5 Cardio Mistakes You Might Be Making

Cardiovascular training is important for everyone, regardless of if you're training for a specific athletic goal or trying to lose weight.  It is recommended that all adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate activity (re: you feel like you're actually working a muscle or two) per week. While cardiovascular training is relatively simple to undertake, there are a handful of mistakes that can lead to injury and/or prevent you from reaching your fitness goals. Your exercise regime may need some tweaking if you are guilty of the following the fitness faux pas.

1) You rely on the statistics (calories burned, heart rate) provided by the cardio equipment you're using.  Each piece of cardio equipment (stationary bike, treadmill, elliptical machine, etc) is programmed with a specific equation to calculate the average person's calorie burn and heart rate. Calorie burn is a very precise measurement related to your weight, fitness level, metabolic rate, and heart rate. Some machines ask you to input your weight, which may make your calorie burn readout somewhat realistic, but you shouldn't rely on it. In other words, if the treadmill says you burned 400 calories, don't think you get a free pass to have 400 calories worth of dessert tonight. As far as heart rate goes, you're at the mercy of electronics which can often be faulty or provide inaccurate readings due to sweat or moisture on the hand sensors. For example, the treadmill I recently used at the gym indicated my heart rate was 130 bpm... after I spent 10 minutes jogging at 6 mph!  I assure you, I am not in that good of shape. If you're interested in those stats, your best bet is to get your own heart rate monitor and use its readings (which usually also include calories burned as well). 

2) You bike, run, walk at the same pace throughout your entire cardio session.  While it is ok to have a steady state (i.e. same pace throughout) workout session every so often, you're not providing enough of a challenge to your heart and lungs to improve your aerobic capacity. Incoporating intervals into your cardio session will challenge your heart and muscles and also make it more enjoyable. Speed and incline can both be used as interval variables to manipulate. An easy way to train with intervals is to listen to music while you work out, and walk during one song, jog during the next.  If you exercise outside, bike/walk around a block and then pick up your speed for the next block. Aim to have at least one of your cardio sessions include interval training each week.

3) You do the same cardio workout all the time. Your body is smart and over time it adapts to the workouts you give it. So when you climb on the elliptical trainer and do the same workout you've been doing for 6 months, your body kind of laughs at you and thinks  "been here, done this... no challenge here." Cross training is an effective way to keep things exciting and keep your body guessing, thereby ensuring that you'll make progress toward your fitness goals. Incorporating different modalities is a key to maintaining your enjoyment in fitness and will also prevent overuse injury. There are numerous cardio options... it could even be as simple as moving from a stationary bike to cycling outdoors on a real bike.  Other options:  the rowing machine, treadmill, walking/jogging outside, elliptical trainer, a group fitness class like Zumba/spinning/kickboxing/aerobics, swimming, playing basketball, racquetball, volleyball, etc. Think big and try to do a different cardio routine at least once a week.

4) You skip your warm up or cool down. Unlike a ferrari, your heart wasn't designed to go from 0 to 60mph in 5 seconds. Gradually warming up lets your muscles and cardiovascular system systematically prepare for the impending workout. Similarly, going from 60mph to 0 could result in you passing out, which not only would be a medical issue but also a horribly embarrassing situation. Aim to warm up and cool down for at least 5 minutes before and after the main part of your cardio workout. It'll improve your performance and your muscles will thank you.

5) You hold on for dear life to the handrails. I see it all the time at the gym: a person clings to the top of the treadmill or the siderails while they walk/jog at a steep incline or a fast speed. Here's a hint:  if you have to hold on, you're going too fast or too steep! You should use cardio equipment at a pace/incline where you can comfortably balance and support your own weight. If you feel you have to hold on, you need to slow it down a bit and gradually work up to that faster pace/steeper incline. When you hold on so tightly that your knuckles are white and your body jerks unnaturally as you walk/jog, you not only risk injury, you're also not working your body to it's full potential, and you also kind of look ridiculous.