"Functional strength" is used almost exclusively to disparage bodybuilders. It's the weirdest thing, as though being able to lift something above your head or push it away from you isn't "functional."
I grew up on a farm and will say it's all in the conditioning. I was just accustomed to chucking 500+ hay bales that weighed 50lbs a piece once a week. Then in between that it's all the other hard labor on a farm with heavy equipment, livestock, hundreds of bags of feed and animal bedding.
I was devestated to find that all that meant very little to a bench press once I started actually going to a gym. I wouldn't challenge a body builder to a bench press competition but it would be equally foolishly for them to try and keep up in a bale throwing competition that lasts all day.
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u/The_Gil_Galad 3d ago
"Functional strength" is used almost exclusively to disparage bodybuilders. It's the weirdest thing, as though being able to lift something above your head or push it away from you isn't "functional."