Why Every Athlete Can Benefit From Cross-Training

What is cross-training?

Cross-training is defined as an exercise protocol that utilizes several modes of training that are outside the athlete’s main sport to develop a specific component of fitness.

While originally popularized by runners, cross-training is now a common practice amongst cyclists, swimmers, triathletes, and a number of other athletes.

In most cases, athletes incorporate cross-training more heavily during their off-season, when sport–specific training volume is down.

Another popular reason for implementing cross-training is due to weather changes with the seasons. When the weather is less favorable for outdoor sports, some athletes may choose indoor variations.

Some common examples of cross-training include:

• runners using cycling as an alternative exercise to build and maintain endurance
• swimmers practicing rowing to keep up their exercise capacity and work similar muscle groups
• football players running to build endurance or lifting weights to build size and strength
• basketball players participating in a high intensity spinning class to build power in sprints
• volleyball players practicing yoga to help promote recovery from training

Summary

Cross-training is an exercise protocol using various modes of training that differ from an athlete’s main sport. The intent is to develop specific fitness components.

The benefits of cross-training

Incorporating cross-training in your conditioning regimen can offer several potential performance benefits.

Here are the main benefits that many athletes experience.

May boost cardiovascular endurance

Training with a different form of exercise can provide a new stimulus to the cardiovascular system, allowing for new adaptations beyond an athlete’s main sport.

One study compared the left ventricle structure and function in a group of elite swimmers and runners to examine cardiovascular output in land versus water athletes. The left ventricle is a major part of the heart responsible for pumping oxygenated blood throughout the body.

It found that the runners’ left ventricles functioned slightly different than the swimmers’; specifically, they filled with blood a bit earlier. Yet, the swimmers demonstrated higher cardiac output, meaning they pumped more blood at a faster rate.

An older study compared the left ventricle mechanics of a group of marathon runners (endurance athletes) with those of bodybuilders (power athletes). Similarly, researchers found differences in the way the left ventricle pumped blood.

These studies suggest that different types of exercise can lead to different sport-specific adaptations to the heart, creating a more well-rounded cardiovascular base for exercise and sport.

Trains muscle groups not used in the main sport

Another potential benefit of implementing cross-training is the ability to target muscle groups that are not generally used in an athlete’s sport of focus.

For example, if a runner were to use swimming as a cross-training activity, they’d target muscles of the back, which are not commonly used when running.

Alternatively, if a swimmer were to incorporate weightlifting into their training, they’d hit leg muscles that they may not use when swimming.

Incorporating various cross-training activities over time could therefore lead to a more well–rounded physique, which can contribute to an athlete’s overall level of fitness.

Furthermore, by varying your movement patterns to mobilize other muscle groups, you may notice more power in your movements when you return to your sport of focus.

Research that examined the relationship between opposing muscle groups implies that greater mobility in antagonistic muscles elicits greater power for agonist muscles, or the prime movers.

Allows recovery from main sport

One commonly overlooked area of training is recovery.

For example, if an in-season soccer player wants to keep up aerobic capacity between games, they may choose to complete a rowing workout.

This allows the muscles of the legs to recover from high-impact movements, though it gets their heart rate up and maintains cardio capacity.

Without proper recovery, all of the effort you put into training may go unrealized, and you may be at risk of overuse injuries.

Cross-training can be a useful tool to help athletes recover from their main sport while preventing overuse injuries.

This concept can be applied to many sports, allowing athletes to train and recover simultaneously.

Keeps you mentally engaged

When vigorously training for a single sport, athletes tend to get burned out from time to time. Perhaps rightfully so, as it takes a significant amount of time, focus, and determination to complete daily training sessions and excel in a sport.

Cross-training can help keep athletes mentally engaged by providing a new activity and breaking up any monotony they may be experiencing.

Therefore, when returning to their main sport, athletes can feel mentally refreshed, in turn allowing them to train more efficiently.

May reduce risk of injury

Continually training the same muscle groups using one mode of exercise can lead to overuse injuries over time.

In fact, specific sports are associated with certain common injuries. For example, runners often get shin splints, and baseball players often suffer from rotator cuff tears.

Cross-training can be a viable solution to reduce stress on an athlete’s most commonly used muscle groups while still building aerobic capacity or strength.

Over time, this may greatly reduce the athlete’s risk of injury, allowing them to get more playing time in their sport of choice.

Summary

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.

Picking the most beneficial cross-training activity

For athletes interested in adding cross-training to their training regimen, there are a few important questions to ask:

What’s your level of experience?

Less experienced athletes require less variety in their training to progress their fitness. As such, the less experienced you are, the less cross-training you may require.

That said, less experienced athletes may get overeager or hooked on a sport quickly, which increases their risk of an overuse injury. That’s why it’s ideal to implement cross-training into your training plan early on.

What phase of training are you in?

In-season athletes often choose different cross-training activities than when they are in the off-season.

What area of your fitness are you looking to improve?

Consider which area of fitness would best equate to better performance in your sport. For example, you may choose to lift weights if you’re looking to put on muscle, or you may select cycling if you’re trying to increase endurance.

What activities are you interested in?

This aspect often goes overlooked. Focus on activities that you truly enjoy, as they’ll be much easier to stick to over the long term.

Summary

When choosing a cross-training activity, there are several factors to consider. These include your level of experience, phase of training, the areas in which you’re looking to improve, and which activities you enjoy.