Winter is here and exercising in the cold is the last thing we want to do in the morning.
Ever thought of CROSS TRAINING? – Any exercise or activity can be considered if it is not your usual sport/exercise routine.
Weight training and Circuit training are commonly used as cross-training tools.
If you do not have a match/meet/race that you are training for – now is the time to reduce, not stop your running, introduce another sport and stretch your fascia and muscles.
‘The exercises in cross-training provide a break from the normal impact of training in a particular sport, thereby giving the fascia, muscles, tendons, bones, joints, and ligaments a brief break. These exercises target the muscles from a different angle or resistance and work to balance an athlete. Cross-training is an effective way of resting the body from the normal sport-specific activities while maintaining conditioning.’
CROSS-TRAINING PROS
- Cross-training limits injury
- Cross-training allows coaches and athletes to train hard all year round without running the risk of overtraining soft tissue leading to overuse injuries. The straightforward process of changing the type of training changes the stress on the body.
- Cross-training gives muscles used in your primary sport a break from everyday stresses during workouts. This allows the fascia and muscles to recover from the conditioning built up over a season. It is known as ACTIVE REST and is a much better recovery tool than TOTAL REST as it trains the entire body to adapt to different exercise stimuli.
- Cross-training also helps reduce or reverse fascia and muscle imbalances in the body. Additionally, it stabilizes and balances the overall condition of fascia, helping prevent strength imbalance, which could pull the body out of natural alignment.
- Lastly, it aids in preventing muscle strains and tears.
CROSS-TRAINING CONS
Cross-training helps achieve balance in the muscles groups due to training them from different angles and positions, but;
- An intense cross-training schedule without progressing into it gradually can also lead to problems. It is essential to progressively increase the intensity, duration, and frequency in small increments. – For example – A swimmer who has not run before may develop shin splints.
- Cross-training cannot be used as the sole conditioning tool. Sport-specific conditioning and skill honing are still required.
PRECAUTIONS
The most widespread problem associated with cross-training is that people tend to get keen on trying out a new sport because the activity is different. They tend to push themselves harder than they usually would, which could lead to a likelihood of injury.
Below are a few precautions to consider.
- Start slowly if you have never done cross-training before, even if you consider yourself reasonably Cross-training will place different demands on the body and mind; if you are not used to it, it will take a few sessions for your body to adapt to this new form of training. Be patient.
- Your warm-up and cool-down are crucial. Do not start any cross-training workout without a thorough warm-up that includes a fascia stretching routine.
- Proper Technique: Before starting a new activity, get instruction in the sport’s techniques and learn safety measures. Kayaking can be an excellent cross-training activity for swimmers to develop and maintain upper-body endurance. Still, without instruction on techniques and safety, it can be dangerous.
- Equipment: Equipment used for cross-training activities should be appropriately fitted and designed. Unsafe or ill-fitted equipment can lead to injury.
- Overtraining: Many athletes add cross-training to their current program rather than substituting, leading to overtraining and the opposite of the injury prevention goal.
- Stretching and Flexibility: Cross-training, as with any new activity, places new and different demands on the body, so do not forget to incorporate regular stretching and flexibility training into your cross-training routines.
- DRINK WATER – hydrate. We all know that we should – and yet….
