5 BENEFITS OF CROSS TRAINING

It’s easy to slip into the same old routines day in, day out - especially during these challenging times. But when it comes to exercising, variety is essential. Not only does it keep things fresh, but it also keeps you motivated and can improve your fitness.

We’ve developed a unique programme of varied and complimentary Cycle, HIIT and Yoga classes to give you the ultimate cross-training experience.

The term ‘cross-training’ describes the use of a range of different exercise methods rather than just one. It’s the idea that a combination of workouts gives you a more rounded level of fitness. Constantly changing the type of exercises that you do means that you are working every single part of your body and can help you reach your fitness goals quickly.

Here we look at five benefits of cross-training and how they specifically link to our classes:

1. Physical fitness
Fitness and strength comes in many different forms. Mixing and matching the types of exercise you do will help improve power and efficiency.
Yoga builds isometric strength and stabilization through the core.
HIIT takes your heart rate to the highest level, working your anaerobic energy system and boosting metabolism even hours after training.
Cycle gives you an amazing cardiovascular workout with a focus on the lower body increasing endurance.

2. Mental strength
A healthy mind leads to a healthy body. Endorphins are released during and after exercise, and different workouts can build your confidence in different ways.
Yoga helps to ease worry and anxiety, allowing you to reach a state of mental relaxation and find clarity and self-acceptance. It increases self-awareness and encourages you to develop a strong mind/ body connection.
HIIT keeps you focused, and that doesn’t stop when you leave the class. That mental sharpness will stay with you and help you push boundaries and realise your inner strength and mental toughness.
Cycle is all about team spirit. Being in it together boosts confidence and the music, movement and lighting increases serotonin (the happy hormone) leaving you feeling uplifted and positive.

3. Posture & coordination
It’s all about balance. Overworking certain muscle groups can lead to an overreliance on particular areas of the body. Blending your training means you can achieve equal proportions and avoid a build up of tension.
Yoga elongates the muscles, restoring balance after strong explosive movements.
HIIT builds strength, power and speed that includes working the posterior chain, which translates into a better muscular balance and overall endurance level. We also incorporate primal movements to improve ROM and overall function.
Cycle focuses on the music leading to and improving awareness of the body that allows you to focus on balancing the workload throughout the entire pedal stroke.

4. Flexibility
Over-exercising in specific areas can lead to tightness of muscles and ultimately cause injuries. By stretching and extending muscle usage through a variety of training, you can build up your overall flexibility.
Yoga helps loosen the hip flexors and all leg muscles to restore balance.
HIIT works your body’s fast twitch muscles to balance out the slow twitch movements in slower exercises.
Cycle uses a series of movements requiring hand-eye coordination and timing patterns.

5. Recovery
Cross-training allows you perform active-recovery alongside periods of outright rest which can improve fitness and help avoid injury.
Yoga, with its gentle movements, helps to increase the blood flow to worked muscles, allowing any tension or soreness to be removed more effectively therefore speeding up recovery.
HIIT stimulates the EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) effect leading to an improved metabolic effect on the body, essentially meaning the ‘after-burn effect’.
Cycle helps to balance all of the stretching elements of hips and hamstrings making sure you don’t develop general muscular weakness or specific miss-firing of the hip flexors.

Recognised worldwide as one of the smartest and most effective ways to exercise, cross-training is suitable for everyone. Giving you authentic training, motivation and variety you need to reach your potential is our main aim at Digme, so book yourself a class (or three) today!

DAN LITTLE

FITNESS DIRECTOR