Coordinating the "Function" in Functional Fitness
Functional Friday Newsletter Series: Functional Fitness People Get It!
Turning every functional fitness step into one big masterpiece
I was a gymnast for 14+ years of my life. And if you know anything about gymnastics, you know it’s ruthless and competitive — not just against other teams, but even against your own teammates, since it’s such an individual sport. Because of that, I used to spend extra hours in the gym, working harder—not smarter—to get the results I wanted.
But here’s the thing: if someone had taught me one simple hack back then, I could’ve avoided constant injuries and gained a whole new appreciation for what my body and brain could do when they actually worked together.
See, when you were a kid, you learned how to crawl... then walk... then jog... run... jump... and play.
But how does all of that come together so seamlessly as you grow?
One word: coordination.
And if you think about it, that’s exactly what we’ve been focusing on through every newsletter so far — learning to move with skill and intention.
How do we do this?
Well for starters, by taking the lessons from our last newsletter and practicing them until they become second nature — deeply wired into our subconscious.
But from there can then build by coordinating our movements.
Coordination looks different depending on who you ask and where you’re at in your movement journey.
For the average person, coordination might simply mean moving through daily tasks without losing balance or feeling awkward — walking up stairs without tripping or reaching for something without knocking things over. Basic, but absolutely essential.
For athletes, coordination takes things to another level. It’s lightning-fast reactions, precise footwork, split-second decisions, and the ability to combine strength, speed, and skill seamlessly. Their bodies are finely tuned machines where every muscle, joint, and nerve works together like a well-rehearsed orchestra.
And in functional fitness?
Coordination is the bridge between those two worlds.
It’s how we turn movement into purpose—by developing patterns that actually carry over into real-life strength, control, and resilience. It taps into athletic decision-making, full-body awareness, and the ability to move powerfully in every plane, under any condition—with confidence and intention.
Mind-Muscle Connection
We’ve all heard the phrase, “practice makes perfect.”
And that’s where the idea of muscle memory comes in.
But news flash — it’s not your muscles doing the remembering.
It’s your brain learning how to tell your body what to do with more precision, accuracy, and efficiency.
So let’s flip the script…
Practice doesn’t just make perfect — practice makes patterns.
That muscle memory? It’s built through mind-muscle connection — your nervous system getting sharper every time you move with intention.
This is where movement stops being random and starts becoming refined.
Your brain and body have to learn to speak the same language.
And when they do? That’s when everything clicks — your movement flows, your reactions get faster, and you stop wasting energy on inefficient patterns.
The more you train with focus, the sharper your coordination becomes.
Here’s what that functional fitness intentional movement looks like:
Feeling your glutes initiate the movement
Maintaining tension in your core
Pressing through your whole foot
Moving with control in both directions
🔗 Let’s Connect the Dots
Let’s bridge all the gaps that have been made through each newsletter so far and tie it together with the core principleswe’ve been stacking:
Multi-joint movements that work multiple muscle groups simultaneously — because life isn’t one rep at a time
Three-dimensional movement in all planes of motion — forward/back, side-to-side, rotational — because your body moves in all directions
Core integration where your midsection stabilizes and transfers force — your power center
Progressive overload that builds strength for daily activities — so you get stronger where it actually matters
Balance and coordination that translate into better body control — the secret sauce for graceful, injury-free movement
Why Coordination Changes Everything
We’ve built strength. We’ve worked on mobility. We’ve trained balance.
But if your body can’t coordinate all those pieces, it’s like having all the parts of a car—without knowing how to make it drive.
Most traditional workouts focus on isolating muscles.
Lift this. Curl that.
But real life? It’s messy. It’s reactive. It’s never just one muscle firing in a vacuum.
That’s where functional fitness comes in.
It trains movement patterns, not just muscles.
Because in reality?
You don’t move in straight lines.
You twist. You pivot. You reach. You react.
You don’t live life one joint at a time—your whole body works as a team.
And coordination is the coach that keeps the team in sync.
That’s why coordination is everything.
It’s the glue that holds your movement system together.
And the best part? It’s trainable.
It’s not something you’re born with or without—it’s something you can build when you understand how the body moves.
👉🏼 So of course, it’s my duty as your functional fitness girlie to show you exactly how to do that. In the paid subscriber section dropping in 2 weeks, I’ll walk you through how to train coordination—turning movement into seamless flow and effort into effortlessness.
So here’s to mastering your coordination, unlocking your full potential, and moving like the total powerhouse you were born to be. And if you're not ready for the deep dive just yet? My advice to you is to keep showing up. Keep tuning in. And most importantly—keep moving with coordinated purpose.
Because the best is still to come.
See you next month when we explore the next pillar: flexibility..
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