Cross Training: the action or practice of engaging in two or more sports or types of exercise in order to improve fitness or performance in one’s main sport.
We all hear about the benefits of cross training, but I haven’t embraced it -because I’m a hiker and that’s what I did all the time- until now… Between weekday work/getting kids to school and heavy snow fall in front range mountains my hiking options have become a lot more limited, as I don’t call Post Hole Hiking much fun. And in previous years, my tendency would be to cut back on hiking and take weeks off at a time. So often when we hit roadblocks or obstacles, we want the easy route and just quit without exploring and being open to new options or going into our past to resurrect old ones. This also applies to our personal and work life, but let’s start with hiking…
In hiking, I’ve become a hiker since moving to Colorado, not a runner or a biker, but those are things that have been in my past. So, as I was looking for ways to get in good cardo exercise during the week, I reached into my past to bring those dormant types of exercise to life; just in a different way. I’m starting to run (more like trod) a 5.5-mile course once a week. Granted, I’m never going to be able to run at my pace from 30 years ago, but I’m still going to be able to get out there. And I’ve also picked up cycling again (on the road bike I bought in 1973), as I can take a lunch hour to get in a 14-mile ride out and back to through Garden of the Gods park in under an hour. My weekends are still used for hiking, but it may require me to even adjust that with taking the extra time to drive down to do the incline. The whole point here is that with two plus feet of snow in the front range mountains, you still have options for getting out to exercise, you just need to think of it as “What kinds of cross training are available to me?”
In our personal life, we also have routines and goals that get stuck because of the roadblocks or conditions on our path. My goal has been to write these trail tips once a week, but if you are reading them on a regular basis, you know I’m not hitting that goal. Here it’s more of “cross training” my mind to know I can write at different times or on different days and explore other topics. In other areas, it could be reading, sewing, home remodeling, etc., that you have a passion for that seems to be stuck. Cross training in these areas could become taking a class on them, reading a book, or a video series. All which can help you improve your performance, when not being able to do the main thing.
In work, it could be the current job you are in right now. I’ve been in positions where it’s not my calling, passion, or making best use of my talents, yet I’m there for a season in my life. Here we need to realize a few things. 1. We do have skills/muscles we can apply to be successful in these roles. 2. We do have things we can learn in these roles that will apply to our main passions and calling. It’s looking past the roadblocks and obstacles to see how to create a path for success.
Cross training: it’s the exercise of different muscles and skills that take us on different routes in life, with the purpose of helping improve our main passions and goals. Where have you hit those roadblocks and obstacles that make you want to quit? What cross training activities can you pick up to keep you moving forward? Who are you going to do these cross-training activities with to help keep you accountable?
Al Andersen 