Cross Training 101

I have been posting infrequently at best as of late. I can only say that my schedule has been a bit on the demanding side these days. This last week I was able to log 12.85 miles and did some cross training as well. I usually do martial arts to fill in the gaps but today I did some circuit training. I am usually worried about my lower back as most men my age start to have some issues there. I have thus far been blessed in that department. I think a lot of that has to do with my fear of developing problems so I do exercised my lower back on a fairly regular basis.

After my 3.5 mile run this morning I did some really basic exercises to blast my core a bit. Everything was done for one minute before moving on to the next exercise with no break in between.

1. Planks
2. Medicine ball swings. (legs more than shoulder width apart and swing a medicine ball from between your legs to over your head)
3. Stepping (up and down a single stair)
4. Crunches
5. Lunges
6. Jumping jacks
7. Standing back extensions (bend at waist and then come up and back further than a standing position)

I then took a two minute break and did it again twice more. I was a very tired at the end. Sometimes one does not appreciate the length of time that a minute encompasses. A minute is very short unless you are doing something unpleasant. This was hard, harder than I thought it should be. I can run well but I think my other muscles were suffering a bit from lack of use. I will have to do more of this type of exercise in the future.