What Is Functional Movement and How to Master the 8 Core Patterns

Everyday activities like getting up from a chair, walking up and down stairs, and lifting boxes don't require much thought, until they do. If you've ever had to pause before a task to figure out how to do it without pain or injury, such as when returning to your daily routine after an injury, surgery, or a prolonged period of inactivity, you know how unsettling it can feel. Functional movement exercises improve your body’s ability to perform everyday tasks safely and efficiently. This article will help you answer the question, “What is functional movement?” and understand its value for improving balance, mobility, and body awareness. It will also break down the eight core functional movement patterns to get you started. With a bit of practice, you’ll be moving with strength, ease, and confidence in no time.

Pliability's mobility app provides a wealth of resources to help you achieve your functional movement goals, including relieving soreness, improving range of motion, and mastering the eight core functional movement patterns.

What Is Functional Movement and Why Is It Important?

Functional movement focuses on exercises that engage multiple joints and muscle groups, mimicking real-world actions. Think squatting, lunging, twisting, and lifting, which involve the natural range of motion your body needs for daily tasks. 

Unlike isolated exercises (such as bicep curls or leg extensions), functional movements help improve coordination, balance, and flexibility in a way that directly translates to everyday life.

The 6 Foundational Patterns of Functional Movement (and Why They Matter More Than Gimmicks)

The term “functional training” has gotten a bad rap, probably because of an inordinate number of so-called influencers who perform every strength move while standing on one leg, wrapped from head to toe in resistance bands, juggling SandBells, and reciting the alphabet backward, then broadcast it. While these circus tricks might become the next #bottlecapchallenge, they’re far from fitness and far from functional.

Functional-movement patterns fall into six main categories: 

• Squat
• Lunge
• Hinge
• Push
• Pull
• Carry
• Rotation (as a bonus pattern that can enhance any of the other six)

Why Functional Training Isn’t Just for Athletes: Movement Patterns for Real Life

By its true definition, functional training should prepare you to live your life better; it should enhance and support your everyday movement and activity, walking, stretching, sitting, reaching, exercising, sensibly and comprehensively, no matter whether you’re a: 

• Competitive athlete
• Travel blogger
• Soccer mom 
• All of the above

When all is said and done, functional movement patterns fall into six categories: squat, lunge, hinge, push, pull, and carry, with rotation as a bonus pattern that can be used to enhance any of the other five.

Functional Movement: Built Into Us from Birth

“These are natural movements,” says personal trainer Lalo Zuniga, CFSC 1 and 2. “Toddlers squat, hinge, push, and pull, and so do elite athletes.” A kid squatting down to check out a bug or a tennis player lunging for a shot are not hyper-focused on targeting their hamstrings or isolating their biceps; they’re just doing what comes naturally.

“These are normalized, neurodevelopmental sequences that we see from birth on,” says John Rusin, DPT, strength coach and sports performance therapist. “It’s basically what human beings have to do to live life every day.”

Train Smarter: Building Balanced Workouts Around Movement Patterns

Categorizing exercises by movement pattern rather than by muscle group is a savvy way to train. By pulling an exercise from each functional “bucket,” you can create a training program with virtually unlimited variety. Rusin recommends hitting all six foundational patterns every week because neglecting one or more of them can result in muscle imbalances.

Why is Functional Movement Important? 

“The main word here is function. Function is purpose. So functional training is just training that has a purpose,” says Eric Salvador, a certified personal trainer at the Fhitting Room in New York City. Functional training focuses on movement patterns that serve a specific purpose.

From Gym to Real Life: How Functional Training Translates to Daily Activities

That purpose can be related to getting better at everyday activities, like: 

• Walking
• Squatting to pick up something heavy
• Pushing a revolving door
• Getting in and out of a chair
• Preparing to compete in a sport, like: 
  
  • Soccer
  • Football
  • Tennis

A functional workout strengthens you in a particular way, directly translating to an activity outside the weight room. “For most people, the practical application of functional training is to make daily activities easier to perform,” says Dan Henderson, cofounder of the Functional Training Institute in Australia.

