Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the podcast.

Today we are talking the benefits of cross-training for strength and endurance athletes.

And what sparked the thought for this episode is that I am currently sidelined from running.

This is the first time maybe ever that I've ever been sidelined from running.

I can't run right now because of an injury. So I've incorporated

some cross-training into my routine and my programming. And I've really been enjoying it.

And I've been spending more time on the bike. I've been spending more time in the gym

strength training. And during these sessions, I've been thinking about just the benefits of

cross training. And I want to kind of talk about the injury that I'm experiencing right now,

and then we'll get into kind of how I've adjusted my training, the benefits of cross training,

an in-season versus off-season approach to training goals and recovery.

But what I'm dealing with right now is an injury in my left foot.

And if you are a runner, if you've been a runner for any amount of time, you've probably

experienced some sort of running injury.

Because running is such a high repetitive mode of exercise in movement.

It is the same repetitive movement over and over and over. Your foot is

striking. The impact on your ankles up into your knees, up into your hips can create adaptation.

Yes, it can create and stimulate endurance and strength, but it can also facilitate injury.

And a lot of runners get overuse injuries,

whether that's shin splints or runner's knee or tendonitis

or tight hips and hip flexors, all the things.

When I first started running, I experienced all of the overuse injuries.

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