Why you need to cross-train

You are proud of yourself because this summer you stuck with your running program. By the end of the summer you were easily running five km three times per week. You are ready for your winter fitness program and you decide to take up skiing. "This will be no problem," you think, "I'm in great shape." After a day on the slopes, however, you feel like you've been run over by Santa and all his reindeer. What's going on?

You are probably in great shape -- for running. However, if you focus solely on one activity, your overall level of fitness may not be as high as you think. You may, in fact, be setting yourself up for injuries, overuse syndromes, or worse still - boredom and exercise drop out. What to do? Cross-train.

The term cross-training refers to a routine that involves several different forms of exercise. While it is quite necessary for an athlete to train specifically for their sport if they want to excel, for most sports enthusiasts, cross-training is an effective way to maintain a high level of overall fitness. For example, you may use both biking and swimming each week to improve your overall aerobic capacity, build overall muscle strength and reduce the chance of an overuse injury. By using different muscle groups to perform different activities, not only do you gain more balanced muscle strength, you also limit the amount of repetitive stress on any specific group of muscles.

Cross-training allows you to vary the stress placed on specific muscles and your cardiovascular system. After months of the same movements, your body becomes extremely efficient performing those movements. The muscles used to perform your exercise of choice become very strong, and the movement becomes much more fluid and requires less effort. Rather than continuing to improve, you simply maintain a certain level of fitness. Cross-training is a great way to condition different muscle groups, develop a new set of skills, and reduce the boredom that creeps in after months of the same exercise routines. Additionally, cross-training is extremely helpful at reducing the risk of injury from repetitive strain or overuse of a specific muscle group.

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