Cross training is a term used in the fitness industry to refer to using various modes of exercise to maximize the positive effect of your routines on your total level of fitness. One could also call it “get out of your rut”, “move out of your comfort zone”, or my favorite anthropomorphism of body parts – “confuse your muscles!”
Simply put – do something different today – choose an exercise you would not normally choose.
I hear some women tell me, “I just want to lose weight. I don’t want to build muscles. I just use the elliptical machine or walk on the treadmill.” Yes, you will lose weight – both fat and muscle. Guess what? The only thing left will be skin and bones.
If you lose muscle while losing weight, your metabolism will slow down making it easier to regain the fat you lost. If you retain or gain muscle while losing fat, your metabolism will maintain or increase and make it harder to put on fat. It will also make your body more esthetically pleasing – unless you are going for the Ally McBeal look.
So, get off the treadmill and find a group exercise class that has you pushing some weight around – either your own weight or a dumbbell or a punching bag. Join in a TRX class. Try Yoga. Have a trainer teach you some resistance routines that engage as many muscles as possible.
You don’t need to become a “weight lifter,” although some women do enjoy that perfectly healthy challenge. I am talking about the strenuous use of lots of muscles in motion. You will raise your heart rate, increase your energy and strength, and build a fat burning metabolism. And, you look and feel great!
I have seen women change their look from shapeless arms and legs and overweight middles to a strong shapely core and aesthetically sculptured arms and legs. I have seen food go from enemy or obsession to a natural enjoyment.
Change requires change. You can’t keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. Let yourself explore what your body can do and you can change what it can be.
Frank Groves i s the General Manager at Canton Club Health & Fitness and has also been a Cert ified Personal Trainer for 13 years.
