4 Top Cross Training Workouts For Runners - AmO: Life Beauty Without Limits...

1. Watch your heart rate

Cross training is not an excuse to slack off or slow down. The opposite is true, in fact.

During cross training activities, you want to work hard and sweat a lot, keeping your heart rate at or above 70% of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age) most of the time.

2. Check Your Heart Rate In The Morning

It’s also important to check your heart rate first thing in the morning. If it’s consistently elevated, higher than normal, this could be a sign of overtraining, which you do not want to do.

3. Maintain Your Running Distance

Cross training should ideally be combined with running to stay in peak form. A good rule of thumb is to only substitute 25-30% of your weekly distance total with cross training.

In other words, don’t stop your running workouts—there is no replacement for getting those miles under your feet. You still need that mileage for your aerobic base, tweak your training with intervals and tempo runs, and then add cross training, with all its benefits, to that.

Cross Training Workouts for Runners

1. Strength Training

There are some exercises which suitable for enhancement runner’s strength:

• Deadlifts

• Box Step-Ups

• Calf Raises

• Squats

• Lunges

• Planks

• Seated Leg Raises

How to do

• For each exercise—do 30X, followed by a break of 1 minute. And then 20X, another 1-minute break, 10X, then break for minutes.

• Repeat, choosing 3 or 4 other exercises.

• Mix it up!

Benefits of the training

• Strength training develops greater endurance and reduces injury risks.

• Stronger hamstrings improve performances for long runs, and strong muscles in your butt make you run faster.

• Core exercises make you a more efficient runner by helping you maintain good posture during runs.

2. Yoga

Yoga helps runners who feel that their muscles are tight and overworked. When this workout, which is made up of foundational yoga poses, gets too easy for you, try a Vinyasa flow for building more endurance.

How to do

• Warm-up

Cross your legs and sit on the floor, with a straight back. For two minutes, with eyes closed, take deep breaths through your nose. Bend from your chest side to side, 15 counts, exhale on either side.

• Workout

The movements should flow into another, and not be choppy. Make each movement last 3 breaths.

a) Cow and cat pose—coming from your sitting position, go into the cow pose while exhaling. As you inhale, go into the cat pose. Go back and forth, 15 counts

b) Next, go into downward dog, knee down on the floor and then come up again. Counts to 5.

c) Lunge forward, making sure your knee is bent over the opposite foot, the other foot behind you, facing forward, fingers on the floor. Then slide into an extended side angle

d) Lunge again, and repeat on the left side

e) Lie down in prone position for the locust pose

• Cool down

On your back, with eyes closed, take deep breaths. Stay there for three minutes.

Benefits of the training

• Yoga is excellent for runners, as it works to solve the tightness that many runners feel, especially around their hip area.

• Yoga relaxes and energizes at the same time andit is a wonderful way to get centered and focus on what really matters.

• More importantly, it is an efficient tool for learning to connect with your breath, something that every runner needs.

3. Swimming

To minimize the impact of that running can have on your body, one swap you can make is to add swimming to your fitness routine.

How to do

• Do laps for 30-45 minutes, adding legs-only and arms-only laps to the workout. For the lower body, do one-fourth of your laps using only a kickboard for the length of the pool.

• Do another fourth using a pool buoy (made of foam) on your legs to strengthen your upper body. (Follow lap lane courtesy, of course!)

Benefits of the training

Your body will thank you for adding swimming to your routine. Many runners, especially newbies, experience shin splints or runners knee—which can get painful and uncomfortable. Because swimming has no impact, it affords relief from this.

4. Cycling

Gives you a boost for your lower body muscle groups, strengthens weak hamstrings. You can jump on the bike at the gym or join a group cycling class—it’s up to you.

How to do

• Do a 10-minute warm-up at a moderate to quick pace.

• Cycle for another 30 minutes, building resistance, keeping the tension up!

• Cool down for another 10 minutes.

Benefits of the training

• In cycling, you use the same muscles in lower body and core as you do when you run, but in other ways—and therefore when you use the bike, you make those muscles stronger.

• This will strengthen your endurance, and not at the expense of your joints.

• Make sure that you are clipped to the bike, though, as this works out the muscles in your lower body even harder when you are running—especially when pedaling uphill or when you have the knob for resistance on the higher mode.

About Author:

Name: Amber Irwin

Short Bio: I'm Amber a running and sports writer. I love to share my passion with fellow outdoor lovers and hope to establish a community here. I believe running is an amazingsport for everyone and hope to inspire others with my words.

Website: http://everyfirststep.com/