In this part . . .
Chapter 1
Your Ever-Changing Body
In This Chapter
What you do now may not be enough
Understanding the benefits of cross-training
Creating a cross-training program: the basic steps
In times gone by, chopping, grinding, lugging, pulling, plowing, sowing, and hunting and gathering were activities that the human body had no choice but to perform. This total body living gave the arms, legs, back, abs, and other body parts a real-life cross-training workout every day. Things have changed. Now, tapping the remote control, twisting the ignition, or taking a long stretch to answer the phone are about the extent of the activity that we do. And for all the health reasons that we already know, as this century leaves us with too many opportunities to plant ourselves in increasingly sedentary lives, itâs vitally important that we use exercise as a replacement for the daily chores that we were once required to do.
We know that as a sometime exercise fanatic at least a little bit of your time is spent away from the boob tube and logged off of the Web in pursuit of a workout. It just might not be as often as would like (or need to). Even if youâve made exercise a habit in your everyday schedule (good), your workouts may have become a habit (bad). No oneâs immune to the temptations of slothdom or the trap of boredom. Everybody needs a push, and we mean every body. The human body thrives on being asked to go past its normal comfort zone in terms of how much energy, force, and physical skills itâs required to use. Thatâs where we come in, your personal cross-trainers at your service, to offer fitness tips, tricks, and advice. Weâre here to push you to the next fitness level.
This chapter tells you why what youâre doing now may not be enough. Cross-training has multiple benefits, as youâll see in this chapter. The last section of the chapter presents the general steps youâll follow in creating an exercise program that works just for you.
The Pitfalls of Status Quo
Picture a cute little bunny rabbit in the wild. In order to stay alive, he needs to adapt to the changes in the environment. If he doesnât hop around enough, he wonât find food. He might become slow, weak, and unable to run from the mean fox trying to eat him. Weâre like that bunny â all the living, growing organs in our body, from skin to muscles to blood, react to the stressors they are exposed to. So when things get tough, remember that you get more resilient with controlled, challenging doses of stress. To become stronger, longer lasting, or more flexible, the body adapts in its multitude of physiological ways (from releasing tension to growing more muscle or improving nerve signals from brain to body part in order to get stronger).
Any type of exercise you do is a stimulus to get these improvement processes underway. But once youâve been doing the same routine, or exercising at the same intensity, for a while, your body grows accustomed to the challenge, meets it, and beats it. Soon, what was adequate stimulus for growth becomes a normal level of physical effort. Itâs not that the same-old, same-old exercise stops working. Itâs that, once youâre capable of handling it, to continue to do the same workout in the same way simply maintains, but doesnât improve, your level of fitness.
And for some people thatâs fine. If youâre simply exercising as a form of stress relief or to improve your long-term health, youâre probably okay just staying active and enjoying what you do. But if youâre trying to lose weight, reshape your body, or dramatically improve your physical performance in a specific activity, you need to approach your training with a plan. And thatâs where this book comes in.
Cross-Training Is Intelligent Training
Cross-training is a way to add variety â and constant new challenges â to your workouts, and it targets your whole body. Here are a few of its best benefits:
Less burnout: Because youâll constantly be incorporating new exercises, sports, and activities into your routine, youâll be less likely to suffer from burnout and quit.
Fewer injuries: Cross-training is a great way to make your body as efficient as possible, while keeping it almost injury-free. By switching activities, you vary the stresses on your body. This often means less injury risk because most fitness injuries are due to overuse (doing the same thing over and over) and the repetitive strain of a given movement.
Benefits your whole body: Chapter 2 covers the benefits of cross-training on your whole body. Cross-training can improve your cardio stamina, muscle strength, power, flexibility, and sports skills.
Better performance in sports: You also can gain a better all-around fitness because youâre not just developing a specific ability in one activity but in a number of them. For example, rowing may develop your upper body while cycling favors the lower body. Weight training can give you all-over muscular strength that running alone simply cannot.
More calories burned: You may also burn more calories. Since your body responds to exercise by getting more efficient at producing energy for an activity, you ultimately push yourself less and burn fewer calories once your body has adapted. When you cross-train, because your body is always adapting to new forms of stress, it keeps working hard to keep up.
Cross-Training Is Full of Choices
The way you cross-train can vary immensely. It provides you with options on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly schedule. To help you get a little background, hereâs an outline that can help you wade through by directing you to the areas in the book where youâll find more information about each decision you must make:
1. Evaluate your level of fitness and your goals.
What do you want to get out of cross-training? Are you wanting to try new ways of working out or looking for ways to hit peak performance? Part II presents you with some goal setting tips of the trade. Then read on to evaluate your level of fitness using the at-home fitness tests we provide. (Remember: You should always get your doctorâs okay before embarking on a new fitness program.)
2. Pick a plan to follow from Part III, or create a plan of your own.
Part III has three plans that are real no-brainers. Just choose one and get moving. You can also create your own plan by following the suggestions in Chapter 12.
3. Mix things up with your daily and weekly workouts.
Just because youâre following one of the plans in Part III doesnât mean you canât add variations on your own...
