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As runners, we usually have three big goals: to run faster, go further and stay injury-free. What if there was one simple addition to your routine that could help with all three? Enter cross training. Whether you’re working towards a race or running for the mental and physical benefits, adding cross training to your weekly schedule could be the key to unlocking stronger, more balanced running.

What is cross training?

Cross training, put simply, means mixing up your running with other types of exercise. If running is all you do, your body adapts to that repetitive movement and only strengthens the muscles, tendons and ligaments used for running. By adding other forms of training into your routine, you introduce new movement patterns, engage different muscle groups, and provide your body with fresh training stimulus, all of which can help you become a stronger, more resilient runner.

It’s a common misconception to confuse cross training with CrossFit. While some runners do use CrossFit to complement their training, it’s a separate sport focused on high-intensity, functional movements, and doesn’t fall under the traditional definition of cross training for runners.

The same goes for sports like football or tennis; they’re great forms of exercise, but they aren’t typically considered cross training in the context of running, as they involve similar impact levels and don’t always support running-specific goals.

How do I know which type of cross training is for me?

The best way to choose what discipline to add into your training is to consider your goals. Not all cross training is created equal, and different disciplines offer specific training benefits.

There’s no one right activity for everyone when it comes to cross training, but the main aim should be to improve your aerobic and cardiovascular system, build strength and vary the repetitive movement patterns you can get stuck in when all you do is run. And, of course, it should be something you enjoy.

Hiking

Although it may seem surprising, walking or hiking can be a great way to build your endurance; after all, it’s all still time on your feet, just at a much slower pace. This is a particularly good alternative to running if you have an ultra marathon race on the horizon. Building in some regular hikes might be a great way to build your endurance while taking in the views at a bit more of a gentle pace than your regular runs. This can also be a great benefit to your mental health. If you prefer something that gets your heart rate up a little higher, speed walking could be different enough to your running training, while still building your endurance and mixing up your routine. Or add some hilly walks in, as hills always get your heart pumping a bit faster. Just make sure you’ve got a good pair of walking shoes.

Swimming

If you’re looking to help improve your breathwork when you’re running, adding in a regular swimming session could be just the thing you need to become more in tune with your breath. Swimming has many benefits, including improving your lung capacity and aiding with recovery as well as being very low impact compared to running. It provides a good aerobic workout, but, because you’re not using the same movement patterns as running, it doesn’t provide as much specificity as a training stimulus as something like cycling or hiking would. You could consider pool running or aqua jogging instead.

It’s not weight-bearing and the resistance of the water provides a great workout.

Elliptical trainer

Confusingly, ellipticals can also be referred to as a cross trainer in some gyms. Elliptical trainers usually have two platforms, or pedals, that move forwards and backwards in a circular motion. It’s a bit like cycling your legs on a bike, except you’re standing up, like when you’re running.

Some elliptical trainers have handles that remain static, while others have handles that move forwards and backwards as you move your legs. This helps to work both your upper and lower body. This machine mimics the motion of running without the same kind of impact forces you experience when running, making it a great alternative to those easy runs.

Strength training and climbing

The upper body is an area that easily gets forgotten by runners, but getting a stronger upper body, as well as core, can be of huge benefit, especially when you’re running long distance races. Without a strong upper, you might fall prey to a loss of form when you’re tired towards the end. Strength training in the gym or going to an exercise class that aims to strengthen your whole body is a good option here. You could also mix it up a bit and try climbing or bouldering. The focus on footwork in climbing will have significant benefits for your lower body strength.

Yoga or Pilates

Pilates and yoga are great activities to add into your training schedule, especially when it comes to improving your recovery in between your run sessions. Working on your flexibility and strength will also really help you stay strong as a runner, and could even mean you’re less prone to injury: great ways to keep muscles happy and legs ticking over.

Cycling

Although cycling uses your quads, hamstrings and glutes, just like running does, it uses them in different ways and puts different demands on them. Because you’re still using the same muscles you would when you run, it can complement running perfectly.

Read more about cycling for runners.

How does cross training improve my running?

There are several benefits of cross training for runners, some of which you may not have considered.

