While I was waiting for the bloody ferry to come at the Tsawwassen terminal last Sunday, I picked up Triathlon Magazine Canada. Roy Stevenson had an article, Does Cross-Training Improve the Triathlete’s Running Performance?, in the magazine drew my attention.
In the article, Roy stated “recent research shows that supplementing, or even replacing part of your running program with other forms of exercise might be just what you need to avoid boredom, minimize injuries and take your running to a new level”. He said substituting some of your running with other cross-training techniques enables you to do extra endurance training with less strain on your running muscles and joints because you’re using the same muscle groups in a different way. A high-intensity cycling session, for example, helps the runner develop increased lactate tolerance, buffering capacity and fuel resynthesis, without undergoing the high-impact stress on the legs from an interval-training workout. A triathlete already performing two to three high-intensity run workouts each week cannot add more running workouts at this level. But extra intense stair climbing or cycling sessions will take him or her to a new level without the added impact trauma caused by high-intensity running. The key is to do your extra endurance work in low-impact or low-weight-bearing aerobic activities like cycling, stair climbing, swimming, deep-water running, or using the elliptical trainer. Despite the fact that all these exercises use the legs for propulsion, cross-training appears to defy an important principle of exercise science – specificity.
The principle of specificity states that if you are to improve in a specific sport, you should practice that activity solely and by throwing other similar activities into the mix you confuse your neuromuscular system, retarding your running progress. This explains why world-class athletes in one endurance sport like Tour de France cyclists are not world-class marathoners. Although elite cyclists exercise most of the muscle groups used in running, they do it in a very different way. However, more recently, contradicting research shows that some different activities can actually improve other sports. Then Mr. Stevenson went on and gave three example studies to support his point of view. The point is, certain activities such as cycling preserve and maintain running fitness while the runner reduces running. Nevertheless, swimming shows no correlation with improving running performance.
So my friends, it is possible to improve your running and thus your triathlon running performance, by incorporating or substituting other aerobic activities such as cycling, deep-water running (aquarunning) and stair climbing into your training program. But the devil’s in the details – make sure you do high intensity cross training, rather than just “junk” time on the cross-training equipment.