Why Functional Training Is Taking Over Studios, and Social Feeds

Increasingly, fitness studios are offering classes that help people improve their strength in everyday movement patterns. Henderson says that functional training has become more popular because “a lot of studios and gyms are making it very accessible for the consumer to try this form of training.” 

Some fitness studios even have “functional” built into their names, like F45 and Fhitting Room (FHIT stands for Functional High-Intensity Training). When you add social media to the mix, it becomes something people hear more about and decide they want to try.

Why Compound, Multiplanar Moves Are the Core of Functional Training

A functional workout typically consists of compound exercises like: 

• Squats
• Lunges
• Deadlifts

Compound exercises require more than one muscle group to work together, like: 

• A squat
• Deadlift
• Lunge
• Push-up

Because of this, they typically mimic everyday movement patterns, such as pull, push, squat, hinge, and rotation, more effectively than isolation exercises, like a biceps curl. 

Think about it: 

• How often do you simply stand in place and lift something from waist level with just your biceps? Probably rarely, if ever. 
• Now, how often do you squat to lift something off the floor? Or lunge to tie your shoe? Or push a door open?
  

“A majority of functional training movements are multijoint, and a functional training program should incorporate movements in multiple planes,” says Henderson. 

That means: 

• Moving forward and backward
• Side to side
• Incorporating rotational movements

Why Free Weights Beat Machines for Functional Strength

For the same reason, functional exercises require free weights rather than machines. Machines require you to move in a particular and rigid way, says Tara Teakle, head trainer at F45 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. That doesn’t mimic how your body moves in real life. “For example, think of the leg extension machine,” she says. “You’re never going just to use your quads. They’re going to work with the glutes, hamstrings, and core.” 

Performing a functional movement, such as a squat, is much more efficient from a strength-training perspective and also allows you to train the muscles to work together seamlessly, as they rarely operate independently.

Where Isolation Exercises Fit in a Functional Training Plan

That’s not to say that isolation exercises don’t ever have a purpose, says Salvador. “If a client came to me with an acute injury and I needed them to strengthen a particular muscle group, I might have them isolate that muscle group,” he explains. “But that wouldn’t be my primary area of focus.” 

Most people’s workouts, if you’re working out to be in shape and improve overall health, should consist mainly of compound and functional movements, with isolation exercises peppered in as needed to address a weakness or enhance stability in a particular joint (like your shoulders).

Train as One: How Functional Fitness Builds a Smarter, Safer Body

Functional training enhances your body’s ability to work efficiently as a unified unit. By training multiple muscle groups simultaneously, you are helping your body function more efficiently as a whole, says Teakle. You’re training it to be a system and not just individual parts that work independently. “Training [different parts of your body] to work together is going to keep you safe,” Teakle says.

Part of that is because both your mind and muscles will learn how to recruit multiple muscle groups to accomplish a task, rather than relying on just one. “Recruiting multiple muscle groups is going to prevent strain injuries that happen from using one muscle group,” says Teakle.

Functional Strength in Action: Preventing Injury Through Everyday Lifts

Think about lifting a heavy suitcase. If you do it incorrectly and simply bend over instead of squatting or deadlifting, you’re likely to strain your lower-back muscles. You may even end up hurting yourself by, say, rupturing a disc (an extreme but not unheard of result of improper lifting). 

But if you’ve been focusing on functional movements in your training, you’ll be way more comfortable lifting that suitcase properly: by using your entire body. You’ll squat and deadlift it from the floor, using your glutes and legs and keeping your back flat and chest up like you’re used to doing with a weight in the gym.

How Functional Training Enhances Coordination, Balance, and Core Stability

It also improves coordination, balance, and body awareness, which will help you avoid unnecessary injuries. Moving your body in a way that recruits multiple muscle groups at once requires a certain level of coordination, focus, and core strength (which is why compound movements are so good for building core strength and stability). 

