Without a doubt, running should be your primary training focus. But it’s equally certain that you’ll get better results when your running is properly supplemented with cross-training. The three basic categories of cross-training are resistance training, flexibility training, and nonimpact cardiovascular training.
Some runners are naturally more injury-prone than others. Research indicates that certain unchangeable factors, including characteristics of joint collagen, make runners more susceptible to overuse injuries. If you’re among those who drew this genetic short straw, you might be frustrated by an inability to consistently run as much as you’d like to without breaking down. This is where cross-training can come in.
Strength training is valuable for injury prevention. Resistance training, when done correctly, increases the strength of muscles, tendons, ligaments and connective tissue. Stronger muscles with fewer left/right imbalances can better retain body alignment during movement. Strength training may also improve running economy.
To maintain effective workouts over the long term, cross-training with variety can challenge both your muscular fitness and your cardiovascular fitness. Those varied exercises force your body to adapt to each new stimulus. Adopting a well-balanced program for improving fitness will help you avoid a plateau in your fitness efforts.
Cross training one or more times each week will accelerate your fitness development in a way that doesn’t interfere with your main goal of avoiding injury as you build up a tolerance for running.
Cardio cross-training strengthens your heart and improves aerobic fitness. Different modes of aerobic exercise can remove the significant impact running places on the legs.
Cross-training reduces the risk of overuse injuries by shifting the demand across different muscle groups. When you stress your muscles repetitively, they fatigue. You improve by stressing muscles, them permitting them to recover and adapt, so that they become stronger.
Cross-training allows for a higher volume of aerobic training. Cross-training enables the runner to experience a greater training volume than doing an easy recovery run, which still fatigues the same muscles but does little to improve cardiorespiratory fitness.
Cross-training may enhance muscle balance by developing opposing muscle groups more uniformly.
Cross-training provides for total fitness of both the upper and lower body.
Cross-training allows for a greater daily intensity of training, since the same muscle groups are not utilized each day.
Cross-training helps keep caloric output high, and optimal body fat percentages can be achieved and maintained much more easily.
Cross-training promotes an increased range of motion, thus reducing the risk of specific muscle tightness, helping to reduce the likelihood of injury.
Cross-training enhances performance in running efficiency. A faster leg turnover and increased hip, knee and ankle range of motion can improve running mechanics and economy of movement.
Cross-training provides flexibility in the workout schedule. If the weather is horrible or conditions are not good for running, an indoor workout provides a training opportunity.
Cross-training provides variety to the training regimen and forestalls boredom. This variety may enhance the desire to train and help athletes avoid staleness and overtraining.
Cross-training promotes recovery. Through cross-training, runners contribute to their fitness while recovering between high-quality run workouts.
Cross-training (XT): helps prevent injury; gives you mental and physical rest from running; builds up muscle groups running may not target; helps you maximize your running efficiency; and, helps maintain or even improve your cardiovascular fitness.
Remember: If you don’t make time for cross-training, strength training, and stretching, you’ll be making time for physical therapy and running rehab.