Cross Training?


What cross-training is and why you should begin are discussed by an exercise physiologist.


Since cross-training has gained popularity among both professional and leisure athletes, you've definitely heard of it in relation to physical activity. Cross-training is the practice of mixing up your workout program with various forms of exercise. So an athlete may alternate between rowing, HIIT courses, and Pilates in addition to jogging on one of the top treadmills every day.


Benjamin Rose, an exercise physiologist and fitness trainer at Trainer Academy, was interviewed by Live Science to learn more about the advantages of cross-training and how to implement it into a workout regimen.


According to Rose, who was speaking with Live Science, "cross training is an exercise regimen that includes a range of activities to help you achieve your fitness goals." Cross training, which involves switching up your daily aerobic exercises and including strength training into your weekly running/walking routine, may help you perform better overall, avoid injuries, and stick with your program.


In a nutshell, cross-training is when you mix up your workout regimen and don't only concentrate on one exercise. This has a lot of advantages.


Exercises like cycling, rowing, and weightlifting, for instance, put the muscles, joints, bones, and connective tissues to a variety of pressures, loads, and motions. By doing this, muscular imbalances and overuse injuries are avoided.


Cross-training helps make sure that a person is training across the many components of fitness because each sort of exercise has somewhat different demands.


Rose added that while sticking to one activity could help an athlete set a "personal best," it might also hinder their progress toward becoming more fit.


"Your body becomes proficient at performing these moves after repeating a workout for several months. Despite being great for competitions, this limits your overall level of fitness and reduces the genuine conditioning you get throughout training "said Rose. You don't always get better; you just keep up a certain level of fitness.


SELECTING A CROSS-TRAINING EXERCISE


Any form of exercise other than a person's primary sport activity might be considered cross-training. For instance, runners could experiment with sports like tennis, rollerblading, yoga, Zumba, swimming, cross-country skiing, jump-roping, and lifting weights.


Choose a cross-training workout that concentrates on one or two of the five fitness components that you aren't already focusing on, said Rose.


Muscular endurance, muscular strength, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, and body composition are the five aspects of fitness that are associated with health.


A person who generally engages in activities that improve muscular and cardiovascular endurance, such as running or biking, may want to do cross-training exercises that increase muscular strength or flexibility.


ARE THERE ANY CONTRADICTIONS?


Other than the potential time away from one's "primary" sport, cross-training, according to Rose, has no disadvantages. Overdoing it is something else to avoid.


Cross-training can occasionally weary athletes, according to Rose, who points out that this happens when someone adds too much volume or intensity to their cross-training.


HOW TO START


It is totally up to the exerciser how tough they want their cross-training sessions to be, according to Rose, who also suggested that it is typically good to consider them in the context of a larger training program.


The purpose of using cross-training in a workout regimen is to improve neglected areas of fitness, add balance and variation, and increase overall fitness. A person should ideally perform short, intense cross-training workouts like HIIT training, employing plyometric activities like jump roping, burpees, and jump squats, if they often perform relatively long endurance workouts at a moderate level, such as cycling or riding a spin bike.


Rose offered the following advice in light of this: "Short, frequent, and intense cross-training sessions are preferred. Cross training should only be done twice a week for no longer than an hour."


Increase the frequency, intensity, and duration gradually to be safe, just like with any form of modification to your exercise regimen or the addition of a new exercise.


Before beginning any diet or fitness program, readers should speak with their doctor or another healthcare provider. This article is not intended to be a source of medical advice.