Switch to cross-training like Britney Spears; here’s how it helps

See more

The 38-year-old singer, most popular for her hit number Baby One More Time, can be seen doing a combination of yoga and weight training in the Instagram post.

She captioned the post, “My normal yoga and weights routine always gets me going.”

See more

If you are wondering how cross-training is effective, here’s what you need to know:

Cross-training is known to improve functional fitness by working out more muscle groups and avoiding the overuse of certain muscle groups which, in turn, helps avoid injury.

In most cases, many yoga poses like arm balances tend to use the pushing muscles including pectorals and anterior deltoids and triceps rather than the pulling muscles such as posterior deltoids, middle trapezius, lats, and biceps. Since most yoga poses don’t entail pulling muscles, like in resistance training or swimming, cross-training helps to improve posture and coordination and thereby, mental strength.

When specifically speaking, in combination with weight training, yoga helps improve endurance, posture and flexibility. While enabling optimum physical performance, yoga helps improve meditative capability.

Weight training and yoga also help develop strength. Muscle loss becomes a worrying factor as one tends to age. But lifting weights at least twice a week can help build muscle and bone density which bring about balance. Though yoga is also known to bring similar benefits, think about combined benefits in the same amount of time. The integrated flexibility owing to cross-training helps tap into areas of the body that tend to be missed out on in just one type of training routine. This also adds variety and helps break the monotony.