The Value of Cross-Training

I would consider myself a functional fitness trainer, meaning I utilize a variety of training modalities to build core and joint strength, train a variety of muscle groups, and allow for proper recovery and prevent injury.

Functional fitness training is a type of strength training that readies your body for daily activities, like bending, twisting, lifting, loading, pushing, pulling, squatting and hauling. Because while hitting a PR on the bench press is cool, it's even cooler when cleaning out the attic doesn't result in pulled back muscles and a few days of pain afterward.

Almost all exercise can be functional depending on the context, because in reality, increasing strength will inherently help you become more functional in daily life. While increasing your overall strength will help you move better, combining strength training with exercises that mirror the movements of daily activities can provide an even more effective training regimen.

It can also promote better:

• balance
• endurance
• flexibility

Continually training the same muscle groups using one mode of exercise can lead to overuse injuries over time (not to mention it can be pretty boring). Implementing cross-training in your strength and conditioning regimen may offer several benefits, including improved cardio endurance, training unused muscle groups, allowing recovery time, beating boredom, and reducing the risk of injury.

When training for a race, it's important to incorporate some cross training activities In addition to walking / running. A few options include:

- Lower impact cardio like cycling or swimming to take it easy on your joints and engage different muscle groups, while still increasing your aerobic endurance

- Rowing is a great way to combine cardio and strength training in one efficient workout

- Weight training

- Bodyweight strength training / HIIT training

- Yoga, Pilates, barre to increase flexibility and improve balance