Cross-training is a kind of training involving two or more sports to help improve fitness and performance. Any athlete is prone to having injuries most especially if the kind of training that she is going through may not be appropriate to what she really needs or may have worn out her muscles from too much working out.
Cross-training helps build strength and flexibility that a single type of training may not be able to completely provide. It also kills the boredom out of simply doing the usual training routine. More and more players from different sports are already incorporating cross-training with their routine because they have seen the impact that it does to their performance.
Cross-training should not only involve wanting to increase your fitness and capabilities but also to be aware of how to prevent injuries. Athletes should not only be focused on improving their skills or agility but also to be cautious with their physical health, most especially after a competition.
Benefits of Cross-Training
Athletes may come to point wherein they feel that no matter how hard they train, changes are no longer evident. Hitting a plateau is perfectly normal.
To be able to surpass that phase, there is a need to modify the usual training technique used, and incorporating other kinds of training may be the best solution. Athletes are able to reinvent themselves by combining different disciplines into one great routine to help them perform better on their respective fields of sports.
Here are some of the advantages of engaging in cross-training:
- With cross-training, you can include different disciplines to increase your fitness level. The conditioning type of cross-training involves increase in muscle mass, loss of unwanted fat, improvement in cardio capacity, and also faster feet movement – all in a single workout.
- Continuous training may wear out muscles, tendons and ligaments, and this may cause injuries due to the amount of stress from working out too much. With cross-training, you are able to strengthen other parts of your body and help the injured parts to rest. It makes an athlete become healthier and more complete.
How to start cross-training
Before going all out and trying out your first cross-training experience, you may need to study up on best practices. One good way of getting valuable information would be websites like runningstats.com that focus on helping athletes and running enthusiasts.
Here are some of the best cross-training options for runners:
Biking/Cycling
Biking can be a very effective form of training for runners. Through biking, the body is able to do more work with less stress on the body because it enhances cardiovascular fitness, thereby promoting better circulation of blood to the lower limbs.
Replace two sessions of your running activity with an hour of bike sessions at least twice a week to quicken your stride. Find a route that is mostly flat to allow balance of moderate resistance and quick motions at 90 RPM, which is equivalent to 180 steps per minute.
Swimming
Swimming can be an alternative way for runners who want to improve their endurance. About 20-40 minutes of swimming, twice a week can be beneficial.
What makes cross-training successful is its potential to not only improve physical strength and endurance, but also boost the immune system. Added to that, cross-training makes workouts more fun!
Having the same kind of workout routine can be a bore, most especially if you notice that it’s getting more difficult to achieve your goal of strength and endurance. With the help of cross-training, you should be able to enjoy your next exercise routine while getting the exact same results.
VELOPMENT.
EVERYDAY. Asking myself frequently, is this worth it? Even with all the personal development I do and leadership roles I’m in, I am human and emotions are hard to control. This part takes training too, just along with the physical strength. PREP is MENTAL. Most mornings I wake up feeling like I can conquer the world and then by the afternoon I start to question myself, I look at myself in the mirror constantly thinking how am I ever going to fit into this ity bitty bikini. I feel tired, hungry, grumpy and digging for energy to do my next workout. Ok it’s not all that bad, just depends on the day. Like last week I felt like this every day and was in constant battle, but this week I think I’ve just now more EXCITED to see all my work coming through. My WHOLE DAY is planned out… when I eat, what I eat, when I workout, what I workout, sleep, posing practice etc. I’m telling you every day is challenge. At any given moment I have gone from being super happy to almost or in tears. I have cried twice in the middle of workouts, literally tears running down my face while doing lunges, squats and cardio. I know exactly why I’m doing it and its normal to have all these emotions. It’s a true testimony of strength and character. Dispute the tears I always pushed through and finish every workout. It’s not that I can’t do the workouts physically or that I dread them, its more of building the control over how I feel about the way I look and trusting the process. Having control over your minds thoughts all the time is exhausting and BIGGIE is not caring what others say about you. Sometimes I’m ON and IN THE ZONE and other times not so much. Emotions ALL OVER!! Nervous for the BIG DAY, yet excited. Other times scared, defeated, tired, drained. Oh and anxious.
ing what you are doing and answering why your doing it and how your doing it to everyone that asks you while they see you carrying a gallon of water around and your meal pack bag. How about time? Maybe you can’t even go to events anymore because they are to late at night or conflict with your workouts. I’m in bed at 9pm and awake at 4am so I can do fasted cardio for 30min and get my first meal in at 5am. I need to do this so I can make sure I get ALL my meals in for the day. If I don’t wake that pushes the whole day back meaning I will be up late trying to get all my meals finished before bed. I’d have to say I’ve done a really good job with all of this and have awesome self control when I’m out with others. Temptations while I’m around people are no problem, it’s temptations in the house that were a weakness in the beginning. However, a big part of going out and socializing is the food aspect and so it does suck while everyone is indulging and enjoying yummy vegan food and I’m not. I love running and yoga and happy that my coach has allowed me to keep that once a week in my training schedule, but I’m not practicing as much as I use to or running races. That sucks to, but I know its temporary. I also love to travel and be able to go wherever whenever. Being on prep kinda has held me back from being able to enjoy doing that too. Had wanted to go to Europe this Spring, but postponed it because I wanted to do this first.
e going out for the day or some time but not sure when you will be back you HAVE to bring everything with you JUST IN CASE! So many times I thought I could make it home in time to make foo
but you will learn who is on your side and who isn’t. Relationships will be tested. Especially with the mood swings, those that truly care and love you will be there for you. Don’t hide the way you are feeling but I know that I have been alert of what to say and how much to say. For the most part my family support my lifestyle because they support all my decisions, but yeah they have no idea no matter how many times I tell them why I do this. They don’t understand why I can’t go out with them sometimes or if I do why I don’t eat with them. They ask me consistently why I can’t eat certain foods and they think I’m on a “diet”. I’ve had to separate myself apart from many friends who don’t understand and surround myself with new friends who do. SUPPORT is major.
