davidwolfePersonal trainers. There are some great ones. It is a saturated field. It is very rare to find someone who has made a major impact in this area. Someone who has changed the landscape and continues to bring something new, something innovative, something scientific. I happen to know someone who has. That person is JC Santana.
Whenever I am in South Florida, I train with JC at his Institute of Human Performance (IHP). He has changed my life and helped me deal with long-standing injuries that were always aggravated by typical gym workouts. I needed something natural, simple, and safe. That is what JC teaches. He calls it functional training — and it is the future.
Almost every traditional gym features thousands of square feet filled with hundreds of pieces of equipment that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In stark contrast, JC’s functional training gym setup allows for lots of room as needed, with only some basic equipment around the perimeter. Functional training is about movement, not equipment. Therefore, a set of dumbbells, a kettlebell or two, a couple of medicine balls, a bench, some bands, and a few stability balls can allow anyone to turn a room, a parking lot, or an athletic field into a functional training area.
JC has a new book out entitled Functional Training. Offering strength, endurance, power, and sport-specific exercises and programming, Functional Training is a comprehensive resource for every athlete, coach, and athletic trainer. Covering the concepts, exercises, progressions, and sequencing on which a sound functional training program is based, it addresses the needs of more than 11 sports and features 135 exercises.
Here is what Functional Training looks like:
Meet JC and his book through this video:
Below are several videos that address specific needs. Not all of these exercises are taught by JC Santana. If you want to learn more specifics by him, check out his book. However, these videos are available on Youtube for free to help get you started. It is recommended that you do your research and seek help from a professional so that you are using proper form and technique.