Practice makes perfect. We’ve all heard this cliché since childhood. A simple piece of wisdom telling us the way to get better at anything is to do it over and over again until we master it.
For the most part, it’s true. But there are times when mixing things up can help you improve your performance. Cross-training is an excellent example of this.
What is cross-training and how does it make you stronger, give you more energy, and allow you to move better? In this blog, we’ll talk about cross-training at AFAC’s gym in Thornton, Colorado, and how it can be a smart addition to your workout routine.
What Is Cross-Training at the Gym?
Cross-training means doing different types of exercises that are not typically part of your main sport or fitness routine. It often involves using various workouts to improve a specific aspect of your fitness.
Cross-training was originally popularized by runners, but it’s now a common practice for many other types of athletes like swimmers, cyclists, skiers, triathletes, and weightlifters.
In many cases, athletes will add cross-training to their schedules during their off-season, when training for their chosen sport has ended.
Another reason athletes do cross-training is because the weather outside makes training for their main sport impossible. For example, most people who love outdoor rock climbing won’t want to scale the side of a mountain during a blizzard. These individuals might opt for an indoor climbing wall, climbing cave, or VersaClimber machine as indoor cross-training opportunities.
What Are Some Examples of Cross-Training at the Gym?
Cross-training can be useful for virtually any sport or fitness goal. Some examples of cross-training might include:
- A basketball player incorporating swimming or spinning into their training routine to improve cardiovascular endurance, build power in sprints, and provide a low-impact workout that helps prevent injuries.
- A soccer player participating in yoga sessions to enhance flexibility, balance, and core strength, which can contribute to better agility and injury prevention.
- A cyclist including strength training exercises, such as weightlifting or bodyweight exercises, to improve overall power and muscular endurance, which can benefit their cycling performance.
- A runner engaging in cross-training activities like Pilates or barre workouts to develop core stability, strengthen muscles, and improve posture, which can enhance running efficiency and reduce the risk of injuries. Runners might also use cycling as an alternative exercise to build and maintain endurance.
- A martial artist practicing high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to improve their overall conditioning, speed, and explosiveness, which can be beneficial in their specific discipline.
- A tennis player participating in agility ladder drills and plyometric exercises to enhance quickness, footwork, and explosive movements on the court.
- A gymnast incorporating cross-country running to build cardiovascular endurance, which can support stamina during routines and competitions.
- A swimmer practicing rowing to keep up their exercise capacity and work similar muscle groups.
- A football player running to build endurance or lifting weights to build size and strength.
- A skier who surfs or paddleboards to develop balance, strengthen stabilizer muscles, build core strength, and develop foot and ankle sensory and proprioception.
These examples demonstrate how athletes in almost any sport can benefit from cross-training by incorporating activities that target different aspects of fitness, provide variety, and contribute to overall performance improvement.
What Are the Benefits of Cross-Training at the Gym?
Cross-training at the gym offers numerous benefits for individuals looking to improve their fitness and overall well-being. Some of the key benefits of cross-training are listed below.
Improved Cardiovascular Endurance
Cross-training is a great way to boost your cardiovascular endurance. By combining different types of exercises, you can improve your body’s ability to handle various workouts, ranging from low-intensity endurance activities like walking and lunging to high-intensity strength exercises like burpees and kettlebell swings. When you engage in a variety of workouts, your muscles adapt to different movements, leading to increased fitness and strength over time. This allows your body to handle longer workouts without excessive fatigue. Additionally, when you work your cardiovascular system, your heart and lungs also get stronger, promoting better overall health and fitness.
Enhanced Physical Fitness
Cross-training involves engaging in various types of exercises, such as cardio, strength training, and flexibility training. This comprehensive approach helps improve cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and overall physical fitness.
Better Muscle Tone
Cross-training is an excellent method for achieving toned muscles. By incorporating different exercises into your workout routine, you can target various muscle groups and promote overall toning throughout your body. It’s beneficial to alternate between exercises that utilize anaerobic (strength-based) and aerobic (cardiovascular-based) energy sources. Additionally, varying the intensity of your workouts allows your muscles to recover from excessive strain. Don’t forget to include stretching exercises, as they can help reduce fatigue and soreness. By diversifying your exercise regimen, you can maintain better muscle tone throughout your entire body.
Increased Muscle Flexibility
One of the main advantages of cross-training is improved muscle flexibility. Engaging in various exercises that target different muscle groups can expand the range of motion in those muscles. This increased flexibility makes your muscles more supple and resilient, reducing the likelihood of injuries. Cross-training also promotes enhanced mobility and circulation, enabling your body to move more freely and smoothly. It contributes to better coordination and balance, essential aspects of any fitness routine. By working different muscle groups from different angles, you can enhance overall strength while minimizing the risk of injuries. Furthermore, improved muscle flexibility aids in maintaining proper posture and form during exercise, allowing for more effective workouts.
Prevention of Plateaus
When you repeatedly perform the same exercises or follow a single workout routine, your body may adapt and reach a plateau where you see diminishing returns. Cross-training allows you to continually challenge your body by introducing new exercises and activities, thereby avoiding plateaus and promoting continuous progress.
