Ryan Ploeckelman co-hosts Ryan and Gretchen in the Morning on Q108
When I started to realize that I had a knack for this running thing I pretty much stopped doing any other form of exercise and just ran, ran, ran. I soon realized that just running, especially for me with my desk job, was really a stupid thing to do. My body couldn’t handle the constant pounding and repetitive motion and it snapped a couple of times. Being injured gives you time to binge watch some shows on Netflix, but not being able to do what you love stinks.
Cross training is really nothing more than working other forms of exercise into your routine to work different muscle groups and make you a more versatile and durable runner. There are a million things you can do to cross train, but to spare you the longest, most boring article in the history of Clarksvillenow, I thought I would share a couple of my favorites.
Yoga
If you only do one other thing in your life besides running, make sure that one thing is yoga. Laugh all you want guys, yoga will kick your butt and really make evident the weaknesses your body has. Yoga is not only about stretching and strength building; it also about clearing your mind, and with a clear mind you can better focus on your running and life goals.
There are lots of great yoga studios in Clarksville, and a lot of gyms around town even have yoga classes included in your membership. I do my yoga mainly at home. There are a boat load of great yoga workouts on YouTube. Search for “Steve Ross Inhale Yoga”. It was a yoga show on the old Oxygen network in the 90s. Cheesy music, but killer workout. If Steve and his hammer pants don’t do it for you just search “yoga” on YouTube. You will find a bunch of great videos and chances are you’ll find some you love. Travis Elliot is another great name for YouTube yoga. If you have Hulu there are even some yoga workouts on there.
Cycling
Whether it is on the road or on the trails, riding a bike is a great form of cross training. It works a lot of similar muscles to running but in a different way, and there is no impact so your joints will love your for it. If you don’t have a bike stop by the Riverside Bike Shop in town. They sell used bikes and they have a wide variety of options that fit most budgets. They are also really nice folks who are happy to help someone start cycling.
You can also look for folks selling used bikes on Craigslist. Bike sizing is important because there are different sized frames for different sized people. Having a bike that is too big or too small for you will make cycling less enjoyable. There are good resources online that can give you a good idea as to what size bike you need, just know that nothing beats a good “fitting” from someone who knows what the heck they are doing.
Recreational Sports
I have no coordination so I stink at pretty much all organized sports. But those can also be a great way to cross train. An hour of basketball or soccer will be a little more high intensity than say, bowling, but any movement is better than nothing.
Variety is the spice of life, so add some spice to your fitness goals!
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