ElliptiGO!
Last fall, Team USA Minnesota
acquired an Ellitigo, an elliptical machine on wheels. However, by the time it found a home in my
garage last fall, it was too cold and icy to bring it out. Now that spring has finally hit Minnesota, I
broke out the Ellitigo to do some cross-training around the lakes this past
Sunday.
The
Elliptigo is awesome, because I can be outside while cross-training. “Um,
what about biking?” you may ask.
Biking is fine, but I always prefer using an elliptical machine over a
bike when I cross-train, because it more closely mimics a running stride. With an elliptical, I can maintain running
fitness and form without the pounding.
And now, with the elliptigo, I can take my favorite cross-training
activity outside. My teammates and I get
a lot of stares and questions, because the Elliptigos are a fairly new site
around here, but it is worth the attention.
If
you’re like, “What’s this cross-training
business?” let me back up a step. I
define cross-training as an activity that improves physical fitness, but
without the pounding on the body. My
body can take a lot of pounding. Over
the years I’ve worked my way up to being able to run 75 miles a week. However, each time I take a step, my legs
absorb a whole lotta weight. One way I
try and prevent injury is to supplement my running with going on the elliptical,
biking, cross-country skiing, rowing, and swimming at least once a week. If I am feeling tight, tired, sore, or am in
pain, I’ll start to replce some of my running miles with cross-training time. For example, my hamstring has been bothering
me a lot recently, so this week I probably ran 40 miles and cross-trained for
40 miles. I learned the value of
cross-training early from Ben Zhao, my high school coach, and it has greatly
helped me avoid and recover from injuries.
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