5 Small, But Crucial Cardio Mistakes

[standAPART]

1.)Not Drinking Water During the Workout
My girlfriend is guilty of this. I notice that when we do our cardio training together, she never sips her water. The bottle just lays in its little cubby-hole on the cardio console and she gulps it down at the end. Did you hear what I said? I said she GULPS it down at the end of the cardio session. Hydration is so important, especially during strenuous physical activity, that even a 2% loss in hydration will affect performance. Dehydration, combined with strenuous exercise, creates an environment of not only physical, but mental stress. How does mental stress affect your performance? If you “feel” that you are over-exerting yourself, chances are you will not increase the level on your treadmill, crosstrainer, bike, or stepper. Chances are as performance decreases, so will your drive to increase the power outage that you may be capable of doing. Hence, steady state cardio work prevails...
The lesson here? Take sips throughout your cardio session every other minute. There are various physical signs that you are beginning to experience dehydration during exercise: 1.) you cannot keep posture and composure during cardio exercise, 2.) your cheeks and face become rosey red and flushed, 3.) you do not sweat normally.

2.)Doing the Same Cardio Machine Day After Day
I know why we all do this. We get good at what we started out doing! Just think 6 weeks ago, you thought level 5 on the elliptical trainer was impossible. Now you are continuously jumping up to level 7 with no difficulty whatsoever. That is a great accomplishment for the standard sedentary individual who has finally adapted daily exercise into their lives and has made some improvements in body composition and overall health. BUT...for the typical hardgainer, this is a carnival merry-go-round. Typically, we need to feel successful to justify the work we put into improving our bodies, increasing strength, or losing fat. I have always said that “success breeds success”. So psychologically, when we “get good” on a particular type of cardiovascular activity (i.e. running, elliptical, rowing, stepper, etc), we tend to believe that we have reached a pinnacle in our training. That’s not a bad thing. But again, for the hardgainer, this can be a vicious cycle of nothingness. This cycle is a result of the body’s specific adaptation to imposed demands (SAID) principle. The hardest exercise becomes easier the better we get at it. Therefore, the better we are at it, the more efficient we become at that particular activity. The more efficient we become at the activity, the less calories we burn. (Read that again if you do not understand) Oh yea...forget the little calorie counter that pops up on the screen. It’s based on total weight and keeps going even when you step on the sides of the treadmill.

3.)Steady State Cardio
We all heard how this one is a waste of time. Let me explain how it is a waste of time in regards to fat loss. The body uses 3 sources of energy to sustain ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) production. ATP is the body’s end-all, be-all source of energy. In order for the body to live, it must continuously produce ATP. Well, it does this in 3 ways. Our immediate source of energy production comes from creatine phosphate (CP), where a creatine molecule is donated to ADP (adenosine di-phosphate) to create ATP. This action is anaerobic and requires only creatine which the body supplies or is obtained from meats. This immediate source of energy lasts only around 5 seconds and is primarily used for power. The second source of energy is glycolosis—the breaking down of sugars to produce ATP. This process is also anaerobic and lasts usually 3 to 5 minutes. Glycolysis refers to the body using glycogen (stored sugar) in blood and muscles to continuously make ATP. This process is the one we usually exercise in. The third and often never tapped into is oxidative phosphorilization. This process is aerobic and calls upon oxygen to aid in mobilizing fat cells to be used as energy. This process allows the body to last longer in endurance type bouts or high intense bouts of exercise. So...how does this correlate with steady state exercise? Easy. When we perform 30 minutes of walking, we never step out of glycolosis as our primary source of ATP production (energy). We are simply burning off the sugars of foods we have eaten in the last 24-48 hours. We never try to sprint on the treadmill, pick the higher level on the ellipticals, or take a spinning class...we basically do what we have been taught or what comes easiest. This has been my argument in regards to watching TV while doing cardio. If your goal is fat loss, you can try the steady state stuff for a while, but when your cardiovascular system improves and your diet is better, then you need to work harder to expedite oxidative phosphorilization. This fat mobilizing process is also known as EPOC (Excessive Post- Exercise Oxygen Consumption). In simple terms it means that the body continues to mobilize fat as fuel for up to 1 hour after an intense bout of cardio (180+ bpm).

