I want
to delve a bit into some discussion on cross training. Cross training simply is
doing something other than specific training for a specific sport. Let’s say
you are a runner and run 30 miles a week. Cross training for you may take the
form of weightlifting or yoga or cycling, etc. Who should focus on cross training
and when should it be done? The answer to this, for the purpose of this
discussion, will be for people who are either competitive or recreational
athletes focusing on a specific sport. For those focused on overall health and
wellness all manner of cross training is applicable.
As a
former strength and conditioning coach I firmly believe cross training holds
benefits for an in and out of season athlete IF it is included correctly. Let’s look at two sports that
are polar opposites, running and Olympic weightlifting. I choose these because
both included a lot of very specific training to exact any measure of results
and both are multi joint, full body movements.
The
cross training indications for both are very different for in season versus out
of season. I strongly believe that out of season athletes should get as far
away from their sport as possible while focusing on maintaining fitness and
base line strength levels. For an Olympic lifter this may mean basketball or
swimming, etc. Whatever the athlete finds fun and refreshing. The off season
needs to be a mental as well as physical break. For a runner this may take the
form of triathlons or some other endurance type of sport.
Out of
season cross training is really quite simple. If an athlete asks if they should
do an activity the answer is generally yes unless it could cause injury or be
detrimental to in season. In season cross training becomes much more difficult
to choose. I would strongly recommend asking your coach why you are doing an
activity and if he or she cannot give you an answer that directly correlates to
your sport, you may want to switch coaches (if possible) or have a serious
discussion as to why you believe this cross training isn’t the right choice.
So, how
do you choose the right cross training activity if you are an in season
athlete? First, it is essential that you are doing some form of cross training
in early to mid season and even later in some cases. The right cross training regimen
for you should:
1)
Be applicable to your sport
2)
Enhance whatever training you are doing at the
time
3)
Address a deficiency in your training program
that your sport training doesn’t cover
4)
Be scheduled so the workouts fit into your
program without taking time away from sport specific training
Let’s look at some examples. When
I took over the strength and conditioning for the college track team I coached,
all of the athletes were doing the same workouts. This means the 10,000 meter
runners were doing the same lifting routines as the sprinters, jumpers, and
throwers. It was a canned generic program that was short changing everyone on
the team. Since we are focusing on running let me address what we did with the
milers and up.
I
asked the athletes why they were doing the lifting they were doing which was 1
rep max based and had some aspects of hypertrophy thrown in. They said it was
because it was what they were told to do. The lifting sessions were actually
hurting their running. We sat as a group and broke down the deficiencies that
strictly running wasn’t addressing. We came to two main areas, core strength
and upper body carriage.
Historically runners don’t focus
on anything but running. If you watch film of runners from a biomechanical
standpoint you will see most start losing form in the upper body the longer
they progress into a race. The arms and shoulders will drop, the back will
round or the stomach will distend, and efficiency will decrease along with performance.
The answer for my runners became cross training for upper body and core
strength.
The next question became “what
kind of strength?” 1 rep max style heavy lifting was strongly contraindicated. We
surely didn’t want our runners adding bulk and they needed carriage for up to
6.2 miles, not 30 seconds. We cycled them through more circuit style, high rep,
low weight lifting sequences that addressed muscle endurance, not mass gain. We
also added stability ball style core routines to strengthen the mid section and
back.
In season Olympic lifters are a
unique challenge. Olympic lifting is one of the most athletic events I have
come across. It demands huge amounts of strength and power, flexibility, and
speed of movement. Some of the most gifted athletes, especially in the eastern
European countries gravitate to this obscure sport.
Setting up cross training
paradigms for this activity is difficult. Things that must be constantly kept
in mind are the size of the athlete, the amount of punishment they are doing to
their bodies, and time. In some respects, given the fast twitch muscle nature
of the clean and jerk and snatch, how to train large men and women like little
men and women is difficult.
Again breaking down the sport
specific training and identifying gaps that can be covered by cross training is
essential. One of the methodologies we have used is yoga. Speed and power are
covered through the practice of the lifts. Strength is also built. Flexibility
however, and even active recovery to a certain extent, are a gap in Oly lift
training paradigms. Yoga helps prepare the body for the deep catch in the clean
portion and also the snatch. It also has directly attributable benefits for
core strength. It is a methodology that makes sense for the in season athlete.
The point of all of this is to
choose activity wisely. While swimming may make sense for an in season runner,
powerlifting probably doesn’t. Evaluate your needs on these following points
and you will realize increased performance.
Things to consider when choosing Cross Training Methodologies
1.
Where you are in the training cycle? Are you in
season (early, middle or late) or out of season?
2.
What are trying to accomplish with the cross
training? Have you identified a deficiency in your training cycle that, by
cross training, will increase your performance but isn’t covered in the sport
specific training?
3.
Are all methodologies in the cross training the
same or must you drill deeper to choose the activity? For instance, you have
decided you need to hit the weight room. Are you going to circuit train or
powerlift or Oly lift? Are plyometrics indicated or contraindicated, etc?
4.
How should you periodize your cross training? Is
it linear (the same workout weekly) or is it progressively overloaded (gains in
the cross training methodology)?
5.
Is the time I will devote to cross training
going to increase my performance more than if I concentrated on my sport
specific activity? Most of us live under a time crunch. We only have finite
resources to devote to training around work, family, etc. The economic term is
opportunity cost, or, the cost of doing one thing versus another (the cost of
doing activity one instead of activity two). If you can’t quantifiably come up
with the answer that yes, the cross training will move my performance up, don’t
do it.
I hope this has been of some
benefit. Please feel free to email at terry@in2liquidyoga.com
if you have any questions. Now get out there and train like champions!
