What is Functional Training?

First, I hope everyone had a very nice Christmas and Santa was good to all of you. Next, I want to open up a discussion about functional training. This is a term I hear being used on a daily basis. The functional training craze took off about 6-7 years ago. Now it's what a good majority of trainers are selling. They're selling themselves as functional trainers as opposed to just you're old, boring, high top wearing personal trainer. But what is functional training? How is functional training different than any other type of training? Does it involve balance devices? Does it involve medicine ball training? I want to know what readers of this blog think functional training is. Throw your answers at me. Let's get some active participation from my millions of readers. Ok, may be not millions, but tens of my readers. And next week I'll tell you what I think functional training really is.