5 Cross-Training Benefits—What Cross-Training Does To Your Body – Women’s Health

Adding various workouts to the mix rather than sticking to your solo runs or regular group-cycling classes bumps up just about every aspect of your fitness. “Cross-training will help you increase strength, power, speed, endurance, agility, and balance, all of which translates across all sports and your everyday life,” says Powell.

And it’s not just about working weight-training into your cardio-heavy calendar. Other kinds of activities can give you a boost too. If you’re training for a marathon, for instance, adding the occasional bike ride could make you a stronger runner, according to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. The effect seems to happen because adding cycling workouts was shown to improve hip flexor strength.

When it comes to keeping your weight in check, it’s not just about the calories you burn during a workout itself. The term EPOC, or exercise post-oxygen consumption, refers to the number of calories you blast afterward, and studies have shown that resistance training leads to a larger EPOC than running at a steady pace—especially if you really rev it up during your strength sessions. “With high intensity cross-training, there is a significant metabolic afterburn,” says Powell. In fact, she says, “You’ll notice slight increase for up to 18 to 24 hours after exercise.”

If you’re training for a marathon or tri and not cross-training, you’re not doing all you can to get to the starting line pain-free. Cardio can’t be beat for working up a sweat and challenging your heart. But all those hours sweating with little focus on strength or flexibility can land you with overuse injuries like IT band syndrome, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, and stress fractures.

It’s not only distance runners who can avoid aches by taking up cross-training. Athletes who specialize in one sport had an 85 percent higher chance of getting injured than those who did multiple activities, found 2017 research from the University of Wisconsin. And compared with women who only strength-train, those who cross-train were 65 percent less likely to get injured lifting a heavy object in a 2015 study conducted by the medical department of the U.S. Army.

But keep in mind, says Powell, that overuse injuries can be a product of cross-training too. “One risk to cross-training is overtraining without allowing for adequate recovery time,” she says. To stay healthy, make sure to schedule rest days and alternate which muscle groups you’re focusing on from workout to workout.

For one thing, the mere act of mixing it up will make your daily workouts more exciting and help squash gym-session boredom. But also, adding certain workouts to your rotation might actually bring serious emotional rewards. In fact, doing resistance training two or more days a week led to significant reductions in symptoms for people with mild to moderate depression in a 2018 study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

See note above about feeling happier—who wouldn’t want to keep up with a workout class that comes with a mood boost? Plus, notes Powell, mixing up your routine with new classes or workouts with pals comes with an added sense of camaraderie that will keep you coming back for more. Just make sure, she says, that your workouts with friends stay, well, friendly. “Slow and steady wins the race—don’t compete with anyone other than yourself, and you’ll be much more likely to enjoy the many benefits of cross-training without risking injury.”