Cross-Training for Runners
Incorporating Variety to Prevent Injury and Burnout
Many runners find it difficult to incorporate variety into their fitness regimen, preferring to jog each time they exercise. However, adding cross-training exercises to a running routine can work new muscles, balance out the body and prevent injury, in addition to avoiding runner’s boredom. Just about any exercise can count as cross-training, but certain workouts are particularly well-suited as complements to running.
Cross-Training in the Water
The pool is an excellent resource for cross-training, as water offers a gentle alternative to the pound of the pavement. Because swimming is not weight-bearing, it gives well-worn muscles and joints a break. Swimming laps provides the body with an all-over workout, working both the upper and lower extremities.
Water running also makes for good pool cross-training. According to Dagny Scott, author of The Complete Book of Women’s Running (Rodale Press, 2007), the water’s resistance offers a full-body workout while its buoyancy limits the impact on runners' legs. Scott also mentions that pool running is a good cross-training strategy for injured runners on the mend.
Cross-Training in the Gym
Elliptical machines, stair machines and stationary bikes (or biking outdoors, as well) are all solid cross-training exercises for runners. Each exercise simulates the motion of running without the impact, while also working new muscles. In addition, these exercises are physically demanding enough to match the calorie burn of running.
Lifting weights is also a great method of cross-training. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, strength training should be a natural part of any fitness program, coupled with cardiovascular exercise, as it improves overall muscle health to support an individual’s workouts. Runners can choose free weights, available at most public gyms, or they can strength train with their own body weight, through exercises like push-ups and crunches. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends at least two sessions of strength training per week.
Cross-Training in the Studio and Outside
Yoga also provides many excellent benefits for runners interested in improving their form through cross-training. Though running and yoga seem to occupy opposite ends of the fitness spectrum, the stretching and lengthening inherent in yoga, not to mention its ability to increase muscle strength, can greatly benefit the avid runner. According to Maia Appleby, a personal trainer based in Florida, yoga’s meditative qualities can also help runners’ stamina, outlook and love for running.
Many runners underestimate the value of walking, but it too can be an excellent form of cross-training. Low-impact and full of the same cardiovascular benefits as running, walking is also a calming form of exercise. A simple stroll around the neighborhood can provide peace of mind, calorie burn and a short break from one’s regular running routine.
Cross-Training for Maximum Health
The type of cross-training, of course, depends on the personality of the runner and what kind of exercise he or she most enjoys. Whether incorporating variety at the gym, in the pool or around the neighborhood, runners’ bodies and their enthusiasm for the sport will benefit from the addition of cross-training to their fitness regimen.
