The Benefits of Cross Training, By: Brad Walker
How cross training workouts can improve leanness, increase strength, increase your average workout intensity and make you a better athlete!
In keeping with the theme of last months issue on circuit training, I wanted to talk about another great form of athletic preparation and injury prevention called cross training.
Cross training is great for a number of reasons: it provides variety and a break from regular workouts; it helps to condition other areas of your body that may be neglected by performing only one type of exercise; and most of all, if done correctly, will help you reduce the risk of sports injury.
Cross training does this by preparing and conditioning the joints, muscles and tendons that are neglected by your regular workouts. Thus helping to "even-out" your physical ability and strengthen any weak spots you may have.
I hope you enjoy the following article, which comes from a great site that I refer to often, called Peak Performance. They have a fantastic searchable library of over 750 sports articles. If you need specific sports information about anything from strength and stamina to motivation or endurance, Peak Performance is one of the first places you should look. The full version of this article appears on the Peak Performance website.
Athletes are diversifying: swimmers are cycling and lifting weights, cyclists are doing more running, and runners are taking up stair stepping, cycling, and resistance training. Can such "cross training" workouts really help athletes in their preferred sports? Does being a better cyclist automatically make you a better runner, too?
There are three ways that cross training might help you:
1. Improved leanness
2. Greater average workout intensity
3. Greater strength
Strength training has also been linked with higher-velocity tennis serves, faster throwing speeds by baseball pitchers, and larger-amplitude jumps among basketball players. It's a form of cross training, which really works.
Why cross training CAN'T work:
All of that sounds fine, but there's also a key reason why cross training should not work. As you already know, the best workouts are the ones which are SPECIFIC to the demands of the event for which you are preparing.
The overall idea is that a cross training workout doesn't groom you for the exact neuromuscular demands of your main sport. That's not necessarily such a bad thing, though.
Most runners do a great job of battering their legs and switching over to bike workouts can produce partial recoveries, because it prevents the damage which can accrue to leg muscle cells when a tired runner decides that a 20-miler is just the thing to improve fitness.
There are also possible mental benefits of cross training. If you can learn to mentally tolerate a really tough bike workout, you can probably better cope with the pain of running fast, too.
Which other sports are best for runners?
Many runners aren't sure which alternative forms of exercise are best for their running. For that reason, we've listed some popular sports or activities below, ranking them from best for your running (no. 1) to least beneficial (no. 11):
1. Cycling
2. Resistance training
3. Soccer
4. Deep-water running (aqua-running)
5. Stair climbing
6. Cross country skiing
7. Aerobic dance
8. Walking
9. Tennis and squash
10. Swimming
11. Golf
The five rules of cross training
Cross training shouldn't be approached haphazardly. Use the following rules to guide your cross-training efforts:
1. Approach new activities cautiously. When you try an alternative sport, limit your first workout to no more than 20 minutes.
2. Don't immediately add an alternative workout to an already strenuous running schedule. It's far better to SUBSTITUTE an alternative workout for one of your sessions.
3. Avoid activities which might aggravate running injuries.
4. Match the duration of your alternative workouts with the length of your usual running sessions and also try to do something hard during the alternative workout.
5. Whenever you feel tired during an alternative workout, stop!
Two common questions
Here are two questions which are frequently asked about cross training:
Question: On a day when your muscles are too sore for running or you feel too tired to run; are you better off cross training or resting completely?
Answer: If you are tired or hurting, it's better to avoid exercise completely. Any training you do will divert energy away from muscle repair and into the process of fuelling your workout. On the other hand, if you are physically OK but MENTALLY tired, you should base your decision on what the workout will actually do for your psyche.
Question: Why does cross training seem to be better for some sports rather than others?
Answer: It's true that the effects of cross training are specific to the main-sport, cross-sport combination. For example, cycling appears to be great for runners, but running doesn't do a hell of a lot for cyclists.
When runners take up cycling, it keeps them from abusing their leg muscles and may allow their leg muscles to heal a bit. This recovery process represents part of the "bonus" which runners get from cycling.
On the other hand, cyclists who add running to their program begin to experience impact-related trauma to their leg muscles. The damage incurred by their muscles can actually interfere with function; therefore, it's unlikely that cyclists' performances will really "take off" after they start running, whereas runners who initiate a biking program can really soar.
