Cross-Training for Fitness
by Gabe
Mirkin, M.D.
zone3
Fitness refers to your heart, and the harder you exercise, the more fit
you become. But every time you exercise vigorously your muscles are
injured, and the harder you exercise, the longer it takes for your muscles
to heal. Muscle biopsies done the day after a person exercises vigorously
show bleeding into the muscles and disruption of the Z-bands that hold
muscle filaments together. You are not supposed to exercise vigorously
again until the muscle soreness disappears.
Most competitive athletes set up training programs so they exercise
vigorously enough on one day to make their muscles feel sore for the next
day or two and then after the soreness disappears, they exercise
vigorously again. You can use the same principle in your exercise program
to achieve a higher level of fitness. You can exercise vigorously on one
day and easy on the next few days or until the soreness disappears, OR you
can train in two or three sports. This is called cross-training, and it
can make you very fit and help to prevent injuries.
Each sport stresses specific muscle groups. Cycling stresses the upper
legs, while rowing stresses your back and upper body. If you cycle and row
on the same day, you stress your upper legs and upper body on the same
day. To reduce your chances of injuring yourself, you should take the next
day off, or at least exercise at a very low intensity. If you cycle on
Monday and row on Tuesday, you allow your muscles 48 hours to recover from
each sport. Pick two sports that use different muscle groups and do them
on alternate days. You can then exercise more intensely in each sport and
achieve a higher level of fitness.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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