You may be in great shape, for the sort of exercise you do routinely. But if that's all you do, day after day, you may be setting yourself up for injury or mental burnout and that is not a good way to get fit. What can help prevent injury and burnout? Cross training. Cross training is a great way to condition different muscle groups, develop a new set of skills, and reduce boredom that creeps in after months of the same exercise routines.

Cross training also allows you the ability to vary the stress placed on specific muscles or even your cardiovascular system. After months of the same movements your body becomes extremely efficient performing those movements, and while that is great for competition, it limits the amount of overall fitness you possess and reduces the actual conditioning you get while training; rather than continuing to improve, you simply maintain a certain level of fitness. Cross training is also necessary to reduce the risk of injury from repetitive strain or overuse. Choose workouts that are closest to running in terms of muscles used and aerobic systems taxed.

Good options include elliptical trainers, cross-country ski machines, stationary bikes, and water running. When cross-training, keep your heart rate at or above 70 percent of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age) most of the time. In other words, you should be working hard and sweating a lot. Check your morning heart rate regularly. An elevated morning heart rate is a sign of overtraining, which can occur if you add too much cross-training too soon. Combine cross-training with running to maximize running fitness with lower actual mileage. You can substitute 25 to 30 percent of your weekly "mileage" with cross-training. Slowly most people in the developed world are realising the massive health benefits of regular exercise.

Most people now understand that they need to exercise regularly to maintain their best health. Most peoples two greatest excuses for not hitting up the gym are time and convenience. With our ever-increasing time consuming lifestyles (and increasing gym fees) this is making home gym equipment more popular. There is now a huge market with many types of home fitness equipment. For the new purchaser all these choices can become quite daunting to decide what model/price/type to spend your hard earnt dollars on. Elliptical machines are becoming increasingly popular as the price decreases and more people become aware of the many benefits these unique machines provide.