‍“The more you train functionally, the better you’ll become at working your entire body as one system,” says Salvador, ultimately helping you improve your coordination.

Building Body Awareness: The Hidden Strength of Functional Training

Functional training also provides excellent kinesthetic awareness (the ability to perceive how your body moves) and teaches you how to move safely, says Teakle. All of these skills are crucial in everyday life and the gym, enabling us to move purposefully and confidently, while also helping us stay: 

• Sturdy
• Strong
• Safe

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The Eight Functional Movement Patterns Explained

1. Squat

If you have to change vertical levels in a day with both feet on the ground, you’re squatting, and on any given day, you might do a squat: 

• In a chair
• In a car, around a campfire 
• Astride the porcelain throne

The squatting pattern requires a triple flexion and extension of the ankles, knees, and hips, which ideally work to the same degree and at the same speed, to lower you down and then drive you back up. An air squat is as basic as it gets gym-side, but once you master this foundational move, all other squats, front, back, overhead, or otherwise, become that much easier.

Air Squat

• Direct your gaze forward or at the ground a few feet in front of you. Looking up might feel like you’re getting extra drive, but you’re probably just arching your back.
• Initiate your squat by pushing your glutes and hips backward, then bend your knees. This aligns and protects your joints, maximizing your lifting potential.
• On the descent, don’t let your toes curl up or allow your heels to lift. On the ascent, drive through your whole foot, not just your heels. If you’re having trouble feeling these pressure points, squat without shoes or socks and spread your toes to grip the ground.
• Your hips, knees, and ankles should all flex and extend simultaneously to ensure a proper squat pattern. For example, if your knees extend before your hips, you’ll moon the gym. Not a good look, and for sure not a correct squat.
• Your trunk and tibia should be parallel to one another at the bottom of the squat, so expect a slight forward lean. Don’t let your shoulders round to maintain alignment and protect your spine.
• Don’t press your hips forward at the top. If you want an extra burn in your glutes, squeeze them isometrically without altering your hip position.

Squat Bucket List

• Air squat
• Front squat
• Back squat
• Pistol squat
• One-legged squat
• Split squat
• Smith-machine squat
• Sissy squat
• Plyometric squat
• Goblet squat

2. Lunge

Isn’t a lunge just a traveling squat? Yes, it is, and many coaches categorize it as a squat. “A lunge is essentially any asymmetrical or single-leg stance with emphasis on the lower-body recruitment,” Rusin says. 

The lunge pattern requires more dynamic balance and control than a squat because it trains one leg at a time, rather than both legs simultaneously. Training a forward lunge with just your bodyweight allows you to perfect your unilateral stability, balance, and control without added resistance.

Forward Lunge

• Don’t take too big a step forward. Maintain a 90-degree angle in your front hip and knee, and drop your back knee straight down, right underneath your hips, to avoid compromising your joints.
• Use your entire forward foot to push off and return to a standing position. Pressing through your toes will shift your weight forward into your knee and stress your patellar tendon, while pushing only through your heel narrows your base and can throw you off balance.
• If you have tight hip flexors, you may need to hinge forward slightly at your hips. This is okay as long as you’re not rounding your lower back or using this forward lean to generate momentum to return to standing, a big temptation with step-ups and walking lunges. 
• Eliminate the lean by slowing down the lowering phase to develop neuromuscular control.
• If you lack flexibility in your toes, especially in the big toe, your rear foot may externally rotate in the down position, disrupting your alignment and balance. 
• Loosen up your toes with some slow calf raises.

Lunge Bucket List

• Stationary lunge
• Forward lunge
• Reverse lunge
• Lateral lunge
• Walking lunge
• Rear-foot elevated lunge
• Lunge with rotation
• Switch lunge
• Curtsy lunge
• Around-the-clock lunge

3. Hinge

The hinge is one of the most underused functional movement patterns, perhaps because we’ve always been told to “lift with our knees.” But if you have a strong core, hinging is arguably a safer movement pattern for lifting a heavy object from the floor than squatting. 

