Can adding cross training (bike, pool, elliptical) to my running make me fitter? I currently run 45mpw. What would happen if I began adding 50min x training sessions after the runs? Will it make me more aerobically fit?
Can adding cross training (bike, pool, elliptical) to my running make me fitter? I currently run 45mpw. What would happen if I began adding 50min x training sessions after the runs? Will it make me more aerobically fit?
You'd get fitter by adding a second run.
XT is never a bad thing but I would add in the cross training BEFORE runs, that way your running muscles will get stronger because you will be using them in a state of partial fatigue.
Doubling could help equally as much if not more but if adding in different exercise other than running keeps you more motivated then go for it!
More fit? Of course. A better runner? Maybe not.
Mo fitter wrote:
More fit? Of course. A better runner? Maybe not.
^This. You become a better runner by running more. You run only 45 mpw. You could run at least double that amount unless you have serious disability.
Not necessarily. I don’t have a “serious disability”, but I can’t go over 50 without getting hurt.
How can that extra cross training not make you a better runner? Sure, in terms of being biomechanically efficient I can see why, but wouldn’t the increase aerobic fitness benefit you?
[quote]inclination wrote:
Not necessarily. I don’t have a “serious disability”, but I can’t go over 50 without getting hurt. {/quote]
If you get hurt, ignore the pain and hobble through. The pain will go away if you ignore it long enough. Then increase your mileage. If you keep repeating that cycle, you will reach 100 mpw before you know it. And it will feel easier than 50 mpw.
multisportfitness wrote:
Can adding cross training (bike, pool, elliptical) to my running make me fitter? I currently run 45mpw. What would happen if I began adding 50min x training sessions after the runs? Will it make me more aerobically fit?
There have been a bunch of small studies showing that cycling can be used to maintain and add to running fitness where factors such as tendency to injury make adding another run to the weekly routine a risk. Owen Anderson did a commentary on these studies in his book, and in some articles for Running Research News in the mid-1990s.
However, this approach is undoubtedly of more benefit to less trained runners than highly trained or elite runners.
The best way to approach it would seem to be doing about an hour of cycling on what is otherwise a rest day, and don't take it too easy, do something similar to a long tempo with a focus on aerobic capacity building.
Probably not going to be popular, but a lady friend of mine started adding crossfit 3 x week. Went from a 4:00 marathoner to a 3:25 marathon.
Cross training can help you with running, yes, but running helps you with running more than anything. I used to do everything I could to get better, and around the same mileage as you, but I was focusing too much on that and not enough on the run itself. My take on it is that the purpose of cross training (ie weightlifting and swimming) is to make you stronger so that your body can handle more stress fro running. I'd suggest to slowly implement doubles if you really want to do more.
here's an n of 1.
i didn't run in college. hit 30, started running a bit. a year later, had a couple months of 60-80/week. ran 1:11 half, not sure what i was capable of for 5k.
life, lady got in way, ran maybe 15-20/week for the next 6-9 months. jumped in a couple 5ks at the end of that period , ran them in 16:30-17 min range.
decided i wanted to learn how to swim, so started adding an hour of swimming 5-6 days/wk on top of 3 runs of 5-6 miles (often reasonably hard). didn't race for approximately a year. then jumped in a 5k with a buddy, ran 15:51. pretty confident the performances would have degraded at longer distances, because it was clear i didnt have the legs even nearing the end of that 5k.
from that trajectory, i dont know whats to be gleaned, but seems reasonable to guess either that crosstraining allows you to maintain pretty good fitness, or, if you arent already pretty fit, allows you to gain some.
Fitter yes, faster no
multisportfitness wrote:
Can adding cross training (bike, pool, elliptical) to my running make me fitter? I currently run 45mpw. What would happen if I began adding 50min x training sessions after the runs? Will it make me more aerobically fit?
It can help you aerobically, just not as much as more running. I've been coming back from an injury and since I can only handle 4 days a week of running, I've added in 3-4 days a week of elliptical and I've noticed a difference. Originally I figured if ultrarunners can stay in shape over winter doing nothing but cross country skiing, elliptical has to have some concrete benefits.
Alternatively, I've found that the exercise bike does not help nearly as much. I'd do spin instead because it's harder.
multisportfitness wrote:
Can adding cross training (bike, pool, elliptical) to my running make me fitter? I currently run 45mpw. What would happen if I began adding 50min x training sessions after the runs? Will it make me more aerobically fit?
If you're going to add some cross-training with the goal of improving your running, I'd focus more on weight training, specifically your core muscles. If you do any upper body work, do low weight/high reps. Most (if not all?) elites have a weight training regiment in their training. I can't think of any that utilize bike/swimming/elliptical unless they are injured.
inclination wrote:
Not necessarily. I don’t have a “serious disability”, but I can’t go over 50 without getting hurt.
Yes you can.
inclination wrote:
Not necessarily. I don’t have a “serious disability”, but I can’t go over 50 without getting hurt.
How can that extra cross training not make you a better runner? Sure, in terms of being biomechanically efficient I can see why, but wouldn’t the increase aerobic fitness benefit you?
Will make boost aerobic fitness if thats your only goal. However if your purpose is training to race fast it will just fatigue more for your quality running sessions.
multisportfitness wrote:
Can adding cross training (bike, pool, elliptical) to my running make me fitter? I currently run 45mpw. What would happen if I began adding 50min x training sessions after the runs? Will it make me more aerobically fit?
Yep. In a perfect world we would all be able to handle a lot more than 45mpw (and reap all the benefits of more running) but the reality is some of us can't, due to age or form/injury issues. Better to do 45mpw + a bunch of cross training than 45mpw + couch or 70mpw + injured. Also, if you cross train for a while you might build up some strength & shore up some weaknesses. Eventually you might be able to dial back the cross training & run more mileage.
you'll get 6.73 fit
The Way We Were wrote:
If you get hurt, ignore the pain and hobble through. The pain will go away if you ignore it long enough. Then increase your mileage. If you keep repeating that cycle, you will reach 100 mpw before you know it. And it will feel easier than 50 mpw.
This is the dumbest thing I've ever read.
No. Nononononono. Maybe that is true for you, but some people's bodies will always break down at some threshold. For some it is 35 MPW, some 120. I've seen both.
They can ignore the pain to a point. I get what you're saying - I've run through my share of bad injuries, and you're right. Most of them do go away. But that's not what we're talking about here.
Old is as old does wrote:
Fitter yes, faster no
Not necessarily.
multisportfitness wrote:
... Most (if not all?) elites have a weight training regiment in their training. I can't think of any that utilize bike/swimming/elliptical unless they are injured.
Programs that maximise training benefit for elites differ significantly to the range of things that can be beneficial to relatively untrained or even moderately trained runners.
At the lower end of the spectrum, with someone who is unfit, it is possible to improve running speed, endurance and performance in time trials with cross training only and NO running at all.
Whereas at the other end, a highly trained runner may not benefit at all from the addition of cross training, because they have already achieved relevant strength and balance, and VO2max has already been raised to the point where it is no longer a limiter on their performance. In this case, cross training is just taking time away from the specific training of running.
Most runners are between these two extremes.
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