Stop moving like a train on tracks and start moving like a complete athlete: Functional Training teaches your body to manage space 360 degrees, preventing injuries.
- Running happens almost exclusively in the sagittal plane (straight ahead).
- This specialization creates muscle imbalances and lateral stiffness.
- Multi-planar Functional Training “wakes up” forgotten stabilizer muscles.
- 5 key exercises: Lateral Lunges, Woodchoppers, Single Leg Deadlifts, Plank with Rotation, Skater Jumps.
Think about it: a runner is a lot like a train.
We are marvelous machines designed to go forward, straight ahead, mile after mile. Our bodies are masterpieces of evolutionary engineering optimized for what we love to call a “controlled forward fall.”
This is great, as long as the track is straight.
The problem arises when life (or the trail) asks us to turn, to jump a lateral obstacle, or simply when a stabilizer muscle—tired of being ignored because “we only go straight”—decides to go on strike and cause an injury.
Most runners live as prisoners of the sagittal plane: we do everything in a straight line. We walk straight, run straight, squat straight.
But the world is three-dimensional.
Functional Training serves exactly this purpose: to make your body “smarter,” capable of moving on all planes (frontal and transverse), unlocking stiff joints and building armor against injury.
Runners Live in a Straight Line. The World Is 3D.
When you run, your body executes the exact same movement thousands of times. That is the definition of specialization. But extreme specialization brings fragility.
If your muscles only know how to push forward, who stabilizes the pelvis when your foot lands on a loose rock? Who protects the knee if you make a sudden directional change to avoid a dog in the park?
This is where the forgotten muscles come into play: the adductors, abductors, and trunk rotators.
If you don’t train them, they become the weak link in the chain. And as you know, the chain always breaks at the weakest link.
Why “Forward-Only” Training Makes You Fragile (and Stiff)
Training on multiple planes isn’t about performing acrobatics; it’s about building resilience.
Introducing lateral and rotational movements teaches the nervous system to handle forces other than standard vertical gravity.
Furthermore, working on rotation is crucial for the core. We often think of abs as something that flexes us forward (the crunch), but their true function is to stabilize and manage torque forces. A core that knows how to manage rotation is a core that protects the back.
This is why you must integrate these movements: not to become a dancer, but to be a runner who doesn’t break.
5 Functional Moves to Unlock Your Body
You can do this circuit at home or at the gym. You only need your body and, for one exercise, a dumbbell (or a water bottle).
Lateral Lunges (Strengthen Adductors)
We are used to lunging forward. Let’s change the axis.
From a standing position, take a long step out to the side, keeping one leg straight and bending the other, sending your hips back as if sitting on a low stool to your side.
This movement opens the hips, stretches the adductors (often shortened and stiff), and strengthens the glutes at a new angle.
Woodchopper (Rotational Strength)
Imagine being a lumberjack. Grab a dumbbell (or a resistance band anchored high). With arms straight, bring the weight from high right to low left, rotating your torso and bending your legs slightly.
It is a movement that crosses the body diagonally, powerfully activating the obliques and teaching the body to transfer force from legs to arms through the trunk.
Single Leg Deadlift (Dynamic Balance)
The Single Leg Deadlift is the king of exercises for runners. Why? Because when we run, we are always on one leg!
Standing on one foot, hinge your torso forward while extending the other leg back straight, keeping your back flat like a table.
It trains balance, strengthens the posterior chain (hamstrings and glutes), and stabilizes the ankle. If you shake, it’s a sign you need it.
Plank with Rotation
The classic plank is great, but let’s make it dynamic. From a hand plank position, lift one hand and rotate your torso, opening up toward the ceiling to form a T, then return down and repeat on the other side.
This adds a component of instability and works on shoulder strength and anti-rotation exercises and control.
Skater Jumps (Lateral Power)
A little cardio and power. Jump laterally from one foot to the other, like an ice skater, landing soft and crossing the free leg behind.
This teaches the body to absorb impact laterally and generate drive in a direction it isn’t used to. Excellent for ankles and reactivity.
A Smarter Body Is a Durable Body
Inserting these exercises once or twice a week won’t take much time, but it will change how you feel. You will feel less “robotic” and more fluid.
The next time you hit a protruding root or have to dodge an obstacle at the last second, your body will know what to do. Because you taught it.