Why You Should Cross-Train for Sport and Life

And why yoga is the perfect tool

Whether you are an athlete or active adult, aging takes its toll on the body. Morning stiffness creeps in, making it tougher to get out of bed and get going. Neck and back pain plagues you from sitting at a desk all day (or doom scrolling on your phone).

If you play a sport or are active in a physical activity, often times you are only moving in one plane of motion (like bicycling), or are dominating with one side of your body (like tennis). Over time, this limited range of motion can increase imbalances in your body and lead to overuse or Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI).

The concept of cross-training has been around for a long time. Professional athletes or people serious about their sports turn to cross-training to improve their performance and feel stronger and less sore.

Problems that arise from not Cross-Training

Repetitive Strain Injuries

Repetitive Strain Injuries occur when you only move your body through one plane of motion. Bicyclers, for example, often get tight or painful hip flexors from moving the thigh toward the chest repeatedly through the ride. Lower back pain is also common due to the forward posture of many cyclists, as well as the tight hip flexors.

When you are overworking one muscle or muscle group, and are not doing anything else, that muscle/group can get tight or injured from overuse. This leads to muscular imbalances that can affect how you move through your day. You might find, in this instance, that standing up straight becomes difficult, your lower back hurting from having tight hip flexors.

Another example is golf. Golf is a one-sided sport where you always swing in one direction. No one swings to both sides, you swing the same way over and over, for hours, maybe years. Doing this once is not a problem, nor is it a problem if you play one hole. But most golfers play 9-18 holes, on multiple weekends, over multiple years.

A lifetime of swinging in one direction will leave your body completely out of whack. In my acupuncture practice, I commonly see right handed golfers who are injured in their right shoulder (or elbow) and left hip/lower back, all due to the nature of the swing. Their posture is often uneven, with them leaning toward the tighter side of their lower back.

Imbalances lead to daily pain

Over time, these physical imbalances can lead to pain in daily life. Any activity, sport or otherwise, becomes part of your daily anatomy. If you spend hours leaning over a computer, you will eventually find it harder to stand up straight and your neck and back will hurt. If you stick one hip out while standing, overtime, that side will be more stretched than the other, leading to tightness and pain in the hips and lower back. What you do with your body matters.

We don’t lead symmetrical lives, and we are one-side dominant creatures, so usually by 50 (or before) your body is already a mess. That, plus poor posture is the perfect recipe for pain.

In life we move through multiple planes of motion. How we exercise should support that. Limiting our movements affects how we feel as we age, and how active we can continue to be.

Benefits of Cross-Training with Yoga

While you usually think of cross-training as something you do for sports or physical activities, yoga is a wonderful tool to use to cross-train for life, especially as you age. Aging is not kind to the body, as we lose muscle and bone mass every year. Yoga support bone and muscle strength/mass, plus has numerous benefits for both your mental and physical health.

Yoga is a bilateral practice

One of the biggest benefits of yoga is that it’s bilateral, where everything you do on one side, you do on the other. This creates a more balanced body so that you have fewer one-sided pain symptoms and injuries. Yoga also supports the non-dominant side for one-sided sports like golf, tennis, or softball.

Building functional strength

Yoga builds functional strength and moves the body through all planes of motion. It will increase your strength in the muscles you need for your sport or activity, while also strengthening the muscles that are ignored. I often hear beginner yogis exclaim “I used muscles I didn’t know I had!”

Because there are no machines in a yoga practice, you rely on your own body weight and gravity to build strength. The poses create strength that you can immediately use in your daily life.

• Getting up from a chair: Utkatasana/Awkward pose
• Getting up from the floor: Anjaneyasana/Low Lunge
• Picking up a laundry basket: Chaturanga Dandasana/Four Pointed Staff pose—yes, it’s good for something!
• Getting out of a car: Utkata Konasana/Goddess pose

These poses build functional strength that you can use in your daily life, and continue to use as you age. They also enhance your strength for any sport or activity: walking, running, hiking, biking, tennis, golf, swimming, etc.

Building core strength

Yoga cultivates a strong core and awareness of how to use the core muscles in daily life. This benefits athletes and non-athletes alike. Actively engaging these core muscles regularly, it’s easier to access them when you need them day to day.

When picking up a small child, you may naturally engage your glutes, pelvic floor and lower abdominal muscles. If you are running upstairs, you might rely on your glutes rather than your calves to power you up. When playing tennis, golf, or other rotational sports, you might be aware of your obliques kicking in to help you swing.

A strong core keeps your lower back from hurting, it keeps you from “leaking,” and it allows you to do all of your daily movements with more stability. Lifting a laundry basket or a child, pushing a full grocery cart, and loading and unloading the dishwasher all become easier with a strong core.

Poses such as Phalakasana/Plank pose, Setu Bandhasana/Bridge pose, and Marjariasana/Cat and Bitilasana/Cow poses strengthen the core to keep your body strong and stable through your day.

Improved balance

While you are not actually standing on one leg while you play sports, all sports require some shift of weight. This requires balance, something you lose as you age, unless you practice.

Yoga involves many one-legged balancing poses, such as Vrksasana/Tree pose and Dekasana/Airplane pose, which challenge your balance in different positions. Each balance pose creates a new challenge that improves proprioception, as well as core and body strength.

You may not think of needing balance for golf, tennis, or hiking, but you do. The more you train your balance when things are easy (on a yoga mat) the more access you’ll have to it when things are hard (on the side of a mountain).

Improved functional mobility

Yoga improves functional mobility, stretching muscles mindfully and intentionally. You never force a stretch, you relax into it using your breath. That way your body acclimates safely to what you do with it.

I like to think of the body like a rebellious teenager. If you try to force it to do something, it will fight back. If you give it some space and breath, it often does what you want it to do, but on it’s own schedule. Just because you want to touch your toes, doesn’t mean your body is ready for that. Over time, however, it will be possible.

Mental benefits

Yoga helps you feel calm, both mentally and physically. When you practice yoga, you are better able to cope with life challenges as they arise. Yoga teaches you to notice, breathe, and respond, rather than react. You learn how to be calm under stressful situations. When you are training for a race, that can be both mentally and physically stressful. Your yoga practice will help you stay relaxed and focused to get the job done. What you learn on the mat, you take with you off the mat.

It also helps you be more present so you can be with what is happening in your body and mind. Being present cultivates awareness of the moment you are in. Your mind isn’t flashing to the past or future, you pay attention to what you are doing right now. I find that students who lack body awareness initially gain control over their body through practice.

When you feel in control over your body (it’s pretty much the only thing we have control over) anxiety lessens. Yoga teaches you to control your breath and your movements, leaving you feeling peaceful, grounded, and centered. You improve your concentration, observation, and self-reflection skills. These skills are useful no matter what you do in your day.

Join me on the mat!

Purple Room Yoga is an online yoga studio for active adults over 50. I offer classes for all levels of experience to build strength, improve balance, increase mobility, and cultivate concentration, focus, and calm. I offer classes both live online and on demand to fit your schedule. Check out the 10 day Free Trial! Click the button to see the full schedule.

Calling all Massachusetts golfers! I will be in person at the Marlborough Country Club in Marlborough, MA teaching Yoga for Golf starting February 23! This 4 week yoga series is specifically tailored to the needs of golfers. Build core and whole body strength, increase range of motion in your back, hamstrings, hips, and shoulders, and improve your concentration. You will feel stronger, more at ease with your swing, and ready for the season to begin! This is the perfect off-season activity to get you game ready for Spring! Click the button below for more information or to sign up!