Cross Train Your Way to a Slimmer You!

Author: Carolyn Small


Hello Everyone.

I mentioned this in a previous article but I believe it bears repeating: The numbers on your scale do not indicate whether you are fit or fat. They only tell you how much you weigh. Far more significant than your total body weight is the composition of your body tissue. (Click here for healthy body fat percents.)


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

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Being fit decreases your chance of contracting diseases
while carrying excess body fat increases those chances!
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Many of you who are serious about your health work really, really hard to get those numbers down to what you believe are acceptable figures. But, you’re still fat…still in danger of having all sorts or medical issues. Don’t get me wrong, losing weight is good, but you must take your fitness program to the next level.

Winning the Battle 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 may not get any farther than just “thinking” about losing fat.

Why?

Experts contend that when people exert more effort than what they “think” they’re capable of doing, there’s a tendency to lose interest, become weary and dissatisfied. Hence, they give up, stop doing their routine exercises, and end up sulking in the corner with a bag of chips for comfort.

It’s at this point that a strong support group is worth its weight in gold. They will remind you of your goals and your purpose for starting the exercise program. They will help motivate you and get you moving again.

But what if your motivation level starts to decline because you’re bored with your workout program?

How do you combat boredom? Cross Training!

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

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 muscle damage, eliminate boredom and get improved results.

Cross training – 3 basic components:

• Endurance exercises to condition the heart, lungs and blood vessels.
• Exercises to strengthen the muscles. Because you’re doing a variety of exercises, cross training conditions the entire body, not just specific muscle groups. AND, since you’re not doing the same set of exercises every day, you’re not over stressing any particular muscle group.
• Exercises to improve flexibility, speed, agility and balance.

Cross training is indeed a great way to modify the concept of exercising and losing fat without having to endure monotonous activities.

You can develop your own cross training program, have someone else, such as a personal trainer or, a fitness expert at your local gym do it for you, or you can purchase one of the many fitness programs on the market today.

Two of the leading programs on the market are Shaun T’s Insanity and P90X. For more info on each program please check out Max Workout for the Ultimate Weight Loss – Fat Burn and How Does P90X Work? (Note: both of these programs are high-impact.)
 
In short, getting fit and losing fat does not have to be boring. It can be fun if you choose the right program to follow. Remember: everyone is not the same. You must choose the program that is right for you. If you don’t, you won’t stick with it. You will continue doing the same things that you have always done, getting the same results that you always have.

Best Wishes for much Success!

Carolyn

I keep trying to lose weight… but it keeps finding me!  ~Author Unknown