"Striving for excellence motivates you, striving for perfection is demoralizing"
-Harriet Braiker
WEBSITE: 20 salads worse than a whopper- http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/salads-worse-whopper?cm_mmc=ETNTNL-_-2010_09_10-_-HTML-_-1
First, cross-training is the variance of exercises. For example, runners often use cycling as a cross-training exercise. It can be strength training, flexibility training or endurance training. All of these has different benefits for your body, and can help you to reach your maximum fitness level.
1. Injury Prevention-Overuse injuries are the curse to any healthy lifestyle. Injuries can be caused by inadequate recovery, biomechanics discrepancies (such as overpronation), muscular imbalances and worn-out footwear. Cross-training can't fix the shoe problem but can help with the other 3 issues. So take a look at your shoes and then develop a plan that gives you a full body workout. Focusing on one form of exercise will not only get boring but can lead to painful injuries.
2. Rehabilitation-When faced with an injury, cross-training can come to the rescue by helping you maintain fitness and correcting the cause of injury. Modified training programs can help you continue to maintain a level of fitness without exacerbating the injury. Think low-impact here such as swimming, elliptical and bicycling.
3. Increasing Fitness-Everyone has their favorite exercise. My personal favorite is running, but I try to keep in mind constantly that I need to mix in other forms in order to make my running better. Cross-training can enhance efficiency, increase power, and increase endurance.
4. Active Recovery-Workout are reach their maximum potential when followed by rest and recovery. Yes, there are days that call for complete and total rest in which your body is fully able to recuperate and get ready for the next push, but active-recovery, less intense workouts should be mixed in between strenuous activities. Light workouts accelerate recovery beyond what happens during total rest by slightly increasing the need for recovery.
5. Enhanced Motivation-As a teacher, it is in my best interest to switch activities at the peak of kid's interest to avoid the loss of motivation. This can be applied to the fitness world in the same manner. If you absolutely love to swim, you will obviously want to implement it into your workout regime as much as possible, but truth is, humans are stimulated by variety and turned off by monotony.
6. Rejuvenation-Going off the point of varying your workouts, it is important to take a break. Even basketball players have an off-season where they train in other ways. While they have a passion for the sport, it is important to take a break and workout differently so you come back stronger and harder.
Don't be scared to mix it up!
Megan
No comments:
Post a Comment