Why adding cross training into your exercise routine is the way to go

I often say that the key to staying consistent with working out is finding an exercise you love. You are more likely to move your body if you look forward to doing so. But you should also consider switching it up every now and then. Known as cross-training, varying your workout routine can significantly improve your fitness and overall health.

In a study published last month, researchers at Harvard University analysed physical activity data from more than 70,000 women and nearly 41,000 men collected across four decades. They found that participants who performed a variety of exercises, such as cycling, running and strength training, were 19 per cent less likely to die of any cause over the study period than those who were just as physically active but stuck to one type of workout. Their risk of dying from heart disease, cancer and other causes was also between 13 and 41 per cent lower.

Why is that? Well, exercise improves our health by challenging our body, forcing it to adapt and become stronger. Yet, as this study found, the health benefits of most physical activities plateau at a certain point. For instance, participants who walked for 5 hours a week were about as likely to die during the study period as those who walked for 20 or even 40 hours a week. So, by engaging in various exercises, people may be able to push past these thresholds.

One reason for this is that variety challenges our body in new ways. The most obvious example would be comparing aerobic exercises, such as running, with strength-training exercises, such as weightlifting. The former primarily stresses our cardiorespiratory system – our heart and lungs – whereas the latter flexes our muscles, coaxing them to build back stronger. By combining the two, you can boost both endurance and strength.

But you may also benefit from mixing up your aerobic workouts. For example, a 2018 study of 31 high-school runners found that those who swapped out two of their easy runs for workouts on an outdoor elliptical bike used oxygen more efficiently when running at the same pace as those who didn’t swap.

Cross-training also reduces the risk of injury, which can affect longevity. An analysis of nine studies totalling nearly 5000 soccer players found that balance exercises reduced the risk of ankle injury by more than 35 per cent compared with training programmes without them.

So I encourage you to add a bit of variety to your workout routine. Last year, I almost exclusively ran, and I can tell that other aspects of my fitness, such as my mobility, took a hit. That is why I am now including Pilates and yoga in my exercise routine. Not only will this improve my range of motion and strength, but it may even help me live well into old age.

Grace Wade is a health reporter for New Scientist. You can sign up to her newsletter, Eight Weeks to a Healthier You, at newscientist.com/healthier-you

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