Fitness For Busy Moms

Most people have one sport or activity that they absolutely love. For me, I think that it’s pretty obvious that my favorite sport is running. However, I’m fortunate enough to really really like several other activities as well. It’s probably pretty clear why I think I’m fortunate— with my stress fracture from running, I have been able to workout in other ways while letting my leg heal. Participating in another sport, called cross training, is also beneficial to develop muscles that support running, thereby decreasing the chance of injury. However, ‘cross training’ has many benefits as I learned from my own experiences and outlined on and websites.

Reduce the risk of injury: cross training spreads around the cumulative stress load of working out to different muscles and joints in your body. People are able to workout everyday by using different muscles in a variety of ways each day. For example, although both running and cycling require leg muscles, they use different muscles in different ways. By incorporating cross training into your workout routine you continue to improve or maintain your endurance, while preventing overuse injuries. Make yourself a better runner or athlete: there are three ways that cross training can improve your performance in another sport: 1. Enhance efficiency 2. Increase power 3. Increase the amount of time you are able to train without putting too much stress on your body. The more you use your muscles and joints, whether it’s cycling, swimming, strength training, or elliptical trainer you are making your body more well rounded. I used to think I didn’t need to do any strength training for my legsbecause I was a runner. However, I’ve learned over the years that to be a faster, stronger, efficient, injury free runner I needed to include legwork into my routine. I also realized that a strong core (both stomach and back) is essential for continued success in any sport! And it’s a great way to stay active with friends who might not share your passion for other activities.  Active recovery: recovery is an essential component in any exercise program, and there are days when a total day off is necessary, but incorporating active recovery can make you fitter and stronger. If you are running 4-5 days a week, swimming or cycling 1-2 days a week on your off-run days can be beneficial. Light workouts in between difficult work outs actually promote faster recovery–even though that sounds counterintuitive. Maintain motivation: mixing up your workouts keeps life interesting! No matter how much we love a sport, doing the same thing every day can get boring.  We lose the motivation to get upand out the door when it’s early, or cold, or raining when we do the same thing all the time. If running all the time to train for a race seems daunting, then choose a plan with only 3-4 days running and 3 days of swimming or cycling. You’ll end up with greater endurance than the runner who is burned out and skips a lot of training days. By avoiding burnout or injury, you’ll find that you enjoy being a life-long athlete. Enjoying other sports: When you try a new activity, you might find that you really like that activity! If you start swimming or cycling you may find a new sport to love. After the birth of my second daughter I was realized that I was getting injured way too much from running and needed to branch out. I decided to try a triathlon and instantly fell in love. I now go back and forth between running races and triathlons. I have done a number of century bike rides and endurance swims as well. And in the process of trying new sports I’ve met a ton of new friends. I evencompeted in several swim meets with the swim group! My first swim meet was when I was in my late 30’s….Crazy.  I never would have discovered my enjoyment in these other activities if it hadn’t been for my attempts at cross training.

Overall, I see only benefits in branching out, enjoying a variety of sports, having a ‘back up plan’ in case of injury or change in life circumstance. For me, after my stress fracture I was able to swim before I was able to cycle before I was able to run.  If running had been my only outlet, I would have been miserable!

Hammer on friends! –Siobhan

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