It certainly makes more sense to your body: You have far more muscle attached to the back of your legs than to the front, all perfectly positioned to raise your torso like a drawbridge. Every time you bend over to pick up the newspaper or the groceries or to pet your dog, you’re probably doing a deadlift.

Romanian Deadlift

• Maintain your neck and upper back alignment by gazing at the floor, rather than in front of you or in the mirror, in the starting position. 
• Then “pack” your shoulders into your back by drawing your scapulae together and squeezing your armpits. Descend only as far as you can while maintaining a neutral spine. The moment your lower back starts rounding, you’ve gone too far and are putting your spine at risk.
• If you have very tight hamstrings, bend your knees a little to give them a break and increase your range of motion, but don’t make the move into a squat; the desired movement pattern is hinging, like a door that folds at your hips.
• Forceful hyperextension can overstress your joints and really isn’t necessary to activate your posterior chain, so don’t overextend your knees at the top. They should be straight but not locked out.
• For extra glute activation, don’t push your hips out in front of your trunk, which causes your lower back to arch. Instead, tuck your pelvis under at the top and imagine pulling your pelvic bone toward your sternum (not launching your hips across the gym).

Hinge Bucket List

• Romanian deadlift
• B-stance deadlift
• One-legged deadlift
• Banded kneeling hip thrust
• Bench hip thrust
• Kettlebell swing
• Kettlebell clean
• Glute-ham developer
• Reverse hyperextension

4. Push

The upper body has two primary movement patterns: pushing something away from the trunk or pulling it closer. 

Push and pull are further divided into two more categories:

• Vertical 
• Horizontal

Because pushing and pulling are functional opposites, the key is to program them to create a balance in your up-and-down and front-to-back strength.

Horizontal Push: Push-Up

• Strengthen your core, hips, and thighs by engaging your abs, glutes, and quads, which helps maintain proper alignment from head to toe.
• Prevent your shoulders from shrugging by engaging your lats and squeezing the area under your armpits to rotate your shoulder pits forward.
• Shoulder protraction and retraction are part of this pressing pattern. At the top, push down into the floor to spread your shoulder blades apart without rounding your upper back (protraction). And on the way down, draw your shoulder blades together (retraction) but not so tight that your chest sticks out or your lower back arches.

Vertical Push: Narrow Overhead Shoulder Press

• The narrow press with your palms inward is a lower-risk position than a traditional military press with your palms forward: The shoulder has more stability against rotation, making it easier to maintain stability with the weights overhead.
• Don’t allow your rib cage to flare outward and your lower back to arch as you extend your arms overhead. Focus on tightening your core to keep your ribs down.
• You’ve probably been told to keep your shoulders down and back with overhead movements. There has to be some upward rotation of the scapulae; otherwise, you’d get stuck halfway up. Simply be cognizant of the range of motion, and make sure that your shoulders are not shrugging to your earlobes, and you’re good.

Push Bucket List

Horizontal:

• Flat/incline/decline push-up
• Plank
• Flat/incline/decline bench press
• Straight punch
• Cable press (high and low)

Vertical:

• Overhead shoulder press
• Handstand push-up
• Squat thrust
• Arnold press
• Windmill
• Wall ball

5. Pull

Rows can be performed seated or standing, using anything from a resistance band to a cable or a machine.

Horizontal Pull: Row

• Aim for a full range of scapular motion for each rep, a little protraction at the start, and full retraction at the top. As you pull your shoulder blades together, simultaneously contract your abs to keep your rib cage down and prevent your lower back from arching.
• Besides your shoulder blades and arms, no other parts of your body should be moving. Imagine your elbows and shoulders are on a conveyor belt that can only slide backward and forward, preventing excessive movement.
• You may feel like you’re pulling your shoulder blades backward, but in reality, you’re only jutting your chin forward. To prevent this, use a lighter weight and tuck your chin straight back.

