People who focus on a particular sport frequently only train the muscles used in that sport. There are benefits to adding cross-training. When you cross-train, you use other types of exercise besides your sport. If you’re a runner, foot or baseball player, or cycler, cross-training gives you unlimited ways to train when the weather is foul and training outdoors is limited.
You’ll strengthen muscles you use and don’t use in the sport.
Core muscle work may not seem to help runners or cyclists, but it builds strength and helps posture, which increases endurance and can help cut minutes off your time. Strength training doesn’t seem related to swimmers, but it improves leg muscles. Strength training helps improve your overall health and muscle growth throughout the entire body. The stronger your muscles are, the more endurance you have. If you’re strength training, doing yoga can help improve your flexibility and prevent injury.
You can do cross-training exercises as active recovery workouts.
On days after an intense workout, you need to rest your muscles for recovery. That doesn’t necessarily mean you should sleep all day or skip exercise. Recovery exercises that don’t use the same muscle groups increase your circulation and help boost healing. Doing upper-body workouts helps people who use their legs primarily in their sports. If you did an intense total-body workout, walking at a moderate pace or swimming are acceptable cross-training workouts to speed recovery.
Cross-training can keep you fit on off-seasons and keeps you mentally in the game.
Athletes don’t train as hard during off-seasons as during their most active time. Having a go-to form of fitness that isn’t your chosen sport keeps you fit when you want to take a breather. Alternating training helps prevent burnout and keeps your head in the game during your sport’s season. It keeps you in shape without making you weary by doing the same old moves. You’ll have to focus more on something new, which trains your mind and body.
- Cross-training helps you keep or get into shape while reducing the risk of repetitive strain or stress injuries like shin splints or tennis elbow. You can avoid overuse injuries to joints by introducing cross-training in your routine.
- Cross-training improves your mobility and your range of motion. That helps prevent injuries you might otherwise experience. It helps build skills your regular program doesn’t.
- Varying your workout makes it more fun and allows you to socialize with various groups of people. That boosts your social life and presents an opportunity for new experiences.
- Our trainers will help you with a program designed to improve your performance and build other muscle groups to ensure your body has balance. We offer a variety of exercise experiences to broaden your fitness program.
For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym