Cardio: An Introduction to Cross-Training

The term 'cross-training' became popular in the early 1980s. It indicates the combination of two or more sports or fitness activities into a training program with the goal of achieving balance in your fitness regimen.

In order to promote this balance, it is necessary to examine the five basic components of physical fitness as defined by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). These are: cardiovascular-respiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, body composition and flexibility.

Cardiovascular-respiratory endurance is also known as aerobic endurance and involves the ability of the heart, lungs and circulatory system to work at a harder effort than in a resting state, thus supplying the muscles with more oxygen. Exercise scientists believe that, of the five basic components, aerobic endurance is the most important in helping improve overall health and reducing the risk of disease. Guidelines by the ACSM for maintaining cardiovascular-respiratory fitness suggest activities that raise the heart rate to its training zone (between 60 to 90 percent of the maximum heart rate) for at least 20 minutes, three times a week.

Muscular strength is the muscle's ability to exert maximal effort. The stronger the muscle, the greater its ability to exert more effort. Some of the benefits of strong muscles include the capacity to protect the body from harm and an increased metabolism. Resistance training is the best way to increase strength.

Muscular endurance is the amount of time that the muscle can keep performing the same exertion at a certain level and is developed by completing the same type of repetitive activities over a period of time. For example, your leg muscles are able to carry you over longer distances as you build up your weekly mileage in running programs.

Body composition refers to the fat to lean tissue ratio with large variations found in all people due to genetic makeup, diet, activity level, etc. Maintaining a medically acceptable level of body fat is considered an important indicator of health and is seen as more important than body weight. High body fat has been associated with an increased risk for many health problems including heart disease and some forms of cancer.

Flexibility, the final of the five basic components in physical fitness, is the ability of muscles and connective tissues to stretch. The many benefits of flexibility include the reduction of injury risk during exercise and increased physical performance. The past few years have seen an upswing in the number of athletes who attend yoga classes or practice it on their own. Others have incorporated a stretching routine into their other fitness regimens. To prevent injuries from over-stretching, you should remember to stretch after your muscles have already been warmed up for a few minutes and are loose and allow a full stretch safely.

With the numerous innovations in modern fitness technology, individuals interested in cross-training can pick and choose as they please until finding an activity, or activities, which they like and will stick with. For example, a person whose primary means of fitness is bicycling may decide to cross-train with an occasional run, cross-country skiing or stair climbing. Every other day, to enhance muscular fitness, she might add some resistance training. Many health clubs now offer resistance-training classes as well as other options to improve muscular strength and endurance. To balance out her physical fitness, yoga two or three times a week might be just the thing.

Basically, the list of options for cross-training activities is long and varied and should offer just about anyone something to please. Working out no longer has to be the typical dreaded job that it once was. With everything from aerobic dance to yoga and beyond, cross-training can make losing those pounds and getting in shape fun and even anticipated.