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Summary
On episode 177 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan sits down with Lamar Lowery, who served in the U.S. military in the late 1980s, stayed in Germany after his active duty, and founded the Lamar Functional Fitness Training Academy in 2007, to discuss his book, Functional Fitness.
Lamar’s argument is simple: watch a two or three year old move and you’re watching functional fitness in action. The nervous system, muscular system, and fascia work as one connected chain, and training should respect that instead of isolating body parts.
The conversation walks through his four pillars of human movement and makes the case that hip strength, built through everyday actions like sitting and standing, is one of the most overlooked keys to staying mobile as we age.
Links
- https://40plusfitness.com
Key Takeaways
- Functional fitness is about the brain-to-muscle connection, not just the muscles. Lamar says the nervous system is the body’s telecommunication network, and training should feed that connection, not just isolate individual muscles.
- There are four pillars of human movement: locomotion, core flexion and extension, push and pull, and rotation with diagonal movement. Lamar built the book’s exercise progression around these four categories so readers understand what each movement is training and why.
- Start with the basics before adding complexity. Lamar has readers master symmetric positioning, then basic push and pull movements, before introducing asymmetric or complex, multi-joint exercises.
- The core runs from shoulder to knee, not just shoulder to hip. Because the psoas and other muscles cross the hip joint and connect through fascia, Lamar says treating the core as only the midsection ignores how the chain actually works.
- Hip strength is central to daily function. Lamar points out that people who stop using their hips, whether from age or excess weight, start to walk like a penguin and lose the ability to sit and stand on their own.
- Everyday sit-to-stand reps add up fast. Lamar’s math: 100 sit-to-stands a day adds up to roughly 360,000 in a year, all without needing a gym or equipment.
- Beginners see fast early gains because the brain is reconnecting with dormant muscles. Allan and Lamar agree that new trainees often improve quickly not because of new muscle, but because the neurological connection to those muscles is switching back on.
- Longevity in fitness comes from listening to your body, not chasing a look. Lamar says a six-pack is nice, but the real goal is being able to get on the floor and play with your grandchildren for as long as possible.
“If you want to learn how to move, just watch the next two-year-old or three-year-old and you’ll know what I’m talking about.”
Lamar Lowery