All of us at one time or another have picked up an injury, been put off by the bad weather or even just become stale through overtraining. I know the feeling, the thought of losing all that fitness, all the hard work that has been done over the previous months -- lost. Nightmares over starting out again to try and regain that fitness!

Well think again! There are other ways of keeping your fitness at a reasonable level so that when you have recovered or the weather is kinder you will be able to pick things up where you left off. You might also enjoy participating in other forms of exercise and the following ones will almost certainly benefit your running; you will become more flexible, stronger and healthier! Cross training can provide a means of active recovery.

Here are some of the other forms of exercise that will complement your running programme which will be profiled here over the coming months:

• Pilates.
• Tai Chi.
• Yoga.
• Swimming.
• Skipping