Many factors come into play here. Some important aspects are undoubtedly the images of extremely fit athletes. A nice side effect of Functional Fitness is that you will look better naked. There’s no arguing about taste, but the many followers and views of top athletes such as Tia-Clair Toomey (Fittest Woman on Earth, CrossFit), Frank Medrano (calesthenics expert) and Dmitri Klokov (former Olympic weightlifting world champion) don’t lie.
In addition, images of amateur athletes flood social media, and they are also liked here. Another important factor is the many positive results and success stories of less athletic people who achieve their goals in a relatively short time by, for example, losing fat mass, becoming more mobile, generally fitter or significantly stronger.
However, I think that two other factors play an even more important role in the popularity of Functional Fitness, and that is first of all the incredibly fun, positive and motivating community of people who share the same interests and goals and support each other in this. This leads to lifelong friendships within the community with one big common goal, which is pursuing a healthy lifestyle through sufficient exercise, healthy nutrition and doing what you enjoy. That is the goal that every member within the Functional Fitness community has. The Functional Fitness community is a large community, and this community mainly comes together to train. As a result, you will make progress over time and notice many benefits, and that is very motivating.
Which brings me to the second factor that plays a very important role in the popularity of Functional Fitness, which is the workouts themselves. These workouts are often challenging and require a great deal of physical effort. During the workouts you often look for your own limits and usually you push them. The workouts are often not easy either; you have to show perseverance and overcome yourself again and again in order to persevere and move on when you are confronted with yourself. Because it is not always easy to experience your own limitations.
Yet, in addition to the physiological and neurological adaptations of training, this also leads to a beneficial psychological effect, namely mental resilience. The feeling you get after the workout is priceless. After the workout you have the great and often euphoric feeling that you have achieved something (again) – that you have survived – and you can rightly be proud of yourself. And that is again and again a very satisfying feeling and the appeal of Functional Fitness.
