MUSCLE MACHINE

When it comes to building all-round fitness, it's a matter of balance

When I was competing in ironman events I was occasionally asked to take part in other competitions to find the fittest athlete.

I never got beaten. This wasn't because I was a better athlete than the rugby players, swimmers or distance runners I was up against, but because I had better total-body fitness.

How do you train to stay in shape? Do you walk or run several times each week, or ride a bike? If so, that's your lower half taken care of, but what are you doing for your upper body?

Smart people cross-train. As the name suggests, cross-training is a way to condition different parts of the body to prevent muscle soreness, overuse injuries and boredom from constantly doing the one activity.

Many of us like to think we're in better-than-average shape. We hit the pavement three or four times a week and endlessly train a certain muscle group. This monotonous focus on one activity will take us to a certain level of fitness, but after that there's no improvement. What's the use of having legs of steel and arms like jelly? There's no balance in that.

For years I've helped train six-time world surfing champion Layne Beachley. I don't teach her how to surf, but I do challenge every muscle group in her body so she's as ready as she can be for the challenges that the ocean throws her.

I've known Layne since she was 12 years old. I sponsored her and gave her a job in my surf shop. Even back then she had a steely look of determination that suggested she was set on being as good as she could be.

Our training has involved swimming, boxing, soft-sand running to strengthen her legs, stationary bike exercises and stretching. We also did underwater challenges to expand Layne's lungs when she was big-wave riding. She needed the confidence to hold her breath under walls of water that were three storeys high. At first she couldn't do one lap of a 25m pool while holding her breath. Within a month she was doing

10 laps, with 30 seconds of rest at the end of each. It gave her a lot of confidence when the women's surfing tour shifted to Hawaii. These sort of activities give Layne a percentage improvement over what she might have had through surfing alone.

But you don't have to be a professional athlete like Layne to experience the benefits of cross-training. Try peppering your fitness routine with activities that test different parts of your body and you'll feel the difference.

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