I Love to Surf. I am not
very good at it but, I get a great workout trying, and it gets my mind off of being so focused and serious. Everyone should
have a fun cross training workout at least once a week. Something that is different... I want to encourage you to find
a fun way to incorporate something different into your training. I like to have my clients PLAY when they train. How about
hula hooping? Jumping rope? Do you incorporate cross training? I recommend cross training at least once a week.
Donna
Kay Lau is working on The "Surf Soup" Project
Romp through the off-season with one of these 6 surprising
cross-training sports and by spring you'll be fit, fast and--best of all--fresh.
The off-season is so named for a
reason: It's time for you to at least occasionally get off the bike. Cyclists who pedal year-round might love their sport,
but they're not showing the same affection for their bodies-or their two-wheeled aspirations. "It's physically and psychologically
impossible to train on the bike at a high level year-round," says Neal Henderson, M.S., C.S.C.S., coordinator of sport science
at Boulder Community Hospital in Colorado, who calls cross-training for cyclists a "crucial necessity. Without it, there's
a huge potential for burnout, as well as for injury."
Getting out of the saddle doesn't necessarily consign you to
soul-draining intervals on a treadmill, or to classic off-season sports such as cross-country skiing or speed skating, which
almost directly mimic the muscular and aerobic demands of cycling. In fact, some pro riders believe the best cross-training
sports are the ones that get you the furthest away from your cycling regimen while still delivering great fitness benefits.
"I don't stick to any routine in the off-season," says Dave Watson, a member of Kona's Clump freeride team. "I like to surf,
ride longboard skateboards and play floor hockey, basketball, racquetball and ice hockey." The bonus, he says, is that by
spring, "I'm always hungry to get back on the bike."
