CrossFit Attitude

First of all, what is the meaning of ‘functional’ strength? Or rather, how would it be possible to acquire strength which is somehow ‘non-functional’? If a guy does squats with a 300 lb barbell, and another guy next to him does squats with a 300 lb sand bag on his shoulders, what’s the difference in reality? They both are squatting with 300 lbs. How would one of them have functional strength and the other non-funtional strength? Some of the guys who commented talked fondly of when they used to squat, deadlift and bench press with huge weights, and they also said how that strength helped them a lot in the sports they practised. In any case, I cannot see how the strength of someone who can deadlift 2 or 3 times their own bodyweight, can be called non-functional. Strength is strength, regardless of how someone acquires it, in my opinion.

http://www.legendarystrength.com/blog/category/odd-object-lifting/