The wide variety of exercises is a primary reason for crosstraining being such an excellent sport. It taxes all the major muscle groups and all the body's energy systems. A top crosstrainer needs to achieve high levels of many aspects of fitness, including a good aerobic base and a high lactate threshold and lactate tolerance. This must be combined with excellent muscular strength, power and endurance.
The range of disciplines and nature of the events means that crosstrainers have a huge number of training sessions to choose from. With such a variety it is almost impossible to get bored and the likelihood of becoming stale is considerably reduced. Sessions on the bike, treadmill and rower along with various styles of weight training, keep workouts exciting and stimulating. As well as this, the courses vary somewhat so that training plans must alter between events.
Many crosstrainers compete in indoor rowing and triathlon as well. Indoor rowing is also a versatile exercise that taxes the major muscle groups and energy systems. Workouts can vary from short maximal bursts to long aerobic intervals and attempting a maximal 2k effort is one of the toughest challenges around.
Crosstraining and triathlon seem to fit very well together as sports, with many athletes competing in both. Top triathletes Sarah Coope and Glenn Cook have recently excelled in crosstraining and our top crosstrainer, Hywel Davies competed awesomely in IronMan UK 2005.
CrossTraining UK recently spoke to the editor of 220 Triathlon magazine, Matt Brett, and asked him about the relationship between the two sports.
'Well, cross-training and triathlon have a whole lot in common. Most obviously, the majority of cross-training competitions involve run and bike elements - two of the three triathlon disciplines - so at least some of the training overlaps.'But more important is that fact that cross-training and triathlon are both multi-sports rather than single discipline sports - and multi-sports seem to attract athletes of a certain mindset.
Athletes in most sports are aiming at a narrow fitness. Okay, they want to take that fitness as far as they can but it usually covers a very specific area. Cyclists, for example, need well-developed leg muscles and cardio-vascular systems, but they can get by with next-to-no upper body development.
Multi-sports are different. Multi-sport athletes are aiming at total fitness of the whole body and across a range of disciplines. There's not one narrow goal but several different goals that you need to aim for all at the same time. To get the best out of yourself in either cross-training or triathlon is a tricky business. You need to choose how to distribute your efforts for the best results, you need to master many different types of training, and you need the dedication to work hard at them all. It's a hell of a challenge... but that's the fun of it.'
Crosstraining is becoming an increasingly popular sport and almost anyone can try it. If you want to compete, there are different age categories and many of today's events offer intermediate races for beginners. DB Max also offer training programmes and coaching for crosstrainers..
Check out Upcoming Events for details of the crosstraining challenges planned for coming months or email us at enquiries@dbmax.co.uk.
If you're looking for a new goal or something to really motivate you to train hard, then crosstraining could be just the thing for you.