Weight Training or Cross Training: What do you want from exercise?

It is a great feeling when you discover or rediscover the joyful experience  and great benefits of exercise.  Many people have mixed memories of sport and exercise from their childhood and school days.  Some discover that although they may have been average at team sports they excel at individual exercise.  Others realize that exercise need not be sweating in a gym or running for miles, it is dancing, rock climbing, yoga even gardening or walking the dog.

To get the best benefits of exercise in that it is something you do regularly and that you can maintain for years to come.  Most studies show that to live a longer AND healthier life, regular exercise is one of the main keys.  The best way to maintain a regular exercise regime is to have a variety of exercise interests, in fact most athletes have discovered the benefits of cross training.

Cross training is a method of training and exercises which aim to exercise the whole body, this is a great way to prevent injury and improve your fitness.  This type of training also helps to keep your motivation high and makes it less likely for you to give up on your fitness goals.  Ideally your fitness regime should involve aspects which build on your strength, stamina and flexibility but if  you practice one type of sport say running which you are very good at, a hour of tennis may leave your arms feeling as if they are dropping off.  It can also lead to injuries as running and tennis use very different muscle groups and movements.

Lots of top athletes incorporate weight training, stretching and stamina building exercise into their training.  Other sports people use yoga, Pilates and the Alexander technique to improve posture, stretch their muscles and reduce muscle injuries.  Basically exercise helps you to maintain your health and increase your feelings of well being within a hectic world.

Donna Houston