Cross Training

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Article Title: Cross Training

Author: Potts

Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet

Word Count: 1861

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One of the biggest misconceptions about exercise is that there

is " one " program that works for someone all the time. People

think that they need to get on a particular workout program and

just keeping doing that program over and over again. Although

getting on a good program IS a necessary first step, ensuring

that your body doesn't adapt to that program is critical to

ensuring that your results don't slow down or stop!

In order to maintain the effectiveness of your workouts over

the long term, you have to employ a concept known as cross

training. Although there is no hard and fast definition of

cross training, the basic idea is that you continually change

your exercise program to work both your muscular and your

cardiovascular systems in a variety of ways, forcing your body

to adapt to a new stimulus. Remember that the whole idea behind

exercise is to make your body do things that it is not used to

doing. In response to that effort, your body naturally adapts

in order to meet the changing energy demands of the activities

that you engage in. This process happens with your muscles, as

well as with your heart, lungs, and circulatory system -

collectively known as the cardiovascular system. To ensure you

get the most out of your cross training efforts, you should

make changes to the activities that challenge your muscles as

well as your cardiovascular system.

Challenging Your Muscles

When you are putting together the muscular training part of

your exercise program, remember that the primary mission of the

activities is to challenge your muscles and connective tissues -

tendons and ligaments - beyond their normal boundaries. For

example, if you were to pick up a suitcase that only weighed 5

pounds, it would probably not be very difficult for you.

However, if that same suitcase had 50 pounds worth of items

inside, it would be significantly more difficult to pick up and

carry. In response to that increased demand, your body would

recruit additional muscle fibers to assist with the work, and

in some cases would even recruit a different type of muscle

fiber. Although we won't get into the details about the

different types of muscle fibers in the human body, you do want

to take away the fact that the number and type of muscle fibers

recruited for any given task is proportionate directly to the

difficulty of the task.

Let's apply this concept to weight training - or resistance

training, as it is often called. If you were going to do a

basic bicep curl with 5 pounds, your body would engage a

certain number and type of muscle fibers. Doing exactly the

same exercise with a more challenging weight would cause your

body to need additional resources in order to handle the

increased demand. However, is that only true of picking up a

heavier weight? What would happen if you used the same weight,

but did a higher number of repetitions? The same basic concept

applies - your body will recruit additional resources in order

to accomplish the task. What can be determined from that fact

is that in order to change the stimulus on your body, two easy

ways to do so are are to increase the weight and/or increase

the number of repetitions.

However, there are other ways to challenge a particular muscle

group in addition to simply adding weight or repetitions. What

about changing the position of your body when you do the

exercise? Using the same example as above - the bicep curl -

most people do the basic version of that exercise standing up,

with their arms extended, elbows at the side, and palms facing

forward. What if you were to do the same exact movement, only

this time, you turn your palms to face the center of your body

throughout the entire exercise? Do you see how that would

change the stimulus? You would still be engaging the biceps of

your upper arm, but you would also engage the muscles of your

forearms in a different way, just because of the position of

your palms.

Further, what if you were to change the speed at which you did

the exercise? Most resistance exercises should be done as a

basic count of 2 seconds during the initial phase (also known

as the concentric phase), and then a count of 3 to 4 seconds

during the second phase of the movement (known as the eccentric

phase). What if you were to reverse that process? Count to 4

during phase one, and only count to 2 during phase two. Do you

think your body would need to react differently to handle the

different stress? Of course!

There are many, many different kinds of exercises for the

biceps. If you normally do bicep curls, hammer curls, and cable

curls, what would happen if you started using 2 or 3 of the

bicep curl machines instead? Your body would have to adapt to

the new stimulus! By sitting down in a bicep curl machine, you

are no longer using your leg, back, and abdominal muscles to

stabilize yourself like you were when you were standing up

doing a bicep curl. However, by locking your body into a

certain position on the machine, you are isolating the biceps,

allowing you to focus more on the contraction of the bicep

muscles during the movement. Does that mean that the machines

are better than the dumbbells? No. It also does not mean that

the dumbbells are better than the machines - it just depends on

what your goal is. What you need to take away from this section

is not that one exercise is better than another - just that

they are different, and that is cross training.