Vertical Pull: Pull-Up

• Grip the bar right where your first knuckles meet your hand, then wrap your fingers and thumb around it. This presses the bar straight into your palm rather than pulling the spin on your palms upward, which can give you calluses or even tears.
• Don’t shortchange your reps: Let your shoulder blades slide upward toward your ears at the very bottom, then initiate the pull by drawing them together and packing them into your back before driving your elbows downward.
• There’s no harm in crossing your feet at the ankles, but it might tempt you to arch your lower back or swing your knees upward to create momentum. For an accurate measure of your pull-up prowess, keep your legs straight and together with your toes slightly in front of your torso.

Pull Bucket List

Horizontal:

• Seated row
• Single-arm row
• Bent-over row
• Reverse-grip row
• Lawn-mower row
• Renegade row

Vertical:

• Pull-up/chin-up
• Lat pulldown
• One-arm pulldown
• One-arm wide lat pulldown
• Scapular push-up
• Active bar hang

6 Carry

Kettlebells, groceries, backpacks, and pouting children, getting them from point A to point B without teleportation requires a solid carry, yet it’s an oft-ignored training tool. “With a carry, you won’t feel the burn in one area, but it’s the foundation of dynamic stability,” Zuniga says. 

More likely, you’ll feel a full-body stiffness as you traverse the ground with your arms and legs moving in opposition. Being vertical is not essential when considering a carry. “Crawling with a weight on your back or using the Airdyne bike fits under the ‘carry’ umbrella,” Rusin says.

Farmer’s Walk

• Proper form is essential not only during the carry but also before and after. Use another foundational movement pattern, either a lunge or a deadlift, to pick up and set down the weights, thereby protecting your spine and joints.
• Take short, quick steps forward, planting each foot solidly, and avoid letting your stance become too narrow. That decreases your base of support, and unless you’re training to walk a tightrope, you want to have as much support as possible when carrying heavy things!
• As you fatigue, you may be tempted to shrug, engaging your traps to help carry the load, but this can put undue tension on your neck and upper back. Instead, depress your shoulder blades, imagining them sliding down into your back pockets, to engage your larger upper-back muscles.

Carry Bucket List

• Farmer’s walk
• Overhead walking lunge
• Waiter’s walk
• Suitcase carry
• Racked carry
• Unilateral sandbag carry
• Weighted bear crawl
• Sled drive/pull

7. Rotate

Throwing, hitting, kicking, swimming, and running (yes, running) all involve rotation, which is the most effective way to transfer power from your lower half through your core and out to your upper half. This pattern requires head-to-toe stability and teaches your body to work as a single unit rather than as separate halves. 

“Rotation is the glue that holds other movement patterns together, such as a squat plus a push or a hinge plus a pull, and helps create a full-body functional movement,” Rusin says.

Add rotation to any of the other six movement patterns and immediately up the ante, feeling the fire.

Band Rotation

• Don’t stand flat-footed. Come up onto the balls of your feet, and as you rotate, pivot from the start to the finish. This ensures that the move involves your whole body, including your hips and trunk, which is how rotation typically occurs in real life.
• Brace the core but allow some rotation of the spine, especially at the end ranges of motion. Please note that you should feel a slight stretch in your obliques, but avoid allowing your trunk to flex forward or extend backward.
• The farther your arms are extended from your body, the greater the challenge to your core as it works to stabilize your shoulders and trunk. Ensure that your shoulders move as one unit with your torso, as if they are welded to your trunk. Some rotation may occur in the upper back (which is fine), but avoid pulling and/or pressing the band with your chest and arms.

Rotation Bucket List

• Cable/band rotation
• Woodchopper
• Oblique medicine-ball toss
• Plank to side plank
• Hook punch
• Throwing (balls, rocks, etc.)
• Swinging (bat, golf club, etc.)

