Vary sports: what effects on my body?
More and more runners are combining yoga with their running practice. Like other sports associations, the "yoga-running" combo makes it possible to avoid falling into a "sports routine", but also to multiply the benefits for the body. Discover the good reasons to embrace the "mix and match" trend.
Summary
- Combine activities for a better prepared body
- Match activities to improve physical condition
- Mix "pleasures" activities
- Examples of "sports combos"
- Vary the intensities too
Combining physical activities is good, even without being a great athlete. It constitutes a parade to weariness. Like a menu displaying one and the same dish on the menu, the single-activity ends up weakening your motivation. Conversely, changing sports allows you to keep your desire to surpass yourself: "For people who take up sport, having a diversified physical activity is a motivating factor, recognizes Dr Roland Krzentowski, sports doctor, physical medicine and rehabilitation center and president of Mon Stade, a health sports center in Paris. To move, you have to find a little fun and diversity allows you to appreciate and perpetuate physical activity ".
Combine activities for a better prepared body
Anti-monotony trick, these "combos" also bring benefits to your body. Adding other disciplines allows you to prepare your body for its favorite activity by pushing it to develop the necessary physical qualities.
Like professional athletes who undergo physical training, athletes who diversify their training move better and thus secure their sporting practice. "If we start a sport and we do not give ourselves the means to practice it or that we do not have the capacity to do so, then we increase the risk of injury", confirms Dr Roland Krzentowski.
Match activities to improve physical condition
More broadly, a varied sports routine will boost your physical condition and multiply "the benefits of activity" according to the specialist. " The more disciplines we do, the more the body becomes harmonious", confirms Frédéric Paupert, sports coach and co-founder of Work out and detox in Paris. "Diversity makes sense because each activity can complement the other," adds the sports doctor.
For example, cardiorespiratory capacities (better breath, better cardio endurance, etc.), muscular qualities (mass, power or muscle strength) will be developed more quickly, or flexibility or balance will be gained. This better physical condition will also improve your performance.
Mix "pleasures" activities
It remains to choose the right sports associations… Concretely, how do we do it? There is no intangible manual for "pluriactivity" (and that's good!).
First reflex to keep in mind: we move towards sports that make us want, at the risk of giving up quickly. The sports doctor suggests including in the list "activities that teach the fundamentals of" movement ", namely mastery of posture, breathing and balance".
"Yoga and Pilates are two activities which bring together these three performance indicators and which will benefit the athlete", according to Dr Roland Krzentowski. For example, a runner can be tempted by the trend of yoga + running or the association Pilates + running. "These activities will help to have a stable and strong core, to control your posture and to have strong abs and lumbar muscles, which are essential for safe running. Similarly, yoga or Pilates do not have the same. cardio effects than running. Combining them therefore makes sense ", explains Dr Roland Krzentowski.
Examples of "sports combos"
If running or yoga are not your "cup of tea", Frédéric Paupert slips a broader advice to compose his sporting grub: 1 cardio sport + 1 muscle strengthening session +1 gentle gym session. "An ideal routine for aging well and being on top," says the coach, who advises doing at least one session each week. "One cardio session (running, swimming or cycling for example) per week will work the heart, a muscle strengthening session (weight training, gluteal abs classes, etc.) will strengthen the muscles, joints and abdominal strap and a weekly session of gentle gym (yoga, Pilates, stretching, Qi gong, etc.) will develop joint flexibility ".
By following this recommendation, a few activities "match" particularly well and might inspire you. Here are a few examples:
- Bootcamp (or interval training) + yoga
- Running + stretching + bodybuilding
- Boxing + Pilates + walking
- Cycling or swimming + stretching + walking (running or gym)
- Bouldering + postural stretching
Vary the intensities too
Another tip that allows you to break the routine but also to develop your abilities: play on the intensity of the sessions! "Varying the intensities is also interesting in order to progress and have a metabolic effect by improving our capacities", underlines Dr Roland Krzentowski.
Frédéric Paupert details the impact on the body: "We have a better metabolism. At the cardiorespiratory level, we muscle the heart which becomes stronger, we improve its blood flow and we recover better after exercise". Changing the intensity of your training will affect your muscle capacity: "you gain power, the muscles take shape and get stronger".
How to take advantage of this virtuous circle? "This requires work with high intensities", underlines the sports doctor. During a run, for example, it involves varying your pace or alternating between phases of acceleration where you run at a higher pace and recovery phases at a slow pace.
No need to be a seasoned athlete: varying the intensities is a parameter accessible to all, assures the expert: "If you walk for 30 minutes, accelerating the step from time to time is beneficial. It is this intensity associated with the times. recovery that will generate progress ".
In bodybuilding, it is also possible to vary the intensity, by adjusting the repetitions and the loads. We will then do less repetitions with more loads, explains Frédéric Paupert. The sports coach, however, recommends that novices be supervised by a fitness professional or train on a guided machine to avoid any risk of injury.
Last ingredient to incorporate into your "mix and match" of activities: recovery. Granting days of rest between sessions is a necessary step "to allow the body to regenerate", recalls Frédéric Paupert. And the coach especially reminds us of the need to find the activity that we like to ensure a regular and efficient sport practice.
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