Cross Training

Exercise can provide a total body tune up. It can strengthen the heart bones, muscles,  and joints. It can enhance cardiovascular (heart related)  fitness. Build muscle, reduce fat, and aid in flexibility, but to see these gains, cross training may be needed.

In cross training, two or more types of exercise are performed in one workout or used alternately in successive workouts. A distance runner in training, for example may also lift weights twice a week, perform daily stretching exercises, and do high intensity bicycle sprints every Tuesday.

Exercisers turn to cross training to fight boredom, but also because no single exercise can yield all the potential benefits of exercise outlined above. Jogging, for example, enhances aerobic fitness (which improves cardiovascular health and requires sustained use of large muscle groups like those in the legs) but jogging contributes little to developing muscle mass, especially in the upper body. Weight training increases muscle mass, but does not promote flexibility.

Although cross training seems to make perfect sense, not all experts agree on its benefits. Cross training contradicts the time honoured principle that training should be limited in scope and closely aligned to the performance you want to improve. This is known as task specificity, and it means that if you want to be a good distance runner, you need to run mainly long distances. According to this principle, non-specific activities for runners, like weight training or swimming laps, are a waste of effort because they do not make one a better runner.

Many sports scientists, however, believe that cross training may lead to optimal effort. Because peak performance in any physical activity usually involves more than one physical attribute, a marathoner, for example, may need a strong sprint to the finish line, and hence high levels of aerobic and anaerobic fitness (the ability to perform intense bursts of activity). Also, weight training can help reduce upper body muscle fatigue while running. Because little overlap exists among attributes like aerobic fitness, anaerobic fitness, and strength, cross training is required.

Cross training offers advantages for both competitive athletes and those who train simply to keep in shape and manage their weight. Cross training helps with the following:

• Adds variety to your workouts to keep you interested. You can use traditional training methods like running and swimming as well as exercise on various machines or on in line skates
• Develops your entire body, rather than specific parts or energy systems (aerobic vs. anaerobic)
• Distributes the load of training among various body parts, thus reducing the risk of injury.
• Keep training while you are injured. When one body part is injured you can train using different muscles and joints.