The Sunday News
Simon Gama
SOME drawbacks exist. The physiological law of specificity of exercise states that to become proficient at a sport you must practice mainly that sport.
This develops skills and nerve pathways that increase athletic prowess. But as noted this applies more to the dedicated athlete than the average person who just wants to be fit and look good.
Cross training should more correctly be termed combination training since cross training implies that the gains acquired from one activity will cross over into another.
While this isn’t correct in a broad sense it does hold true in some ways.
For instance you may have developed great endurance from aerobics but unless you lift weights you will lack the muscle strength that comes in handy during usual activities like walking up the stairs with bags of heavy groceries.
Also the strength you develop from weight training does have an overlapping effect in helping to prevent injuries.
If a runner supplements his or her running workouts with weight training certain physiological changes may occur that will improve running ability.
An example is the lactate shuttle ability working muscles through weight training increases the ability of the body to transport lactate from working muscles to other muscles.
This is significant because lactate can be used directly as an energy source by those other muscles, thus lifting weights may increase energy efficiency in runners.
Studies show that cross training may be even more efficient for children.
One fitness guru said; “In any case I have been involved in some aspect of sort since I take my first steps.
I was encouraged to do this because both my parents were former athletes themselves. I began with running and gym.
The running provided my aerobic base, the swimming added to my endurance while gym instilled skill agility and flexibility. I also played soccer and rode regularly.
By the time I entered high school I expanded my athletic horizons to include badminton which built hand eye co-ordination a continued all the other activities such as running, swimming and tennis.
With my varied interests in sports, competing in the pentathlon which involves five different track and field events was natural.
You win this competition by amassing the highest total in the five events and my early cross training allowed me to become a four time collegiate big 10 champion and state record holder. The point is that these varied athletic pursuits laid the foundation for my later body building success.”
While you may not aspire to become a professional bodybuilder to be a successful fitness athlete engaging in activities that you don’t dread and will persevere at makes sense.
How weight training helps other sports.
Baseball: selected areas to strengthen; forearms, shoulders midsection; selected exercise, wrist curl lateral raise, bench press, reverse trunk.
Basketball: selected areas to strengthen; hamstrings, low back, legs, calves, shoulders; selected exercise, leg curl, row, back extension, squat, leg press
Karate: selected areas to strengthen; arms, shoulders, legs, back; selected exercise; curl, lateral raise, squat, leg press, pulley
Aerobic dance: selected areas to strengthen, whole body specially upper body; selected exercise, circuit training to build strength, add mass
Cycling: selected areas to strengthen, back shoulders; selected exercise, strong back, delts, pull downs back extensions.
-Additional information from Online sources.
The writer, Simon Gama is a fitness coach at Body Works Gym in Bulawayo.