To summarize, here are but a few of the ways that you can cross

train your muscles:

* Heavier Weights

* Higher Number of Repetitions

* Change the Position of Your Body

* Modify the Speed of the Exercise

* Use Machines as well as Free Weights

Challenging Your Cardiovascular System

Just like the muscular system, your body will find ways to

adapt to the cardiovascular training that you do, and before

long you will stop seeing a high degree of results. Let's try

to use some of the same concepts that we applied to resistance

training, and see if they also apply to cardiovascular

training!

Heavier Weights

How can you make yourself heavier? Most people are trying to

make themselves LIGHTER when they exercise! However, if you are

able to find a safe way to increase the total amount of weight

that your body is moving during cardiovascular training, don't

you think that the activity would be more difficult, and force

your body to adapt? Sure it would!

A common method that people use to do this is one that you

should NOT do, and that is strap on wrist weights or ankle

weights, or to carry dumbbells while you are doing cardio.

Although this does increase the total amount of weight being

moved by your body, it also puts a stress on your joints that

is not natural, and therefore, not a good idea. However,

alternatives that DO work include putting on an adjustable

weighted vest, or even just strapping on a backpack with some

weights or books in it! The idea is to keep the additional

weight as close to your body as possible, away from easily

damaged joints.

Higher Number of Repetitions

Although you don't normally count repetitions when you are

doing cardio, you DO take a certain number of steps, have a

certain number of revolutions per minute on the elliptical or

the bike, or you take a certain number of steps on the stair

master. Do you think that increasing those numbers would help?

You bet! Whether it be by staying on the equipment for longer,

or just working out harder to get a higher number of steps or

revolutions in the same amount of time, either way you have

changed the stimulus on your cardiovascular system (not to

mention your legs!), and by reacting to that new stress, your

cardiovascular system will burn more calories while adapting to

the new program.

Change the Position of Your Body

You may be asking yourself at this point just how many

positions can the body be in when you are walking on the

treadmill? The answer is PLENTY! Changing the incline of the

equipment is an obvious way to change the position of your

body, provided you continue to STAND UP STRAIGHT. If you hunch

over, or grab the machine for support, you are defeating the

purpose. What about leaning backwards or forwards when riding a

bike, or peddling an elliptical? By changing the angle at which

your legs are pushing

on the machine, you are most certainly changing the stimulus,

forcing your body to adapt!

Modify the Speed of the Exercise

This one pretty much goes without saying! Go faster, and you'll

burn more calories, and elicit a new adaptive response from your

body. However, what about going slower? What if you are used to

the Cycling class where your instructor seems to be made of

steel, and can spin his/her legs around 80,000 times a minute

for 30 minutes straight? Can slowing down be as effective as

that? Sure it can! Trying reaching down to tighten up the

resistance knob on that bike past your normal comfort level,

and it's guaranteed that your body and your legs will have to

find a new way to provide energy, even though you are actually

going slower than you were a few minutes ago.

Use Machines as well as Free Weights

Other than what we discussed above with weight vests/backpacks

vs. ankle/wrist weights, you really don't use free weights

during cardio. However, you DO ride a treadmill or an exercise

bike or a stair master on a regular basis, right? Trade those

machines in for the real thing! Go outside and go for a brisk

walk or a jog. Use a REAL bike and get out for some fresh air

and an invigorating ride around your area. Find a tall building

in your area and walk up and down the stairs. It's a safe bet

that after a few flights you'll be wishing you were back on the

stair master with it's motorized movement assistance!

The examples above have been just a few ways that you can cross

train your body. There are many different training protocols,

and literally thousands of different exercises that the human

body is capable of. You should research as many different

training protocols as possible, and even enlist the aid of a

personal trainer if you need help setting up a program for

yourself, or to change the program that you are already on.

Remember, the key is to make your body ADAPT to new stimulus as

often as possible!

Now get out there and get some exercise!

About The Author: Potts is the owner and creator of

Fitness Destinations. 's experience in the health and

fitness industry includes one on one personal training in many

different environments, maintenance of several health-related

websites, and authoring of many fitness-related products for

consumers and fitness professionals.

http://www.fitnessdestinations.com/journal.html

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