The 5 Best Cross-Training Exercises for Runners

A cross-training program is a fitness regimen that incorporates several different types of exercise in order to benefit your primary form of exercise. If you are a runner, cross-training may involve a variety of exercises including strength training, low-impact cardio like cycling or swimming, rowing, or stretching. Athletes who cross-train on rest days in between their primary workout can decrease their risk of injury, improve their overall strength, and increase their endurance.

Cross-training can be as rigorous or as gentle as you want it to be. Athletes who participate in cross-training programs can reap a number of fitness benefits.

1. 1. Strengthens different muscle groups. Cross-training exercises give athletes the opportunity to target muscle groups that their primary workout may neglect. For example, some runners choose to cross-train with rock climbing in order to improve their upper body strength. Targeting less-used muscle groups gives your overused muscle groups a chance to rest and improves your overall fitness.
2. 2. Improves endurance. As you work cross-training into your training routine, you may notice that you can work out more rigorously for longer periods of time. Whether you’re just starting a new fitness regimen or you’re an experienced runner, cross-training can help improve your overall endurance and allow you to push through plateaus to new goals.
3. 3. Helps to avoid boredom. Cross-training is an excellent way to diversify your training regime to improve enthusiasm for your primary sport. For example, if you typically perform a lot of heavy strength training such as weightlifting, cross-training with a sport like hiking allows you to learn something new.
4. 4. Helps to avoid injury. If you are only practicing one form of exercise, you will likely be more prone to overuse injuries. Cross-training balances your exercise regimen, making overuse injuries less likely.
5. 5. Helps with recovery. If you have experienced an injury from a particular form of exercise, cross-training is a great way to maintain fitness while the injury recovers. Resting the injured area while building your fitness in other areas will also help prevent that injury from reoccurring.
6. 6. Can function as a warm-up. Cross-training can also become a form of warm-up for your primary workout, as it can offer a balanced activation of your whole body while remaining low impact.

Running is a high-impact activity that puts a lot of stress on your knees and ankles. Runners who incorporate cross-training workouts in their training schedules can improve their performance while minimizing injury. Runners can benefit from a cross-training workout routine that includes some of the following activities.

1. 1. Bodyweight strength training: Runners can benefit greatly from additional strength training using weight machines or their own body weight. Exercises like squats and lunges can strengthen muscle groups such as glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings. Planks, pushups, and side planks can help build upper body strength and core strength.
2. 2. Pilates: Pilates is an excellent form of exercise to develop your core strength, which can improve your running form. Additionally, core strength is important for runners to help lower the impact of running.
3. 3. Elliptical workouts: Using an elliptical is a good alternative to running that elevates your heart rate without stressing your ankles or knees from the impact of heavy foot strikes against the ground.
   
4. 4. Biking: Biking is an excellent low-impact aerobic alternative to running. Using either a real bike or a fixed bike such as in a spin class, biking will help to strengthen leg muscles while acting as a good cardiovascular workout.
5. 5. Swimming: Swimming is another exhilarating, low-impact form of cardio that allows runners to target both their upper body and lower body muscles.

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