1. It improves cardiovascular fitness and endurance. The purpose of cross training is to build your base aerobic fitness so that you’re ready for harder workouts that come later in a training block. If you’re doing marathon training, for example, spending a few weeks running easy runs to build your base fitness is recommended, before you get into a training plan that features specific running workouts.
2. It helps prevent injury. There’s no magic formula when it comes to avoiding injuries as a runner, but there are a number of factors that can make injury more likely, no matter how diligent you are with your warm-up, cooldown, stretching and strength and conditioning work. Cross training can be a useful tool for runners to avoid overuse injuries so if you’re returning from an injury, running high-volume weeks or you’re a new runner, you may benefit from swapping out one of your runs each week for cross training instead. The reason cross training helps prevent injury is because our cardiovascular and muscular systems strengthen at a faster rate than our skeletal system. Our skeletal system is home to, among other things, our ligaments and tendons. Because they don’t have the same blood flow that our muscles do, it takes them longer to adapt to training stresses that are put on them through exercise. Issues such as shin splints and tendonitis are common overuse injuries that can be preventing by taking the load off those muscles when you can.
3. It helps strengthen other muscles. Mixing in other disciplines can strengthen muscle groups that are neglected during your running training which can also help to prevent injury. The neuromuscular system changes through cross training, creating different muscle and connective tissue adaptations which go a long way to improving your flexibility and movement.
4. It helps with recovery. Doing light activities is sometimes classed as ‘active recovery’ and it can aid your recovery from long runs or harder interval sessions by improving blood flow to the muscles. Anything that is low intensity and moves the body, such as walking or a gentle spin on an exercise bike, can be considered an active recovery exercise.
5. It gives you a mental rest. Anyone who has trained for a big goal race will know the feeling of fatigue at points of your training, when the thought of going out for a run just doesn’t have the appeal it used to. One non-running day might be all you need to keep things fresh and mix it up. Perhaps swapping out one of your easy runs for another activity could be the best thing for your training to avoid the boredom. It helps you stay fit if you’re injured. If you can’t run for a few weeks, cross training provides an alternative way for you to stay fit, but without the impact, as you heal. Cross training can maintain and even improve your level of fitness while you take a break. Make sure you check with your doctor or physiotherapist about which types of cross training you can do safely.

How regularly should I cross train?

There’s no set amount. Some runners don’t do any cross training, whereas advanced runners and elites might cross train as a second workout every single day. Ultimately, whether you cross train or not comes down to several criteria:

• Your own preference
• If it fits into your schedule
• Injury background or risk
• Level of experience

If you’re not keen on cross training and you’re happy to only run, you won’t lose out by not including it but if you struggle with injuries, it may be worth finding a form of cross training that you enjoy and slotting it in.

Do remember to make sure you are still scheduling in rest days; they are crucial to recovery and repair while you’re building up the miles.

How do I find time for cross training?

If you already run three days a week or more, you might have got to this point and wondered how you’re supposed to find time for another exercise session each week.

First of all, it’s important to remember to make sure you are still scheduling in rest days in your week. Very advanced runners may be doing two workouts a day, but if you’re less experienced, you don’t want to overdo it and end up overtraining. Remember, just because you’re cross training and not running, it doesn’t mean you are resting. Rest days are crucial to recovery and repair while you are building up the miles. Whatever you do, don’t sacrifice them, and make sure that you are properly resting on the days you’re not running or cross training.

Your week could look something like this, for example:

• Running: 3 days
• Rest day: 2 days
• Cross training: 1 day
• Strength training: 1 day

You could combine cross training and strength by doing both sessions back-to-back, which would then free up an extra day for resting, running or more strength or cross training!

Try to incorporate a mix of cross training activities to keep things interesting and target different components of your fitness. Alternate between aerobic exercises (such as cycling and swimming) and mobility or flexibility work. This variety will help to prevent boredom, as well as giving you an all-round improvement.

Can I run more instead of cross training?

Running too often can lead to overuse injuries and some people are more prone to this than others. Cross training sessions are usually used as substitutes for lower intensity runs, like easy or recovery runs, which you would tend to do at less than 70% of your maximum heart rate. The goal of these types of run is to maintain your base aerobic fitness.

Use a heart rate monitor, or the heart rate reading on your watch to make sure that when you’re doing your cross training session, you’re working in the same heart rate zones as you would be on an easy run.

If you’re substituting easy runs with cross training, then you should make sure that these sessions are done at a similar intensity to how you’d feel during your easy runs. If your easy run is 3 miles at a 10-minute-per-mile pace (30 minutes total), a good substitute would be 30 minutes of swimming, cycling or using the elliptical and keeping your heart rate or the rate of perceived effort the same as you would if you were doing your easy run.

It can be tempting, once you’ve found an exciting new sport, to weave it into your training regularly, but don’t get carried away. If your ultimate goal is running-based, don’t forget that your other disciplines are only there to further this goal.

Run, cross train, strength train and rest and make sure you don’t end up overtraining or getting too tired to do it all.

Looking for a new challenge? How about taking on a triathlon?