#1 Reason Why Fitness Enthusiasts Should Be Cross Training

by E-NewsCast Team
November 29th, 2009

Over-all fitness improvement can only be achieved by making acompromise between ALL of the physical abilities needed forfitness excellence… and using cross training to improve thoseabilities.If you are a fitness enthusiast interested in improving healthand over-all physical abilities which will enable you to meetthe challenges of sport, work and life with excellence… youshould be cross training!Cross training is a form of training that uses more than onemethod to achieve the desired physical goals.For example, a runner might also train on the stationary bikewith the hopes of improving their running performance.The debate continues as to whether this type of cross trainingis truly beneficial for elite athlete performance improvement.But what about when we look at the training methods of thefitness enthusiast?… someone that physically trains for healthand over-all fitness improvement.In my opinion… Fitness enthusiasts should be cross training ifthey want to optimize strength, conditioning and fitness.One physical training method cannot provide enough variedstimulus to improve all the physical abilities needed forfitness excellence… this can only be accomplished by usingcross training between various physical training methods,stresses and intensities.The #1 Reason Fitness Enthusiasts Should Be Cross Training?Fitness is the degree of competence in the ability to perform inall the areas of cardiorespiratory endurance, strength, power,speed, flexibility, balance, coordination, agility, accuracy andtoughness… not the ability to perform one physical abilitywell.That’s right… fitness is a compromise between various physicalabilities!It would then stand to reason that a physical fitness programshould be designed to “optimize” the competence of all thephysical abilities and their interaction with one another… andnot “maximize” only one physical skill.This can only be done through cross training.Let me give you an example of what I mean…Suppose you are limiting your training to the combination ofresistance training in the form of exercise machines and aerobicexercise in the form of riding the exercises bike.Since physical training is specific… you are effectivelytraining your body’s ability to perform machine resistanceexercises and ride a stationary bike.Your body will make the necessary changes to allow you toperform those activities more efficiently in the future.However, since true fitness is the compromise of physicalabilities and the seamless transition from one physical abilityto another… your physical training time would be better servedby using cross training between a wider variety of trainingmethods, stresses and intensities.Cross training allows you to use many different trainingmethods, stresses and intensities to create an environment foryou body to improve over a wide spectrum of physicalabilities… and not just one method, stress or intensityproducing specialized fitness.Cross training can keep you from overtraining one aspect offitness… at the expense of all the others.Cross training is fun… meaning you will be more likely to keepyou physical fitness training program on track for the long haul.Cross training can help you make physical activity a part ofyour lifestyle… the surest way to long term health.In short, cross training can develop a body that is fit to domany activities well under the greatest amount ofcircumstances… allowing you to meet the random challenges ofsport, work and life with excellence.In conclusion…Most commercial fitness programs are a limited form of crosstraining… combining resistance training in the form ofmachines and cardiovascular training in the form of aerobicactivity.Unfortunately, this cross training combination alone is notenough to train all the physical abilities needed for fitnessexcellence.Only through cross training with a large variety of physicaltraining methods, stresses and intensities can the fitnessenthusiast reach their true physical potential.Cross training is the best way to optimize physical performancefor the fitness enthusiast!

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