Reduced Risk of Overuse Injuries
By engaging in a variety of exercises that work different muscle groups and movement patterns, cross-training helps distribute the stress placed on your body more evenly. This can reduce the risk of overuse injuries that can occur when you repeatedly stress the same muscles or joints. As a matter of fact, according to 2017 research at the University of Wisconsin, athletes who specialized in one sport had an 85% higher chance of getting injuries than those who engaged in multiple activities.
Enhanced Joint Mobility
Cross-training is a fantastic method for enhancing joint mobility. By engaging in diverse exercises and utilizing different gym equipment, you can improve your range of motion, balance, and posture. This approach also reduces the risk of injury and strengthens the muscles that support your joints. When you cross-train, you engage multiple muscle groups, promoting overall body balance. This even distribution of forces reduces stress on the joints. As you become more familiar with various movements, you’ll notice that your body adapts, resulting in reduced stiffness in the joints after workouts.
Increased Strength and Endurance
Incorporating strength training exercises into your cross-training routine helps build muscle strength and enhance muscular endurance. This can benefit various aspects of your life, from daily activities to sports performance.
Balanced Muscle Development
Different exercises in cross-training target different muscle groups, helping to achieve balanced muscle development throughout your body. This can enhance posture, improve overall body symmetry, and reduce the risk of muscle imbalances.
Improved Weight Management
Cross-training combines cardiovascular exercises, which burn calories and boost metabolism, with strength training, which helps build lean muscle mass and also boosts metabolism. This combination can be effective for weight management and improving body composition.
Mental Stimulation and Variety
Cross-training provides diversity in your workouts, preventing boredom and keeping you mentally engaged. Trying different exercises and activities can make your gym sessions more enjoyable and motivate you to stick with your fitness routine.
Functional Fitness
Cross-training often includes functional exercises that mimic real-life movements, such as lifting, pushing, pulling, and twisting. This improves your ability to perform daily activities with ease and reduces the risk of injuries in day-to-day life.
Recovery from Injuries
If you do experience an injury, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to completely stop your fitness program or disrupt your training routine. In many cases, you can make modifications or replace certain activities with cross-training, based on your doctor’s recommendations. Cross-training can be a useful tool that helps athletes recover from injuries sustained during their main sport or fitness plan, keep their fitness levels high, and prevent overuse injuries.
Overall, cross-training at the gym offers a holistic approach to fitness, combining different exercises and activities to improve overall physical fitness, reduce the risk of injuries, and keep your workouts interesting and effective.
The only downside to cross-training is that it might exhaust you or cause burnout, so try not to add too much volume or intensity to your cross-training program.
How Do I Start Cross-Training at the Gym?
The type of cross-training you do depends on a few factors, such as your current fitness program, your chosen sport (if you have one), and your schedule.
The best cross-training programs are aligned with each person’s specific goals. For example, if your priority is gearing up to run a marathon, the right kind of cross-training for you will be different than if your go-to exercise is hitting the yoga mat every day.
Your best bet is to schedule a few sessions with a personal trainer at AFAC gym who can help clarify your goals and suggest cross-training workouts that will help you make more progress.
Remember that the purpose of adding cross-training to a workout program is to maintain or enhance your fitness, add variety, and improve areas that you’ve neglected. For example, if you normally do long endurance workouts like walking on a treadmill for an hour at a moderate intensity, try working in some short, vigorous exercises like jumping rope, burpees, or jump squats.
Cross-training at the gym can involve activities such as:
- Cardiovascular exercises — Running, Nordic walking, ElliptiGO riding, or using cardio machines like treadmills, stationary bikes, elliptical machines, or rowing machines.
- Strength training — Utilizing resistance machines, resistance bands, free weights, or bodyweight exercises to strengthen, build, and tone muscles.
- Functional training — Incorporating exercises that can improve real-life movements, such as kettlebell swings, battle ropes, medicine ball throws, or TRX suspension training.
- Flexibility exercises — Stretching, yoga, or Pilates to improve flexibility, mobility, and posture.
- Group fitness classes — Participating in a variety of classes such as Zumba, kickboxing, dance, spinning, or boot camp-style workouts.
Complement Your Workouts With Cross-Training at AFAC Gym
Because everyone’s athletic talents, fitness levels, goals, and interests are different, cross-training must be tailored to each individual.
Thankfully, AFAC gym has an experienced team of personal trainers on our staff who can assist you with designing a cross-training program that complements your unique workout program and maximizes your results.
As the best gym in Thornton, Colorado, AFAC’s expansive selection of strength training and cardio equipment will provide everything you need for your cross-training workouts. In addition, if you’re looking for more ways to keep your cross-training workouts challenging, AFAC gym has a full schedule of group classes throughout the morning, afternoon, and evening. These are some of the many ways that AFAC gym is committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of our members and ensuring they see the results they’re working toward.
If you’re not a member of AFAC gym but would like more information, please stop by and speak to our team. For more information and assistance, you can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club.
