Cross Training
Cross training provides a great excuse to experience what our amazing backyard has to offer! Your cardiovascular system is trained regardless of the activity you do. By participating in new activities, you can improve your Range of Motion (ROM), flexibility, agility, proprioception and balance. Cross training enables you to continue to train without getting mentally worn down, while strengthening different muscle groups, tendons and ligaments. The end result will be you retuning to your training regime with a clearer, stronger mental focus and improved muscular strength and endurance.
What a fantastic winter this year. There is a ton of snow, so get your friends together and have a social outing while enjoying the outdoors on a beautiful winter day! Glide along the X-Country ski trails that are maintained weekly by the volunteers of the GBCTA, or strap on your snowshoes and hit the deep snow. When it’s really too cold to be fun, jump on your bike and trainer for a high intensity spin, or relax with a yoga session. There is NO excuse for hibernating this winter!
Best running cross-training winter exercises:
Snow Shoe: A great cardiovascular exercise for base building. Go for long, slow distances as it is easy to moderate your heart rate. Snowshoeing is the perfect group activity because everybody can get a good workout, by having the faster shoers at the front breaking trail, and the slower people drafting in the packed snow.
This is a fantastic strength workout for quads, hip flexors, gluts, shins and calves especially in deep snow. Snow shoeing without poles in deep snow challenges your core and proprioception.
Classic X-C skiing: An all encompassing workout. By incorporating the arms the workload on heart increases. Because it is non impact, it is easy on the joints, especially if you are nursing a lower limb injury, yet it simulates running motion with the alternate arm/leg movement. It also trains a great range of heart rate, the upper end of zones with climbing hills and allows recovery on the descents. Strengthens quads, gluts, hip flexors, and deep hip muscles, lats, triceps and back muscles for the upper limb.
Indoor Cycling: This enables you to perform a very “clinical workout” by training at exactly the intensity you are targeting. The low impact repetitive motion is gentle on the joints. Spinning at higher cadence teaches muscle coordination. This tones and strengthens gluts, quads, hamstrings, adductors. A class setting provides a structured workout and helps pass the time with friends to socialize with.
Weights: GET STRONG! Besides the obvious benefit of strengthening muscle fibres and tendons, weight lifting increases the intensity of the nerve impulse to the muscle, allowing for stronger, more powerful contractions. It can also correct muscle imbalances, either from side to side or on opposing sides of a joint. Lifting weights will increase your lean muscle mass, boost your metabolic rate and ward off Osteoporosis.
Yoga: Yoga provides a low intensity workout, focusing on core stabilization and strengthening of the postural muscles of the spine and scapula. Promotes range of motion, flexibility, balance, while illuminating muscle imbalances of dominant limbs. The focus on correct breathing patterns can be carried over to your sport and enhance relaxation.
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