Cross Training Confusion

dsc_0123One of the new buzz words in the fitness industry is cross training. I hear everyone talk about it but few people actually do it. Traditionally cross training is when an athlete trains in another sport other than the one they specialize in for the purpose of developing better skill, strength or improved conditioning. For example a boxer may cross train by swimming in place of hitting the heavy bag, jumping rope, working focus mitts, sparring or doing any of the activities traditionally done in the sport of boxing.

Cross training is useful because it breaks up the monotony of the current exercise regiment. It can challenge the athlete with a different and new activity bringing more excitement and interest to a long schedule of regular training. Many sports rely on various muscle groups and very specific types of strength or endurance for success. Swimming consists of a lot of pulling exercise of the upper body. To maintain muscular-skeletal balance and prevent ones body from become overly developed in one direction cross training in a sport or activity that involves a lot of pushing with the upper body would be a good idea.

Currently it has become popular to pick several exercises and activities from numerous sports or disciplines and throw them all in one workout. Designing a workout consisting of something from Baseball, Gymnastics, Olympic Lifting, Football and Boxing could be considered a type of cross training but understand this is only one approach.

In reality just taking an exercise from yoga and putting it into a workout isn't really "true" cross training. I knew a Football coach who took a few yoga exercises and threw them into his pre-season training sessions and called it cross training. Going some place and actually learning and doing yoga would be a more correct definition of cross training.

Trying to actually learn another sport or activity and do it is cross training. Not just picking and choosing a few exercises or movement techniques from something. For example take an athlete who plays Football and teach them how to Box. This athlete would not be using Boxing as the primary staple of their conditioning but as a cross training activity they could do a few times a week to stay in shape, maintain a blend of cardiovascular and anaerobic conditioning and improve over all body coordination and mechanical efficiency. While the goal is not to put this athlete in the ring as a competitive boxer it is to use the entire sport, to go beyond just the limited scope of picking a couple exercises from boxing. 

What's great about this type of cross training is it really breaks up monotony and challenges the athlete with something fresh and new. One of the best activities to use for cross training in this way is Martial Arts practice. The improvements that can be made in an athlete through correct martial arts training are incredible. Improved coordination, proprioception, balance and body awareness are just a few benefits on top of many others including, endurance training and learning something new and fun.

Martial Arts as a form of cross training is an area wherein I am an expert. It is one of the only things that has kept me physically active for so long and it is has become one of my favorite things to do. Today I have earned a 3rd Degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do, a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and I have been recognized as an Advanced Trainer in the Crazy Monkey Defense Program.

 The most serious pit fall to this cross training approach is finding the wrong coach. Having a coach who understands the fact that you are only cross training and doesn't jeopardize your ability to perform in the actual sport you specialize in is very important. Too often I've seen athlete's seek out Boxing coaches only to get bruised and beaten from their training because the coach thinks they are training another boxer. It's very easy for a coach inexperienced in this type of training to lose site of the fact that their purpose is to cross train a high performance athlete who specializes in another sport entirely. If you have any interest in using this style of cross training correctly especially in a Martial Art like Boxing, Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and The Crazy Monkey Defense Program please consider our Martial Arts Life Program in Carlsbad California.

Good Luck and Good Training,

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Cross Training Confusion by Sam Kressin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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