About Functional Patterns
Functionality in training is simple. Prioritize training around the movements humans evolved to do most. In order, we walked, ran, and threw as a priority for survival. Those functions shaped our evolution in movement.
— Naudi Aguilar, Founder of Functional Patterns
Our goal is to create and sustain a more functional society through enhancing the health and biomechanics of the human population. Serving the community with valuable skill sets that are proven through physical tangible results.
Breathing, walking, running, and throwing are the foundations that dictate how efficiently we move.
Unfortunately, many of us have succumbed to sedentary lifestyles. We drive our cars to an office where we spend countless hours sitting with slumped shoulders hunched over a keyboard. We drive home and then sit some more as we gather in front of our televisions binge watching the latest “must see” programming. We find ourselves tired, anxious, overweight, and in pain. Regular physical activity becomes burdensome, oftentimes leading to injury and more pain.
If you’re thinking, this sounds familiar...don’t worry, you’re not alone!
We are creatures of habit. The more we repeat dysfunctional movement patterns, the more accustomed our bodies become to holding on to them.
But we are ready to help you break this cycle of dysfunction and work on injury prevention while incorporating performance enhancement.
Sound good?
OUR TRAINING METHODS
PRIMING THE BODY
Our warm-up techniques will prepare you to safely create lasting changes to the way your body functions.
Myofascial Release
The muscles in our bodies are wrapped in a web-like substance called fascia. Over time, dysfunctional movement patterns cause the fascia to develop knot-like properties which will eventually impede your bio mechanics and range of motion. These impediments will in turn create even greater dysfunctions as your body learns to move in ways to compensate for these restrictions. Myofascial release is a self-massage technique to loosen bound-up tissues. After it is implemented, muscle tissue becomes more pliable and will be more receptive to realignment techniques, corrective exercise, and dynamic movement.
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Efficient breathing patterns are essential to efficient movement. Diaphragmatic breathing allows the diaphragm to work with the rib cage and core muscles to stabilize and decompress the spine. Establishing proper breathing mechanics first will allow you to then effectively progress into our training system.
REALIGNMENT
A house built with a poor foundation will eventually show signs of detrimental wear and have residual effects like back pain. The walls will develop fracture lines; window frames will appear to sag; doors will no longer be able to properly open and close. Much like the foundation of a house, the human body also needs a sturdy, built-in center of gravity to maintain its structural integrity and avoid injury. Training with a dysfunctional support system only builds more dysfunction. Therefore, correcting posture deficiencies is the first step in developing sustainable movement and the end of back pain.
Postural Correctives
Corrective exercise is the process of rewiring old, imbalanced movement patterns causing back pain and replacing them with more efficient functional patterns. Using functional training techniques such as joint stacking, active spinal decompression, diaphragmatic breathing, and re-tensioning, we can put an end to the accumulative injury cycle.
STRENGTH + ENDURANCE
We are against training based on vanity alone. Instead, we believe that a structurally-integrated body which is capable of sustaining efficient movement based on human biomechanics is ideal. That’s why our approach to strength training is different. It translates directly over to athletics, running, walking, and throwing.
IMAPS
IMAPS are an advanced form of corrective exercise as well as a more efficient way of strengthening the body and building muscle. This is where we dive deeper into the specific mechanics of how your body moves within the gait cycle.
Multi-plane Ballistic Movements
An athlete has to be agile and graceful and at the same time centered and powerful. A poor center of gravity during movement could lead to unwanted compensation, which in turn could lead to injury. Multi-plane ballistic movements replicate both real life and athletic situations. They will enhance your body’s automatic, inner sense of movement. The objective is to maintain a stable center of gravity while executing powerful, explosive movements.
Pendulum Movements
To successfully navigate our environments, timing is everything. In a tango, one dancer must perform his steps while also reacting to those of his partner. A fighter’s success is determined by how well her body maintains its structural integrity while moving in different planes of motion, all while having to react to the random action in the ring. Simply crossing a street requires a person to maintain a forward trajectory while also being prepared to dodge an unexpected car. If you observe a body walking, running, and throwing in slow motion, you will find that the limbs swing in a rhythmic, parabolic motion. Pendulum movements are a form of multi- dimensional exercise that adhere to these naturally-occurring movements. Incorporating them into a regular fitness routine is extremely important as it teaches proper muscle activation, timing, and precision in a real-time scenario. As a result, athletic reaction time, sports performance and endurance will improve, and you may even gain a heightened sense of inner calm as you are prepared to adapt to whatever random forces come your way.