Crosstraining for Running 101 - How to Use Crosstraining for Better Running

Why Should You Crosstrain?

Crosstraining is the use of another sport (or sports) to enhance training in one's primary sport, running in this case. Crosstraining builds your "non-running" muscles, rests your "running" muscles while maintaining (or gaining) cardiovascular fitness, and provides balance to your muscle groups.

Running is notorious for building up the muscles on the back of the leg and for leaving the front leg muscles (quadriceps and shins) much weaker, leading to pain and injuries, like Runner's Knee and Shin Splints. Running also does little to strengthen the upper body and abdomen, leading to unbalanced form. Crosstraining improves strength and body tone, can replace running when you are injured, and helps prevent boredom, overuse injuries, and all of these running-related problems mentioned above.

Who Can Benefit from Crosstraining?

Almost every runner can benefit, in some way, from crosstraining.

• New runners


• Experienced Runners


• Marathoner and Ultramarathoner Runners


• Trail Runners


• Injured (and Recovering) Runners


• Travelling Runners


• Runners in Extreme Weather Conditions

For the beginner who is only able to run a couple times a week, crosstraining can build the cardiovascular system and prevent overuse injuries and injuries from muscle imbalances. A new runner could benefit from alternating running days with days of other sports (like swimming or yoga) to extend fitness, minimize injury, and loosen tight muscles. Beginners (and others) who run most days in a week but run for short amounts of time (less than 40 minutes/day) can also receive these same benefits by adding crosstraining to one or two of their shortest runs.

More experienced runners can especially benefit from upper body work (through strength training, swimming, rowing, or some other arm-specific sport).

Just add in a day or two of upper body work to your normal workout routine. This type of crosstraining is helpful specifically for runners who run five or more days a week (or who have run for many years) to have another activity to focus on occasionally to prevent running from becoming boring (and, of course, to balance the upper body's fitness level with the level of fitness that you have built up in your legs).

Marathoners and ultramarathoners can benefit from crosstraining a couple times a week for the same reasons that the experienced runners can: preventing boredom, keeping the upper body balanced with the lower, and warding off injuries.

Trail runners who add two or more days of crosstraining into their routine can often see a large difference in their strength and balance, by doing upper body work and exercises that condition and tone your "sideways" muscles (like swimming breaststroke or rock climbing). (Because in running, we mostly travel forward, or backward, but never really spend much time travelling to the sides, the muscles that govern sideways travel, like the inner and outer thighs, often are not prepared for trail running, with its jumping from rock to rock through creek beds.)

Runners who are injured, also benefit greatly from crosstraining. As soon as the injury and the doctor allow, injured runners can swim, water jog, or do other appropriate (depending on the injury) crosstraining, which will allow the injury to heal without losing the level of fitness previously established. As well, once recovery has set in and you are able to start running again, alternating running and crosstraining days (with some rest, of course) will keep reinjury at bay by keeping your muscle groups balanced and allowing the recovering body part enough rest.

Even runners who are travelling can benefit from their crosstraining, as it allows people unable to run on vacations (or business trips) to continue their training and not lose fitness. Many hotels, even those without gyms, have pools, allowing you to swim, do water aerobics, or water jog. Also many gyms, especially large chains, have one-day passes. Of course, you can also do crosstraining in your hotel room if there isn't a pool or you don't want to get in; you can do yoga, strength training, and even aerobics in the privacy of your own room.

Whether you are travelling or at home, when extreme weather hits an alternate indoor activity can be a relief to many runners. It is useful during searing summer heat and/or freezing winter weather, during tsunamis or hail storms, and just about every other severe weather condition we see.

As mentioned before, crosstraining can be useful to just about any runner.

What Counts as Crosstraining?

A lot of activities count as crosstraining to run. Here is a list of some (but certainly not all):

• Swimming


• Rowing


• Strength (or Weight) Training


• Yoga


• Cross-Country Skiing


• Skating


• Water Jogging


• Biking


• Spinning


• Elliptical


• Race Walking


• Fitness Walking


• Other Sports

Swimming focuses on the upper body and general conditioning. It can help you relax and recover after long or hard workouts. Swimming provides an aerobic workout without being a weight-bearing exercise, thus making it a great option for marathoners and injured/recovering runners.

