4 Cardio errors

Maybe you like the Cardio training not. That's no reason to treat it as a minor issue. Make a plan that works for you and start your fight against the excess pounds.

When it comes to strength training, you pay attention to every detail. You spend hours and hours planning your training program. Researching the latest information and programs is part of your daily routine. In the gym, you know how to train every single muscle fiber. That's commendable, but what about cardio training? Is it a nuisance to you? Then consider it a necessary evil that you have to work with the endurance machines at the end of your workout. Which variations you choose may not matter to you. What matters is what's on TV while you're working out on the stepper, cross trainer and the like. Is that right? If so, this way of thinking will unfortunately lead you astray. Your cardio workout can't be effective this way. You also risk overuse injuries and muscle loss. On the other hand, a positive attitude towards the quality and quantity of endurance training can make all the difference to your energy level and ultimately your appearance.
Below you can read about the four most common cardio workout mistakes. This way you can be sure not to fall into the same traps.

1. mistake: lack of diversity

When it comes to endurance training, everyone has favorite workouts and equipment that they don't like. This is sometimes even more evident than when it comes to strength training. Maybe you like to run and run for your life on the treadmill, or maybe you don't like running at all and prefer the cross trainer or the stepper. It doesn't matter which form of cardio workout you prefer, you'll probably go back to it every day. If you want to win the next world championship in stair climbing, this is certainly the way to go. However, if you want to shape a well-toned body and get rid of excess fat, you will most likely benefit from a continuous change of cardio sessions. If you always do the same thing, your body will eventually get used to it. As a result, it will require less energy and the number of calories burned will decrease accordingly from day to day. If you change the cardio equipment regularly, your body will remain in uncertainty and will not be able to get used to it. It's the same with strength training. You don't want to do the same workout for months or years.

2nd mistake: Do interval training sober

The alarm clock rings and you head out without breakfast to do interval training. Shift down a gear first. You've probably read or heard somewhere that cardio training in the morning is excellent for fat loss. Since interval training (especially HIIT) is the most effective form of endurance training, you conclude that you can benefit from it twice. However, this is not how it works. In exceptional cases it can work, but for the majority of people the body needs glucose as fuel for such a high-intensity workout as HIIT is. For normal training, it's still enough to compete without a meal. If you perform interval sprints on an empty stomach, it can end in disaster. A dizzy spell, malaise or even a circulatory collapse can occur. In panic, you then try to fill your empty glucose stores with uncontrolled binge eating. In doing so, you have quickly eaten too much and perhaps chosen the wrong carbohydrates. In addition to these problems, of course, your performance will suffer and there is a risk of muscle loss. Some low carb proponents argue that athletes are in a state of ketosis, causing the body to adapt to low or no carbohydrate intake. A high-intensity workout is then entirely possible. It can be, but this is only true for a few people. Most people should only do cardio workouts at a moderate intensity while sober.

3rd mistake: Do only cardio workout

It cannot be repeated often enough: Cardio exercise alone is not enough. Many people think cardio is so strenuous and therefore it is all they need for fat loss. Following this logic, they complete more and more cardio sessions to avoid thinking about food. This is a great way to push your body into overtraining and being permanently exhausted. Remember, your body can only sustain a certain intensity and length of a workout - of any kind. After that, it needs a break to recover. Otherwise, you run the risk of injury due to overuse. In addition, you can suffer from burnout, sleep disorders and weaken your immune system. To top it all off, you'll also lose a fair amount of muscle mass.

Little Tip: If you have the urge to burn your consumed calories through a daily cardio workout of one or more hours a day, you should pay attention to your diet. You can run, tap, and row all day. This will do you very little good if you make the wrong choices when it comes to nutrition.

4. cardio training with light weights

Most often, you'll see women (and sometimes men) in the studios looking to support their cardio workouts with small dumbbells or weight cuffs. Then, while running - or on other equipment - they do biceps curls and other workout exercises. This is not a good idea. These movements have very little effect on the muscles, and the measly number of calories they burn more can be neglected. Such workouts are probably not harmful, but they do slow you down. They come at the expense of intensity, which you're better off using in effective cardio workouts as well as strength training. There is one exception. If you like, you can put on weight vests while running or on other cardio equipment. They have the advantages of distributing the weight evenly over the body and not requiring any additional movements. Properly used, working out with such a vest can increase endurance capacity and calorie consumption. However, you need to be in pretty good shape to use them properly. Don't overdo it.