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HEALTH/SCIENCE
MOST OF US are not and will never be Olympic athletes. We are not obliged to train day after day to improve our performance in a particular activity. Yet many amateur players and ordinary fitness buffs act as if their chosen activity were the only one they could or would want to do. They are the Johnny One Notes of exercise.
Among my friends, for example, there is Arthur, who runs seven miles a day, seven days a week; Kuchela, who plays singles tennis - and only tennis - four or five times a week, and Jane, who swims - and only swims - half a mile or more every day.
To be sure, they are doing far more than most other Americans to stay in shape as the years tick on. But there is growing evidence that they would be much better off with a more varied activity program.
I learned the hard way that combining two or more complementary forms of exercise is the safest way to be physically active and the only way to achieve balanced fitness. This approach to exercise, called cross-training, is fast catching on with active Americans, including many elite athletes who were once single-sport devotees.
My foray into multiple activities is like an advertisement for cross-training. It began with a passion for singles tennis that I pursued for an hour or more a day, seven days a week. Initially, it was my only activity, other than walking and biking to the courts. Then, in my mid-30s, I found myself getting winded on the tennis court.
Thinking I needed to increase my aerobic capacity, I started jogging three or more times a week, while continuing to play daily tennis. Suddenly, my back went out, and I had to...