MFP Education Center

What is the MFP FUNctional Fitness Program?

Workouts involving technical, Olympic lifts now come with a FUNctional Fitness option for members. Although the physical and cognitive benefits of movements like the snatch, overhead squat, clean and jerk, etc., are universal, more accessible variations are beneficial to support a diverse population. The beauty of CrossFit and the MFP approach is that there is no limitation to its scale – and incorporating a FUNctional Fitness option now provides all members with an inclusive way to become fitter, faster, stronger, healthier, and more resilient people. 

What does it mean to differ by degree, not kind?

If you attend a CrossFit Level-1 Seminar, you’ll hear the phrase “our needs differ by degree, not kind.”

This is one of my favorite phrases in the CrossFit space. It emphasizes that every person, regardless of age, ability, background, or fitness level, should be doing the same movement patterns and exercises with different degrees of difficulty. 

Why is this so important? Because we all are training to be our best selves, and live life to the fullest whether we are elite athletes, parents, 9-5 workers, first responders, teachers, or some combination of these. The CrossFit methodology emphasizes training functional movements at high intensity (with safety, efficiency, and efficacy) because these functional movements train our bodies and brains to perform better in the gym and outside of it. 

Examples of functional movement variations

1. The Squat: This can be as simple as lowering yourself with control to a chair and then standing yourself back up. Maybe you are not adding weights and sitting yourself into a deep squat below parallel and standing back up. It could become as advanced as squatting with a heavy barbell positioned in a front rack, on your back, or pressed overhead. 
2. Clean and Jerk: An Olympic lift, the clean and jerk is a dynamic/powerful way to get an object from the ground to overhead in two steps. First, the object (oftentimes a barbell) is cleaned up from the ground to the front rack position. Then, utilizing a leg drive and jump, it is pressed overhead and locked out. This full-body movement demands output from both the anterior and posterior chains and is incredibly important for overall fitness, function, and longevity. In a FUNctional Fitness option, the clean and jerk could be done with something as simple as a med ball or a dumbbell. 
3. The Clean: This is an Olympic lift that involves getting an object from the ground to your shoulders in a dynamic manner. Typically, a clean is done with a barbell but there is a seemingly infinite amount of variations that can be made that still provide the same stimulus – full body power output. You can clean dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags, med balls, etc. The stimulus remains consistent throughout any variation.
4. The Snatch: Another Olympic lift, the snatch demands you to get an object from the ground to overhead in one smooth motion. If you are new to your fitness journey, it might be intimidating to see experienced athletes snatching heavy barbells in a CrossFit gym. But understand that this is simply another degree of difficulty in the same realm as lifting your young child into the air or placing a suitcase into the overhead space. 

MFP FUNctional Fitness Option: Working the Brain and Body

At CrossFit MFP, we believe that functional movements like the snatch, clean and jerk, and overhead squat offer a stimulus that serves every member – no matter age, background, nor fitness level. However, we also recognize that scaling only in weight is a limited approach in Making Fitness Possible for every member of the community. In response, you’ll now notice that relevant workouts have three options:

• Rx (prescribed)
• Scaled (reductions in weight/volume)
• FUNctional Fitness

If a workout consists of a strength piece building up to a heavy barbell snatch and the Metcon involves high volume overhead squats, the FUNctional Fitness option would offer the same stimulus while also being more accessible and approachable for beginners or those with any physical limitations.

FUNctional Fitness Example:

Instead of scaling down a barbell to snatch or overhead squat, the FUNctional Fitness option might ask you to build up to a heavy (but technical) dumbbell snatch on each arm. Then, the Metcon would involve goblet squats (held closely in front of the chest) instead of overhead squats. 

CrossFit Strength: Build to a heavy but technical squat snatch 5-4-4-3-3-2-2-1 

FUNctional Fitness Strength: 5×5 single arm dumbbell snatch each side. Build with perfect reps

CrossFit Metcon: 5 Rounds of a 400 meter run and 15 overhead squats (Nancy)

FUNctional Fitness Metcon: 5 rounds of a 400 meter run and 15 goblet squats

Understand that you are still achieving the same level of mind/body training with the FUNctional Fitness option. This option focuses on functional movement that supports your health, fitness, and longevity journey while providing you with a variation that challenges and pushes you. The FUNctional Fitness variation is not better nor worse. Instead, it’s simply different! It provides you with a unique way to push yourself and your fitness through effective and sometimes unconventional means. 

Who should try the FUNctional Fitness Option?

The answer is not black or white. Instead, everyone could benefit from the stimulus it offers. However, if you are a beginner, recovering from an injury, or just getting yourself back into fitness after some time off, this is an excellent opportunity for you. The FUNctional option will help you make fitness gains, become more confident, and start establishing the neural pathway connections in your brain to tackle complex movements like the barbell snatch or clean and jerk. Remember, whether you are getting a barbell from the ground to your shoulder or a sandbag, you are differing in degree but not kind. 

FUNctional Fitness vs Scaling

The FUNctional option is not scaling. Instead, see it as a different approach. Scaling involves modifying the weight and/or rep scheme of something like a barbell clean and jerk, snatch, or squat. The FUNctional variation utilizes different tools and rep schemes to help you diversify your approach to fitness, Wholebeing, and longevity. 

Give FUNctional Fitness a try!

If you are interested in CrossFit but don’t feel quite ready to take on the challenge of utilizing a barbell (or other more advanced movements) quite yet, don’t worry. Come visit us and schedule a free trial week to experience the magic of FUNctional movement and our community. Every workout is written to differ by degree and not kind – allowing every individual’s level and background to thrive and achieve the health and Wholebeing they deserve.