As a runner, it’s tempting to stick to what you love, logging miles. However, incorporating cross-training into your routine is essential for boosting performance, preventing injury, and enhancing your overall fitness. In this article, we’ll explore why runners should cross train, how it can benefit you as you age or if you’re going through menopause, and offer example sessions you can incorporate into your weekly routine.
Why Runners Should Cross Train
Cross-training refers to engaging in various types of exercise outside of your primary sport (in this case, running) to improve your fitness and performance. Here’s why runners should consider adding cross-training to their routine:
- Injury Prevention: Running places repetitive stress on muscles and joints, which can lead to overuse injuries like shin splints or IT band syndrome. Cross-training offers a way to stay active while giving your joints a break from impact. Low-impact exercises like swimming or cycling help maintain fitness while reducing the risk of injury.
- Balanced Muscle Development: Running mainly targets the lower body, but activities like strength training and rowing help build upper body and core strength. A strong core stabilizes your body during runs, improving posture and reducing wasted energy. This balance in muscular development makes you a more efficient and injury-resistant runner.
- Improved Aerobic Capacity: Cross-training activities such as cycling or swimming boost your cardiovascular fitness without adding more running miles. By challenging your heart and lungs in different ways, you can increase your aerobic capacity, which translates to greater endurance during long runs.
- Mental Variety: Focusing solely on running can lead to burnout. Cross-training provides mental variety and keeps your workouts fresh. Engaging in different sports or activities also gives you a mental break while continuing to build your fitness base.
Why Runners Should Cross Train as They Age
As we age, our bodies undergo changes that make cross-training even more beneficial. Here’s why older runners should prioritize cross-training:
- Maintaining Bone Density: Bone density decreases with age, making runners more susceptible to stress fractures. Weight-bearing exercises such as strength training or hiking help preserve bone health, reducing the risk of injury.
- Preserving Muscle Mass: After age 30, we begin to lose muscle mass, which can affect running performance. Cross-training with strength exercises helps combat this muscle loss, keeping you strong and efficient on your runs.
- Improving Flexibility: Joints tend to become stiffer with age, affecting your range of motion. Yoga, Pilates, and swimming promote flexibility and mobility, keeping you limber and reducing the risk of injury.
Why Female Runners Going Through Menopause Should Crosstrain
For women navigating menopause, cross-training offers specific benefits that can help maintain fitness and reduce the effects of hormonal changes:
- Counteracting Hormonal Changes: Oestrogen, which plays a key role in maintaining bone density and muscle mass, decreases during menopause. Strength training is particularly important for maintaining muscle mass, supporting bone health, and keeping your metabolism active.
- Managing Weight and Metabolism: With menopause often comes weight gain and a slowing metabolism. Cross-training activities like cycling or swimming provide a low-impact way to manage weight while still maintaining cardiovascular fitness.
- Reducing Injury Risk: Menopausal women are at greater risk for joint and tendon injuries. Low-impact cross-training, such as swimming and yoga, provides an excellent way to stay active without placing undue stress on your joints.
Example Cross-Training Sessions for Runners
If you’re wondering how to get started, here are a few examples of sessions you can integrate into your training plan:
- Swimming (Active Recovery)
Warm-up: 5 minutes of easy freestyle
Main set: 10 x 100m freestyle at a comfortable pace, with 30 seconds rest between sets
Cool-down: 5 minutes of easy backstroke or breaststroke
Swimming is perfect for active recovery, engaging different muscle groups while being gentle on your joints. - Strength Training (Power & Stability)
Warm-up: 5 minutes of dynamic stretches
Main set:
Squats (3 x 10)
Deadlifts (3 x 8)
Lunges (3 x 10 per leg)
Plank (3 x 45 seconds)
Push-ups (3 x 10)
Cool-down: Stretch and foam roll
This session focuses on building strength and stability, particularly in muscles that support running. Pilates is a great way to include this kind of training into your routine – find out more about my collaborative coaching package with a Pilates instructor to help you introduce Pilates into your training routine. - Cycling (Aerobic Conditioning)
Warm-up: 10 minutes of easy spinning
Main set: 6 x 5-minute intervals at moderate-hard effort with 2 minutes easy spinning between
Cool-down: 10 minutes of easy spinning
Cycling improves cardiovascular endurance and provides a low-impact way to build stamina. - Yoga (Flexibility & Stress Relief)
Warm-up: Light stretches or a few sun salutations
Main set: 30-45 minutes of a yoga class focusing on flexibility and deep breathing
Cool-down: Relaxation poses and focused breathing
Yoga enhances flexibility, mobility, and mental calm, making it an ideal complement to a running routine.
How to Incorporate Cross-Training into Your Running Routine
For optimal results, aim to incorporate 1-2 cross-training sessions per week. You can swap cross-training in place of easy runs or use it on recovery days. During high-mileage weeks or race preparation, reduce cross-training and prioritize key running workouts. During base-building or recovery phases, you can add more cross-training to give your body a break from the constant impact of running.
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