4.)Scared to Do Cardio Before Weights
This is an old bodybuilder’s myth that started way back when. Why do we think cardio (the right kind—not steady state) will cause muscle loss? It is okay to perform your cardio BEFORE your strength training—even if your goal is hypertrophy or strength. Why? Because if you follow the proper food intake and understand the amount of calories you need to sustain lean body mass, than intense bouts of cardio (defined as above 180+ bpm, short duration (12-15minutes)) will actually promote muscle gain. The real fear should come from figuring out the total amount of calories you ingested for a 24 hour period. This is what I used to tell my clients...ever see a sprinter? Ever see how muscular they are?
Doing your cardio first and then performing strength training can lead to the EPOC phenomenon that I mentioned above. Of course, this is dependent on your intensity, rep schemes, rest periods, and fitness level.

5.)Old Sneakers
There is no doubt in my mind that 70% of foot and knee problems come from poor or old sneakers. How many times have you seen gym-goers running on the treadmill with old, beat-up sneakers with grass stains, and cracks all over the “p-leather”? I mean, those sneakers are used for Saturday morning lawn mowing and then taken to the gym to perform your 30 minutes cardio routine? C’mon....
In the last 4 years, every client that I met that had old sneakers evidenced by the condition, wear of soles, and or “lack of bounce”, I had them purchase new ones. I would not start their training program until they came to me with new sneakers. Period. An you know what happened? Knee pain disappeared...foot pain disappeared...and clients didn’t cut cardio out of their workouts. They felt better running or doing inclines. You know that pain you feel on the elliptical in your foot? It disappeared with a brand new pair of Addidas. How does sneaker condition affect lower body function? If your soles are worn, or your have pronated or supinated ankles, chances are your foot strike is not optimal on hard surfaces or a treadmill. What this does is create dysfunction at the ankle joint (usually due to dynamic instability) and weak/tight peroneals and tibialis (ankle muscles). This kinetic chain dysfunction travels up to the next joint, which is the knee and then the hip and causes undo stress on the lower back and entire spinal column. This is another reason why people skip out on cardio or like the steady state easy stuff—because their feet can’t handle it! Besides, a new pair of sneakers gives people the sense of starting something new and committing to a fitness program. Hey, it’s worked for me.

[Firehawk]

With regard to number 3, I thought that when you do 30 minutes of walking, that is aerobic, not anaerobic because the heart rate is not high enough to be burning glycogen...so that since people do HIIT, they are doing anaerobic activity?

And i've never heard that doing cardio is ok pre workout. It doesn't make sense anyway because you are using up some of your stored energy in your muscles. Why would you want to do that before a heavy workout? If you want to move the most weight, you have to be as fresh as possible.

I heard, from a very smart nutrition guy (powerlifter and nutrition store owner from my gym) that you can actually use up glyocgen stores in 15 minutes of intense training.

[etothepii]

#4: Seems aerobic before weights allows fat to burn during weight training, which normally wouldn't happen. But the trade off, it would seem to a novice like me, is energy. If you're pretty well spent after your cardio, even 15 minutes, then you're not going to get the most out of your lifting.

#3 helps to expain the effectiveness of HIIT, does it not?

[etothepii]

About #2, I've used the same stair master machine for about a year now, with gret success! But I am hitting the upper limit on it. Time to change.

[maverick]

Originally Posted by Firehawk

With regard to number 3, I thought that when you do 30 minutes of walking, that is aerobic, not anaerobic because the heart rate is not high enough to be burning glycogen...so that since people do HIIT, they are doing anaerobic activity?

And i've never heard that doing cardio is ok pre workout. It doesn't make sense anyway because you are using up some of your stored energy in your muscles. Why would you want to do that before a heavy workout? If you want to move the most weight, you have to be as fresh as possible.

I heard, from a very smart nutrition guy (powerlifter and nutrition store owner from my gym) that you can actually use up glyocgen stores in 15 minutes of intense training.

