You thought you were fit…
So you can bench press a Buick and you think you’re strong. One day, a friend asks you to join him for rope climbing training and other body resistance exercises. Not only can you barely climb up the rope, but you can’t move the next day!
Or maybe you’re a long-distance runner and one day a friend invited you to swim a few laps in the pool, after which your muscles fatigued and you were out of breath. Now you may be wondering, “What happened? I thought I was fit!”
Sounds familiar?
The body is made for cross training
Brute strength doesn’t always equal physical fitness. If you’re not used to certain movements and exercises, you’re likely to experience muscle soreness and fatigue that seem out of proportion to your level of exertion. However, the opposite is also true. Your body will become extremely efficient at performing specific movements day in and day out, which is ideal if you’re an athlete looking to engrave perfect form, movement, and muscle memory into your neuromuscular system. This is just one of the reasons why constant exercise is so much more beneficial to the body than sporadic and infrequent activities.
The downside of doing the same thing over and over again is that your body will get used to your routine and start to settle down. This is why cross training is an absolute must! We are designed to move in a variety of ways, from running, jumping, pushing, rowing, bending, spinning, swimming, etc. Through cross training, which promotes movement diversity, we continue to write new patterns into our muscle memory. This improves our health and makes us more adaptable and functional, not only as athletes but also as human beings.
Make workouts work for you
An added benefit of cross training is that it makes regular exercise easier for people of all fitness and experience levels. It’s easier to get discouraged when you feel pain after random, sporadic activity. You may not want to try again. But if you find a few different things that you enjoy and put them in regular rotation, you’ll condition your body and find that exercise is not only enjoyable, but easier than you thought.
A training partner or personal trainer can help you stay accountable and make sure you’re mixing up your workouts, diversifying your movement, and maximizing your results. Here are some of the benefits of incorporating a diverse fitness regimen into your lifestyle:
physical benefits
• Reduces risk of injury
• Produces a higher level of overall conditioning
• Promotes total body fitness
• Improves speed, strength, endurance, stability, balance, agility and flexibility
• Improve your specific skills
cognitive benefits
• Improves brain function
• Increases the ability to learn and retain information
• Regulates inflammation
• Improves signal transmission within cells
• Helps prevent neurodegenerative diseases
Mingle!
Doing the same thing repeatedly for long periods of time can lead to injury, boredom, and health problems. So mix it up: one day you can do resistance training, another day you can try wind running, add some swimming, dance, learn a martial art, do yoga… the key is to find a few things you enjoy, stick with them, and return to being a functional and healthy human being.