanian deadlifts, kettlebell swings, barbell deadlifts. Why it matters: Mastering the hinge protects your spine and builds the kind of posterior strength that makes everyday tasks feel lighter. A large percentage of people enter our gym without the ability to hinge correctly. Often, they are unable to keep their backs flat and sequence the movement correctly. In learning to do so, they protect themselves from injury.
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3. Lunge What it is: This is a single-leg movement. One leg leads while the other supports, helping you build stability and strength when your body isn’t balanced evenly. Where it shows up in real life: Walking up stairs. Getting up off the ground. Hiking. Chasing kids or grandkids across the yard. In the gym: Split squats, reverse lunges, forward lunges, step-ups. Why it matters: Life isn’t always balanced. Training lunges helps you build balance, coordination, and strong legs that work on their own.
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4. Push (or Press) What it is: This is any time you push something away from your body, like in a push-up (horizontal) or an overhead press (vertical), or in other directions. Where it shows up in real life: Putting away groceries on a high shelf. Shoving open a heavy door. Moving a couch. In the gym: Push-ups, bench press, dumbbell overhead press, landmine press.

Why it matters: Why it matters: Building upper body strength helps you stay independent. As a bonus, stronger pressing leads to better posture and healthier shoulders.is: The opposite of pushing — pulling something toward you. Again, we do this in different directions: vertical (pull-up) and horizontal (seal row). Where it shows up in real life: Opening a stuck drawer. Climbing, playing, or carrying your weight in a variety of ways. In the gym: TRX rows, dumbbell rows, chin-ups and pull-ups, lat pulldowns. Why it matters: Pulling movements build your back and grip strength, and help fix the hunching that comes from sitting and using screens too much.

1. Carry What What it is: This means carrying something heavy while walking and keeping your body tall and steady. It might sound simple, but it’s very effective.re it shows up in real life: Hauling groceries or paint cans, carrying luggage, wrangling kids and strollers. In the gym: Farmer carries, suitcase carries, overhead carries. Why it matters: Carrying builds your grip, core, posture, and endurance all at the same time. Plus, it feels great to pick up something heavy and handle it with confidence.

BONUS: Bracing

What it is: Bracing is the ability to create tension (intra-abdominal pressure) through your midline — think of it like turning your core into a sturdy column. It’s not sucking in or “crunching,” or “pulling your belly button to your spine,” it’s learning how to engage your abs, obliques, diaphragm, and pelvic floor as a unit. It’s a critical skill to learn in order to protect your spine.

Where it shows up in real life: Literally everywhere. Picking up something off the ground. Standing up. Rolling over in bed. Lifting weights safely. Even breathing well requires good bracing. However, most people come to us not knowing how to brace (so we teach them!). In the gym: We teach bracing in almost every movement, especially during squats, hinges, carries, and heavy lifts. If you brace the right way, lifting will work your abs too! Exercises like dead bugs, bird dogs, planks, and breathing drills are great for learning this skill. Why it matters: Without a strong brace, your spine is vulnerable. With it, you move with power, control, and confidence. It’s the secret weapon behind every strong lift — and every strong body.

At Results Fitness, we program workouts to train these patterns. That means we aren’t married to specific exercises, but instead these patterns. For instance, if someone can’t yet perform a barbell back squat, they can regress with a goblet squat to a box. It’s still a squat. Over time, they progress to more challenging versions of the squat.

Simply put, we train what matters. These six movement patterns (plus bracing) give you the most bang for your buck — in the gym and in life. Master them and you build a strong, stable foundation. The most common feedback we receive from members at the gym is how much easier “real life” tasks become!

If you’re at home, try some of these movements safely. Do an air squat and see if you can go lower than a chair seat. Check in a mirror to see if you can hinge by moving your hips back and keeping your back flat. Try a lunge and see if your knee touches the floor.

If you struggle with any of these movements, don’t see it as a failure. It’s just your new starting point.