Functional Training Anatomy

Use functional training to better prepare for athletic competition.

The term “functional training” has been associated with a fair amount of controversy ever since it became part of the fitness training vernacular more than a decade ago. In Functional Training Anatomy, noted strength and conditioning specialists Kevin Carr and Mary Kate Feit cut through the clutter and misconceptions about functional training and cover all aspects of how to build a purposeful, effective, and efficient program that provides the strength, stability, and mobility you need to support your body in life and in sports.

Beginning with a clear definition of what functional training entails, you will learn about the importance of mobility training and its impact on movement quality, performance, and injury reduction. Use the warm-up activities to prepare for high-intensity activities. Use the medicine ball and plyometric exercises to learn to produce and absorb force. Develop power with Olympic lifts, kettlebell swings, and jumping exercises. Improve strength in the upper body, lower body, and core with hip-dominant, knee-dominant, pushing, pulling, and core exercises.

See the inner workings of each of the exercises with superb full-color illustrations that show the primary and secondary muscles and connective tissue being used. The detailed instructions for these multiplanar and unilateral exercises ensure you execute each one correctly and safely. The Functional Focus element shows how the exercises translate to specific activities, whether that be an explosive athletic move or simply moving a box.

Functional Training Anatomy incorporates traditional and nontraditional exercises and mobility drills that will help you increase functional strength and reduce injury so your body is prepared to support the demands of athletic performance and daily living.

Earn continuing education credits/units! A continuing education exam that uses this book is also available. It may be purchased separately or as part of a package that includes both the book and exam.

Kevin Carr is a strength and conditioning coach and manager at Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning (MBSC) as well as a massage therapist and cofounder of Movement as Medicine, a massage and movement therapy clinic in Woburn, Massachusetts. He is the creator of the Certified Functional Strength Coach certification. He has a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a license in massage therapy from Cortiva Institute in Watertown, Maryland.

Carr amassed a wealth of experience in the field of sport performance and personal training while working at MBSC and has traveled all over the world to educate thousands of coaches and therapists about the MBSC coaching system. He has coached everyone from U.S. Olympians looking for a competitive edge to the average person looking to shed some pounds, move better, and improve their health.

Mary Kate Feit, PhD, is an assistant professor of strength and conditioning in the School of Physical Education, Performance, and Sport Leadership at Springfield College in Massachusetts. At Springfield College, she also serves as the associate director of strength and conditioning, overseeing the graduate assistant strength and conditioning coaches, who serve over 600 student-athletes at the college. Prior to her work at Springfield College, she had an extensive career in sport performance, which included time spent as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Iowa and the University of Louisville as well as the adult program coordinator at Reach Your Potential Training in Tinton Falls, New Jersey.

Feit completed her graduate degree in applied exercise science with a concentration in strength and conditioning from Springfield College and her bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of the Holy Cross, where she was a Division I soccer player. Her love for strength and conditioning originated when she began sport performance training under fellow Springfield alum Mike Boyle at Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning (MBSC), where she spent seven summers coaching athletes while finishing her high school and collegiate education. She is certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association, Precision Nutrition, and Functional Movement Systems, and she holds the Certified Functional Strength Coach designation.