Whole-body workout ensures total fitness

Staying fit, by Anya Petersen-Frey

It is well known that exercise can provide a total body tune-up. But to see all the possible gains, cross training may be needed.

Cross training occurs when two or more types of exercise are completed in one workout or used in successive workouts. A runner, for example, may also lift weights twice per week or perform bicycle sprints once per week. Regular exercisers often use cross training to fight boredom, but it can also help prevent injuries by strengthening opposing muscles and provide faster health benefits.

Some experts, however, don't agree with the cross-training principle, especially in the case of athletes training for a specific sport. The time-honored principle of specificity counters cross-training benefits. Specificity follows the idea that in order to become a better long distance runner you must run mainly long distances. According to this concept, nonspecific activities, such as swimming, are a waste of effort because they will not improve running.

Many exercise physiologists, however, believe that cross training can lead to optimal performance, because any physical activity involves more than one attribute. For example, a competitive distance runner may need a strong sprint to the finish line so a combination of aerobic and anaerobic fitness is needed. Without cross training the runner may not develop the sprinting skills needed to be most successful.

Cross training may include completely independent exercises or varied exercises in a single routine that encourage aerobic fitness, strength and muscular endurance. For instance, in a circuit training program you quickly move between weight training exercises and short aerobic sections. Keep in mind that exercise needs to be done at least twice a week for your body to recognize it and make the necessary systemic and neurological adjustments to adapt to it and improve your performance. If you just do a different exercise every day, the nerves and muscles won't learn each sport or activity well enough for the cross training effect to occur.

In addition should three or four days elapse before you repeat an activity, you probably won't get much of a cross training effect. To get the best results from cross training, you should do only two or three different activities and repeat them on a regular basis throughout the week.

Incorporating cross training into your program is as easy as choosing a new activity to perform. For the average exerciser it can alleviate boredom, prevent plateaus (the point where you cease to see improvements), improve fitness for functional needs and allow you to reach goals that are not sport based -- such as weight loss or improved range of motion -- more quickly.

Anya Petersen-Frey is a local fitness instructor.