8. Bend

Bending is the second lower-body movement. It involves flexing at the hip while maintaining rigidity at the knees, and uses your: 

• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Core

The most popular bend exercise is the deadlift. In your daily life, you use the bending movement anytime you pick something up off the ground.

Bend Exercises

• Hip Thrust
• Bent Knee Good Morning
• Russian Kettlebell Swing

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How to Incorporate Functional Movement into Your Routine

Start with the Basics: Mastering Squats, Lunges, and Push-ups

Functional movement doesn't have to be complex. It’s best to start simple. Begin with basic exercises that closely mimic everyday activities. 

For example, squats target the muscles needed for sitting and standing, lunges help with walking and climbing stairs, and push-ups build strength for getting up from the floor. Focus on form and control before adding difficulty or progressing to more advanced variations.

Use Multi-Joint Movements: Targeting Multiple Muscle Groups

Once you’ve mastered the basics, it’s time to add some variety and challenge your muscles with more advanced functional exercises. Choose movements that target multiple muscle groups, like: 

• Deadlifts
• Kettlebell swings
• Medicine ball throws

These types of exercises not only build strength for everyday activities, but they also improve: 

• Balance
• Coordination
• Agility

Add Variability: Keep Your Body Adapting

Your body is constantly adapting. When you perform the same movements repeatedly, your muscles become efficient, and the exercises no longer challenge your body. To keep making progress, you need to mix things up. 

With functional movement training, you can introduce variability in several ways. 

• Change the exercises or movements you’re doing. 
• You can adjust the resistance, range of motion, and speed of movement.
• You can change the position of your body to perform the exercise. For example, instead of doing deadlifts standing up, you can change the position to a deficit or perform them from the floor. 

Mind Your Posture: Pay Attention to Form

As with any type of exercise, proper posture and alignment are essential for effective functional movement. Poor form can lead to injuries and hinder your progress in training. Pay attention to your position in each exercise, and don’t be afraid to use a mirror or film yourself to check your form. 

Progress Gradually: Build a Strong Foundation

While it can be tempting to rush into advanced movements, it’s essential to build a solid foundation first. Master the basic functional exercises before progressing to more complex movements. Advanced exercises often require a great deal of coordination, balance, and strength in various muscle groups. 

If you haven’t developed these attributes first, you may struggle when you attempt the advanced movements. To put it simply, you may not be ready for them, and this can lead to injuries. 

Start With Resistance Training

To reap the benefits of these patterns, you need to perform them over and over again. Resistance training, such as lifting weights, is the most effective way to achieve this for all patterns except cyclical, as it provides time under tension in each pattern. 

Instead of the traditional exercise-based approach, we challenge you to think in patterns. Create workouts based on the seven movement patterns and then fill in an exercise for each one. 

How to Start: A Sample Functional Movement Workout

Start with full-body resistance training 2-3 days a week. On a training day, perform each movement pattern with one exercise per pattern. We recommend supersetting, performing back-to-back upper and lower body patterns, as it’s more time-efficient. 

A training day could look like the following: 

• Kettlebell Romanian Deadlift @3030, 8-10 reps x 3 sets; rest 60 seconds. 
• Dumbbell Bench Press @2111, 8-10 reps x 3 sets; rest 60 seconds. 

• Goblet Squat @3311, 8-10 reps x 3 sets; rest 60 seconds.
• Seated Lat Pull Down @3012, 8-10 reps x 3 sets; rest 60 seconds. 

• Banded Dead Bug @3030, 10-12 reps x 3 sets; rest 60 seconds.

Cardio and Rest Days Keep Moving

On days when you are not doing resistance training, use the cyclical pattern and engage in aerobic training. Go for a walk, hike, or ride a bike. Even on a rest day, it's still recommended to engage in some light aerobic activity. The blood flow helps with recovery.

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