Cross training is a great addition to the overall training program as our musculoskeletal system has its own limits. Running is a weight-bearing activity, and stressful, pounding form of aerobic exercise. Unlike swimming and cycling, a runner’s training limit is reached sooner and enforced more strictly. Cycling, swimming, cross-country skiing, etc. can all be used to train the cardio respiratory. Like running, all these activities train the heart to get stronger and capable of pumping more blood per minute. Hence, any of these activities will be beneficial if the objective is to improve cardio respiratory function.
In addition, many aerobic exercises involve key muscle groups not sufficiently developed with a running program that alternative aerobic training benefits the runner in more ways than building endurance. Cycling, for example, helps strengthen the quadriceps and assists in preventing knee injuries, while swimming helps strengthen the upper body and stretch and relax the back and legs. The following key muscle areas are developed with alternative aerobic exercises:
• Quadricepses = Cycling, swimming
• Ankles = Swimming
• Low back = Swimming
• Buttocks = Swimming
• Hips = Cycling
• Shins = Cycling
Please note that cross training will not have the same capacity to improve running because they all use different muscle groups and training the specific muscle groups is important to performance success. To achieve optimal improvement in a specific activity, the best thing to do is that activity itself. Runners should run, cyclists should bike, and swimmers should swim.
Cross training also assists in times of injury helping to sustain endurance and fitness achieved before the injury. While training for marathons, the odds of being injured rise every time the runner goes out to run, and getting injured is physically traumatic for the body. If training has to stop completely, to allow time for an injury to heal properly, this can also be mentally traumatic. Most veteran runners become accustomed to the daily routine and when they get injured it all changes. This is where cross training comes in. Cross training uses a different style of activity to train the same parts of the body.
There are different activities that can be done if an injury arises. Finding one that works the same muscles and gets the heart rate up without adding extra strain or tension to the existing injury can be difficult. To get the most out of cross training try cross-country skiing, water running or even a stepping machine. They both use the same muscles as running and they both can help achieve a particular target heart rate. With water running over the body, it will feel weightless. This will help with the pain of the injury as well. Cycling does not work the same muscle groups, and, as such, should be a choice only if it is a priority to enhance one’s cardio respiratory fitness. Doing some cross training is better than doing none at all. Risking the loss of everything is what waits without any cross training.
When doing cross training activities, do not do them for the same distance. Train for the same amount of time. Small breaks may need to be taken between training sessions if the target heart rate cannot be reached. For example, if the runner needs to cross train for forty minutes, the time of his daily run, he may need to break that up throughout the day into smaller workouts. Increase the duration of the training slowly until the total time can be reached continuously.
Cross training helps to loosen up muscles that have been worked hard. A short bike ride or a swim helps to recover from a long run the previous day and helps the muscles safely warm up prior to a run as well. Other usages for cross-country training can be found on poor weather days, when running is not always a good idea.
Cross training may also be beneficial to the runner in situations of overtraining. Of course, if the program is being followed carefully, overtraining should not occur, but if it does, switch to a different form of training for a while rather than just stop altogether. Reduce the specific stress on muscles by performing a different activity, while still benefiting from the new activity. A runner might switch to swimming or cycling, both of which maintain the cardio respiratory system but also significantly reduce the trauma to the body in general.
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Running Training