Rowing also focuses on the upper body, as well as the abdomen. This can be useful for runners who have run for years and are interested in both learning a new sport and balancing their upper body and core area with the strength they have earned in their legs.

Kayaking and canoeing are also great alternatives for rowing.

Strength training can focus on keeping your legs strong during an injury or on strengthening unbalanced muscle groups (either upper body or the front of the leg, wherever you need). (Strength training is doing exercise that use your own weight for resistance (like pushups), whereas weight training is using weights for resistance (like bicep curls with hand weights).

Yoga can be used in much the same way as strength training, since some poses use your body weight as resistance to strengthen your muscles. For example, "downward dog" pose strengthens your upper body through this means of resistance, while it also stretches and lengthens your spine, hips, and hamstrings. So, not only can yoga be used as a complete body strength training routine, it also is useful for stretching and conditioning all your "running" muscles. It can also be a nice way to relax from a long run or a hard day at work.

Cross-country skiing is another great complete body workout. It incorporates upper body, lower body, and core strengthening with an aerobic workout, and, if done in the snow instead of the gym, it can be a great way to connect with nature and prevent boredom. It can also be an alternative to running in the snow if you live in or are visiting a snowing climate.

Skating, whether roller/inline or ice, can be a good alternative to running as well. It works the lower body in much the same way, but also uses the "sideways" muscles that trail runners especially need to work.

Water jogging is a wonderful alternative for hot weather or injured runners. It requires the use, if done correctly, of all your running muscles, but, since you are in the water, it is no-impact and cool. As a Texan, this is one of my favorite ways to stay cool during the summer. I replace half of my normal runs with water jogging. I even do my sprints and speed work in the water.

Biking and spinning do focus on the lower body, but not necessarily on the "running" muscles. Adding biking, whether cycling, spinning, or mountain biking is your favorite, into your routine can add interest, maintain (or gain) cardiovascular fitness, and balance out the muscles in your leg by working the quadricep and shin muscles. (I suggest mountain biking for the adventurous! Also by adding mountain biking and kayaking into your routine, you've open yourself up to a new sport, Adventure Racing! Or, add cycling and swimming and become a triathlete!)

Elliptical machines at the gym or in your home offer an alternative for nasty weather or for injured runners who can still run, but need no-impact. Stair-steppers are good for this too, but may build up your "running" muscles too quickly without building your "non-running" muscles fast enough. If you crosstrain using an elliptical machine, you should spend at least 1/4 of the time you workout going backwards (running backwards) to work the front of the leg.

Race walking and fitness walking also work your "running" muscles without as much impact. Most often these workouts are used as alternatives to running, not as extra days, since they work a lot of the same muscles. Don't think though that since you can run 10 miles, you can walk 10 miles (especially walk 10 miles fast) because the activities do use different muscles. Your bum and hips may find that after 10 miles of 15 min/mi walking they are in quite a bit of pain. So, ease into it at first.

Other sports, like hockey, baseball, tennis, and basketball, work the whole body and allow for plenty of socializing.

Guidelines for New Sports

Cross training can benefit nearly all runners by:

• balancing muscle groups


• boosting cardiovascular fitness


• reducing chances of injury


• keeping boredom away


• giving injuries proper time to recover.

It is important to understand how to incorporate cross training into your routine and how to decide which sport or sports to incorporate. Reasons for picking a certain sport vary greatly, but could be:

• it's a sport you enjoy


• it's a sport you've always wanted to try


• it works muscle groups you want to work/strengthen


• it works muscle groups or is a cardiovascular workout that avoids/rests your recovering injury.

Injured runners can cross train as often as they want, as long as their doctors allow; cross training can be used as a replacement for running in this case, as well as for the travelling runner.

Beginning and recovering runners should alternate days of cross training, rest, and running to gain the most benefit. Experienced runners (those who run almost daily and/or those who have run for many years) can use blocks (run and then cross train on the same day) or substitute cross training for one or two of their runs to prevent boredom and injury.

Quick Guidelines for New Sports

• Start slow. Don't assume you can jump right into a new sport on your first day.


• Find a group or class.


• Learn about the sport; do your research.


• Find out what the common injuries are for that sport and how to avoid them.


• Do something fun. Enjoy yourself!