substantial dividends. For example, research has demonstrated that sound resistance training can help individuals prevent injury, control body weight and improve functional performance capacity. • Enhanced exercise adherence.
Research on exercise adherence indicates that many individuals drop out of exercise programs because they become bored or unmotivated. Cross-training is a safe and relatively easy way to add variety to an exercise program. In the process, cross- training can help play a positive role in promoting long-term exercise adherence by eliminating or diminishing the onset of boredom.
Cross-Training Guidelines
Whether individuals exercise for fi tness or because they are competitive athletes, the essential fundamentals of cross-training are the same. Individuals can choose to vary their exercise programs from workout to workout by engaging in different types of activities, or they can simply add a new form of exercise (e.g., resistance training) to their existing exercise regimen. One of the easiest ways to incorporate
cross-training is to alternate between activi- ties (e.g., run one day, weight train the next, cycle the next, etc.) Exercisers can also alternate activities within a single workout (e.g., walking on a treadmill for 10 min- utes, exercising on a stationary kayak for 10 minutes, and cycling for 10 minutes -- for a total of 30 minutes of exercise).
Making a cross-training program effec-
tive is basically a function of adhering to established exercise guidelines. If individu- als engage in 20 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise at least three days a week at an intensity of approximately 60 to 90 percent of maximum heart rate, they will become more aerobically fi t. At a minimum, accord- ing to guidelines published by the American College of Sports Medicine, individuals should perform at least eight to ten exercises that condition the major muscle groups of the body twice a week to enhance muscular fi tness.
Mixing It Up
From the moment the fi rst person engaged in an exercise workout, mankind has been searching for a “better” way of training. Apparently, nothing has been held sacred in the pursuit of the best way to achieve maximal training results; new con- ditioning tools, new exercise prescriptions, new training environments, new levels of hands-on assistance. In the past 30 years, a substantial num-
ber of exercise enthusiasts have discovered cross-training to be another “new” improved method to exercise. Unlike many previous attempts to discern how to improve train- ing, cross training, has been found to be a highly-safe, relatively enjoyable method. In fact, most cross-training enthusiasts proudly proclaim that “they’ll never go back” to single-activity training. To these individuals, many of the inherent problems that occur in
a standard exercise regimen can be easily remedied by adhering to the advice: “If your workout needs fi xing, fi t it up by mixing it up.”
Daryl Conant, M.Ed, is an Author, Exer- cise Physiologist, Natural Bodybuilder, and owner of Fitness Nut Enterprises in Kennebunk, Maine. He has devoted his life to the pursuit of fi tness and nutrition. Over the past 25 years, Daryl has taught thousands of people how to exercise and eat correctly. He is available for consul- tations and can be contacted at www.
darylconant.com.
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