Advanced Functional Training Flows

We have been talking about all the benefits and how to’s of our DVRT Flows, so it makes sense to progress to more advanced means of these flow exercises. Now, just in case you have missed it, DVRT Flows aren’t novel forms of functional training. There is a great purpose to their use, so what are we trying to accomplish?

The best functional training exercises combine elements of stability, mobility, strength, and power. Of course, depending upon your fitness level and goals, the emphasis of each of these functional training qualities can vary, but they are always there. You may think that doesn’t make DVRT Flows sound very different from other functional training exercises and to some degree you are right. However, the biggest difference is using these qualities to build more reactive strength qualities in all planes of motion.

What is reactive strength? It is the highest level of strength (yes, more than the amount you lift) because it is what your body does as “pre-programmed”. Meaning when you do anything in life and sport, you don’t have time to think about your set-up, what muscle you are using, etc. The training you have done becomes your body’s default and you see if that training you have done allows you to perform or function at high levels. So you see there is actually a much bigger goal of functional training than most people ever realize.

The DVRT Flow that Peretz Scheinerman shows is a great example of how you have to be reactive in order to catch the weight both on the way up AND on the way down. We don’t want to catch the Ultimate Sandbag with our arms so having the deceleration strength to catch the weight in these positions takes a lot of strength but is also amazing in building resilience. 

The other aspect we want to build in advanced DVRT Flows like Peretz shows and we will feature in these other videos is working in different planes of motion. In the video above, Peretz RESISTS the frontal or lateral plane in both the hip hinge and the lunge. This is HUGELY beneficial in building great core stability, glute strength, and knee health. Of course, we wouldn’t start here, but this IS advanced DVRT Flows (you can read about how we begin HERE)

If you went to your gym and just tried the DVRT Flow and almost fell over, don’t worry, that’s normal! However, the key is not to just give you exercises that are challenging, but also functional training strategies that allow us to get to such drills too. We can introduce these concepts in progressive DVRT Flows as Robin Paget shows below. This is even more total body, but she does a great job of layering DVRT concepts to spend time in more complex planes like the transverse plane and progressively build movement patterns like lunging. You will be amazed at how complete and effective a DVRT Flow like Robin’s can be in your training.

The point though of this post is to show where these functional training concepts can go. People often underestimate the ability of the Ultimate Sandbag to produce great strength because the loads aren’t the same as a barbell. However, the barbell is perfectly balanced and really only moves up and down. So, we are always stable and don’t get to train the 3D strength that we REALLY use in everyday life/sport. So, progressing to DVRT Flows like Cory Cripe shows aren’t a novelty but layering all these functional training concepts over time. If you try this day 1, falling over is a high probability. That is the point of DVRT over “sandbag training”, giving you a system of functional fitness to progress and train with great purpose and direction.

How do you use these DVRT Flows? They can be a whole workout in of themselves, perform 4-6 exercises, rest for 30 seconds and go again or do the other side. If you aim for 10 rounds you are going to find that to be WAY more challenging and productive than workouts that take 30 minutes or an hour. In this time where having efficient training has never been more important, this is a great idea for so many people! Give it a try and read some of our past posts about DVRT Flows (like this one HERE) to build up to training like these great coaches!

Don’t miss the chance to get a FREE Power or Strength Ultimate Sandbag when you invest in our Burly USBs. Find out more information as it is for THIS week only! Check it out HERE