I heard this dude use this term in the gym---his workout consisted of pull ups, shadow boxing, dips, more shadow boxing, machine bicep curls, and treadmill work... And the obligatory hoodie.
So, this made me ponder as I am doing delts.
"Isn't all strength "functional"? I mean, you pick up a weight, your muscles are functioning.
Or even the term "functional muscle"---if you cannot move that muscle, or use it, then it ain't functioning.
Now granted, today's competitive bbers gain huge muscles for cosmetic/freakish purposes, and as such, have loss their mobility, or the functional aspect has decreased, but they still function, albeit in some limit form.
So this got me thinking, especially with the olympics, if they (the powers that be) really want to get bbing into the olympics, they must highlight how "functional" those huge muscles are--which dictates smaller, more streamlined phyisques.
Needless to say, I think "functional strength" is a made up term, that is more moronic, once you start to think of it.