Healthy Cross Training for Fitness and Fat Loss

The numbers on your scale do not indicate whether you are fit or fat. Far more significant than your total body weight is the composition of your body tissue. If a man's fatty tissue is bigger than 14% up to 15% of his body mass, or if a woman's is more than 20% to 22%, he or she is overweight, or more precisely, over-fat.

A small amount of fat is needed for padding the internal organs and as insulation under the skin. Excess fat leads to such diseases as diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and gallbladder problems.

The problem with most people who want to lose weight is that they concentrate more on getting those numbers lower than on getting healthy. What happens next is that they strive harder to achieve a lower weight, according to the "ever reliable" results of the scale.

It would be more important to think of the human body as a heat-exchange engine that works on the basic principles of energy physics. The caloric balance equals the total calorie intake minus the total calorie expenditure.

Some of the calories people ingest are used for basal metabolism. As people get old, their bodies require fewer calories for this basic upkeep. Some calories are excreted as waste products. Some go into "work metabolism," the energy expenditure required for any physical activity.

If people take in more calories than are used by these functions, there is a definite caloric excess. By the laws of physics, energy is transformed rather than destroyed. In this case, each excess of 3,500 calories is changed into a pound of fat. If people want to reverse this process, they have to burn up 3,500 calories to lose a single pound.

Winning the War Against Fat

When you think of fighting fat with exercise, you probably think of hours of hard, sweaty exertion. If this is the case, then, you will not get very far. This is because people who are into losing more weight by exerting more effort tend to get bored quickly.

Why? Because experts contend that when people exert more effort than what they are capable of doing, it creates boredom. They give up, stop doing their routine exercises, and end up ruining their efforts. It also creates a physical "boredom" because your body gets used to your exercise routines, and doesn't need to work as hard, thereby lessening the effectiveness of your workouts.

Now, you might ask, "What could be done instead?" The answer: cross training.

After some intensive studies, health experts were able to come up with the concept of incorporating cross training in order to overcome or break the monotony or dullness in an exercise program.

Cross training refers to the integration of diverse movements or activities into a person's conventional exercise routine. The main purpose of incorporating cross training into an exercise program is to avoid overdoing excess muscle damage and to put a stop to imminent boredom.

Three of the most commonly used activities whenever a person decides to engage into cross training are swimming, running, and cycling.

These are the exercises that are common to Ironman competitions. But feel free to take up boxing, gymnastics, dancing or anything that gets your heart rate up for a sustained period of time.

In cross training, distance is one way to extend your activity as your condition improves. For this reason, you need to travel a measured distance.

If possible, swim the course and measure the distance. If you will be using a running track, such courses usually are a quarter-mile per lap for a complete circuit.

Cross training offers a variety of benefits for fitness and fat loss. It builds up the strength and endurance of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels. It has also some tranquilizing effect on the nerves, and it burns up calories as much as it makes your "losing weight" more bearable.

Cross training has three basic components:

1. Endurance exercises to condition the heart, lungs, and blood vessels and to induce relaxation. These begin with a carefully planned walking and jogging regimen, depending on your fitness level.

2. Exercises to strengthen the muscles, particularly those important to good posture. These include activities that are selected to encourage those of us who are already burnt out with a particular routine.

3. Exercises to improve joint mobility and prevent or relieve aches and pains. These consist of a series of static stretching positions that are safe and effective for most people.

Cross training is a great way to modify the concept of exercising and losing fat without having to endure monotonous activities. Boiled down, cross training is certainly one way of having fun while getting healthier.

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