Functional Range Conditioning (FRC) is an evidence-based system of joint health, mobility and strength training. It is designed to improve mobility and strength in the body's full range of motion, and to reduce the risk of injury. FRC utilizes specific exercises to enhance mobility, stability, and strength, and includes self-myofascial release (SMR) techniques. The goal of FRC is to optimize human performance while minimizing the risk of injury.
FRC is also a way of thinking for increasing performance. Say your goal is to become the best football player to ever step foot on a field. Why in the world would you need to Bench, Squat, and Deadlift? Yet every football coach would say they need to. Once you ask them why you start to see them have to think. Generally what i hear is "they need to build muscle". Yes they do. I would ask if using most of their training volume towards moving a barbell up and down or getting a ball in the endzone? Maybe building a body that can get hit by a 300+ lbs linebacker could be important? The FRC approach would look like the following.
Step 1
First we must establish where the athlete is currently. We do so by the functional range assessment (FRA). This is done to discover the active to passive mobility ratio. Active to passive ratio is how much of the range of motion (ROM) you currently have access to. What do i mean by access? If you need an external force to push you into a range of motion that"s passive range of motion (ROM), AKA an injury waiting to happen. If you can independently move into a ROM then that is active ROM, AKA where we want to be. The FRA is how we discover you active to passive ratio (APR)
Step 2
Now that we know where the athlete is, We can create what is referred to as a plan or management (POM). What is a POM? A POM is a plan to get to where we want to go go from where we are today. Best way to predict the future is to create it, That's why a POM is so vital. The FRC way is no specific movement or exercise. The FRC way is to discover what you need to best achieve your goals. Not just saying go bench more to get faster. Maybe it's getting more internal rotation of the hip, more big toe flexion, more power through plantar flexion, the possibilities are endless. Without an. FRA we are really just guessing.
Step 3
I genuinely wish step 3 was as simple as handing the athlete a plan and it just works. In reality, The 3rd step is adjusting the plan, Then adjusting the plan, Then adjusting the plan. As we begin to fix the issues we find more come to the surface. It would be truly asinine to disregard anything we run into for the sake of "sticking to the plan". When unlocking your body's ROM we discover a lot of things that your body has been compensating for since who knows when.
(Example)
Say you can't get your arm overhead (shoulder flexion) then we acquire this new workspace for you. Then you start to feel a pinch on the top of your shoulder as you move into shoulder flexion. This is referred to as a closing angle restriction. A closing angle restriction is bone on bone. The last thing we would want to do is "stick to the plan" and degrade your glenoid and humerus when a closing angle restriction is a fixable problem.
In conclusion
The human body is incredibly complex. That is why we hold training to such a high standard.
The FRC system is what We here at PeakLiving use. Training at this level of complexity and precision requires a lot of skill and expertise. That's why we offer coaching Online, So that everyone has access to world class coaching from anywhere in the world. Let a certified coach help you achieve your goals and get you feeling your very best.
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