Why Crosstrain?

Crosstraining (participating in any fitness activity other than your primary sport) is more important and beneficial than many walkers realize. Cross training is used to improve your fitness level and stay active without over using walking muscles.

Using a different activity can help strengthen muscles not used by walking. The result is better walking workouts and less injuries. A great way to cross train is bicycling for several reasons:

1) It's fun
2) Can be done outdoors or indoors
3) Benefits cardio system
4) Strengthens quadriceps
5) Cycling at high rates trains legs to move faster, improving walking turnover rate.

If your primary fitness activity is walking try to supplement it with biking (or other aerobic activity), strength training, Pilates and Yoga. There are a variety of activities you may wish to choose from. Utilize this variety to keep your muscles moving and ward off exercise boredom.

Some popular crosstraining activities:

• Cycling (outdoor or stationary)
• Swimming
• Hiking
• Rock climbing
• Inline skating
• Elliptical trainer
• Stair machine
• Nordic Trak (ski machine)
• Step videos or other aerobic videos
• Snow shoeing
• Cross country skiing
• Sports such as football, soccer, boxing, etc.