CROSS-TRAINING
It's easy to get bored with pounding the streets over the same old routes. So why not have a think about adding some cross-training into your training schedule?
WHAT EXACTLY IS CROSS-TRAINING?
It's not just about doing a variety of different activities - it's about learning new skills and training in a way that will prepare you best for your running too. Cross-training can also help to reduce the risk of injury.
Finding alternative ways to work your system, instead of pounding the road or the treadmill with continual high impact work on your joints, can help avoid monotony and boredom due to variety, tone your body as well as keep it strong and flexible too.
Whatever your training level, it can help you get the results you want. Cross-training is for anyone!
When you set up your cross-training programme, it's important that you know what you're training for and that your goal is to include a varied mix of aerobic and anaerobic activity. It is important to strength train too. This helps to re-shape your body, aids weight loss, boosts your metabolic rate, helps to improve your posture and, importantly, helps to keep your bones strong and healthy.
Finally, how often do you forget to stretch? Be honest! It can take just a couple of minutes, yet so many runners miss it out. With cross-training, you must include flexibility/stretch training too. It can have so many benefits - such as helping to reduce the risk of injury, increase agility, aid balance as well as help relaxation and stress release.
Combining cardiovascular training, strength training and flexibility training helps to achieve a proper balance, as these three points are the foundations of any effective fitness programme.
You work hard to stay fit - you run! Now it's time to work smarter and get the best out of your training!
CAN CROSS-TRAINING HELP TO PREVENT INJURIES?
Anyone who is intent on maintaining a programme of aerobic exercise can find benefits from cross-training. Runners find that substituting activities such as cycling or swimming for some of their workouts will diffuse the physical stress of running, thereby reducing the risk of injury. Not only are cycling and swimming low impact activities compared to running, but each can condition different muscle groups as well as exercise some of the same muscle groups, but in different ways.
In endurance workouts, injuries may result when one muscle group becomes stronger than an opposing group. Doing a greater variety of exercise reduces the chance of getting this kind of imbalance and thus the chance of suffering pulled muscles and knee injuries. If you do get an injury, you can still maintain your aerobic fitness by training in another activity that exercises different muscles.
