Functional strength comes from the center of the body and activates muscles around
the hips, lower back, torso, abdominals, and shoulder blades through functional exercises. Functional Training improves muscle tone, increases power, and strengthens & stabilizes joints. All levels of fitness can benefit from Functional Training and it’s great for golfers and tennis players.
Functional training has its origins in rehabilition. Physical therapists often use this approach to retrain patients with movement disorders. Interventions are designed to incorporate task and context specific practice in areas meaningful to each patient, with an overall goal of functional independence. For example, exercises that mimic what patients did at home or work may be included in treatment in order to help them return to their lives or jobs after an injury or surgery. Thus if a patient’s job required repeatedly heavy lifting, rehabilitation would be targeted towards heavy lifting, if the patient were 
a parent of young children, it would be targeted towards moderate lifting and endurance, and if the patient were a marathon runner, training would be targeted towards re-building endurance. However, treatments are designed after careful consideration of the patient’s condition, what he or she would like to achieve, and ensuring goals of treatment are realistic and achievable.
Functional training attempts to adapt or develop exercises which allow individuals to perform the activities of daily life more easily and without injuries.