Cross training, strength training

Maria’s latest post, “Obstacles…(part 2)“, gives me the opportunity to write about cross training and strength training. 

For me, running is just a part, albeit a big part, of getting and staying fit. As much as I enjoy it, I feel I need a bit more. And I’m certainly not a qualified coach or anything like that but my own experience is that without some other form of exercise, I don’t improve at running and I get little injuries such as pains in the knees. 

Maria was able to sort out her aching knee by doing some leg presses in the gym. Those exercises do strengthen the legs and having strong legs helps prevent knee injuries. If you don’t have access to a gym and the requisite machines, you can achieve pretty much the same result by doing squats.

Here are a couple of videos showing how to do squats properly. There’s this one  and also this one. Both are quite clear and worth watching.

If you want some suggestions for a more complete physical fitness programme, have a look at Bodyrock.tv which has a lot of videos of different exercises, all charmingly explained.