Cross Training for Runners

We runners tend to be a little overzealous about our sport. We eat, sleep, and breath running. When you are running 20–30+ miles a week, and have strategic rest days, how do you take Hal Higdon’s advice and get in one day of cross training without being pooped for your next run? And why should you?

First, why? Well, running isn’t strength training, so you can be a runner and not really build muscle. Not everyone wants to build muscle, but I think strength helps me in addition to endurance, and who doesn’t want to look firmer? There will be a time when you’re not marathon training (only some of us imagine running marathons constantly FOREVER!), at which time you’ll be glad that you’ve built your overall fitness. Having muscle development outside of the main ones that you use for running can help you in a lot of ways. Lower leg muscles help for running uneven terrain, varied leg muscles help with hills, and call me crazy but my arms and shoulders get tired after long runs if I’m not doing the occasional arm workout. Not to mention that your posture will suffer once you start getting tired, especially if you haven’t worked your back and core muscles with cross training. I’ve heard a lot of people say that they have fewer injuries when they cross train, if only for the fact that you’re not overworking your body with the same movements, but you’re still building fitness.

Now that you want to cross train, what do you do? Anything! That’s the fun!

Swimming. I tend to think of swimming as floating down the river with a few Bell’s Oarsman Ales tied to my tube, but it turns out that real swimming is a heck of a lot more rigorous. Deep water running can be the best way to get the same effect as running, only without the impact. Plus, there’s resistance, and it can help you get faster. Even if you do laps swimming not in DWR style, you still get a great cardio workout that engages your body in a totally different way from running.

Biking. It’s no coincidence that triathlons cover these three basics. Cycling is another workout that gets your heart pumping, and doesn’t have the high impact of running. That, and if you get outside, you get a wonderful view and fresh air! I like to bike to work when possible so that I work in cross training without even thinking about it (and get all of the other benefits of cycling, of course).

Racquetball. I am partial to racquetball. I only discovered it recently but it is so fun! It’s cheap to get into (most kits get you everything you need for $25, and our local university rents courts for $2/hour), challenging but not impossible, and you get to bring a friend! I still don’t think I know all of the rules, but you and a partner can take turns hitting back and forth and get an incredible workout even without keeping score.

Strength training. I’m a huge advocate for lifting weights and doing bodyweight exercises. It strengthens your bones, has a great impact on your metabolism, and makes you feel like a BOSS! I follow the advice of The New Rules of Lifting because it was an easy way to understand how to lift correctly, and how to approach strength training as the most important part to overall fitness (especially The New Rules of Lifting for Women—it changed the whole way I work out).

Hiking, kayaking, climbing, yoga, elliptical, Zumba—it’s all good! Just make sure you’re doing something on your cross training day that will get a little bit of a burn on and work different parts of your body to help contribute to overall fitness. You’ll feel stronger, and be a better runner because of it!