I agree with FH. Also, out of personal experience, I whole-heartedly disagree with #3. I will not dispute that for overall calorie burning, HIIT is king. But in terms of minmizing muscle loss, maximizing energy in the gym, and having as little impact on weight training recovery as possible, long duration, moderate intenisty cardio is the way to go. I used this in conjunction with a small calorie surplus for a few months over the winter into spring and ended up 2 pounds heavier and leaner.

I think the average person (someone trying to lose weight) will do best with HIIT, but I think someone who is a little more in tune with their body and needs, and is geared towards adding muscle or increasing strength would do better with the moderate cardio.

[standAPART]

I don't know...the three energy systems of the body are science...

They are not my opinions, guys.

[Firehawk]

Originally Posted by maverick

I agree with FH. Also, out of personal experience, I whole-heartedly disagree with #3. I will not dispute that for overall calorie burning, HIIT is king. But in terms of minmizing muscle loss, maximizing energy in the gym, and having as little impact on weight training recovery as possible, long duration, moderate intenisty cardio is the way to go. I used this in conjunction with a small calorie surplus for a few months over the winter into spring and ended up 2 pounds heavier and leaner.

I think the average person (someone trying to lose weight) will do best with HIIT, but I think someone who is a little more in tune with their body and needs, and is geared towards adding muscle or increasing strength would do better with the moderate cardio.

I agree 100% with your take on the cardio and weight training maverick. I have experienced much less performance even the day after when i do HIIT cardio and then train legs the next day. I can't imagine doing that BEFORE my leg workout. No way in hell. In fact, at least from what i've seen in my gym, the stronger the guys get, the more cardio would have an impact on their weight training...

I don't feel like lower intensity cardio has any impact on my weight training, problem is i don't like doing cardio for that long of a duration at times lol.

StandApart, it sounds like you might have the science backwards...could you post your references?

[Blaze]

Originally Posted by maverick

I agree with FH. Also, out of personal experience, I whole-heartedly disagree with #3. I will not dispute that for overall calorie burning, HIIT is king. But in terms of minmizing muscle loss, maximizing energy in the gym, and having as little impact on weight training recovery as possible, long duration, moderate intenisty cardio is the way to go. I used this in conjunction with a small calorie surplus for a few months over the winter into spring and ended up 2 pounds heavier and leaner.

I think the average person (someone trying to lose weight) will do best with HIIT, but I think someone who is a little more in tune with their body and needs, and is geared towards adding muscle or increasing strength would do better with the moderate cardio.

I agree as well. You can go for a mile run. a 2 mile run. Or a 10 mile run. And yes it's tiring. But afterwards I just feel drained. I don't feel like I worked out. With HIIT and GC, even 45 minutes later when I'm at home trying to drink a protien shake...and by this time I'm not out of breath anymore, I find my heart pounding at a thousand miles an hour...and that, my friend, is beautiful.

[Maxgain]

Hey Standapart no.5 what runners do you recommend?

[standAPART]

Guys...if you are drained after a hard bout of cardio (which is only 12-15 minutes .180+bpm), then its not lack of strength you are feeling...its lack of conditioning. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.

Secondly, if you want references, I suggest you open up any science book or the ACSM Health Fitness Instructor Text, Chapters 26, 27, 28.

[Cort]

I think what they were getting at is...

If your cardio is tapping into and/or severely depleting the fuel (glycogen stores, and even creatine's ability to swiftly replenish ATP) used by the body during strength training, will it not interfere with quality of the strength training session?

I've been training with a mix of high intensity and endurance cardio for years, but I'd be lying if I didn't feel fairly drained after a good high intensity run, even one kept as short as 15 minutes.

[tekmoney]

Excellent article. I am actually guilty of all of them.

1.) I take a drink of water before my cardio and that's it. I won''t take another sip until after my cardio which is anywhere from 30-60 minutes later. I don't really care about the pain i experience because my primary goal is to finish the time I set for myself.

2.)At the gym, I only do the eliptical machine for cardio. I do bicycling as well, but that's on a real bike. It''s gotten to the point on my interval cardio that I can max the machine at 20(highest level) resistence and 20 incline on the intense intervals. I know running is a lot better than any machine so perhaps very soon I am going to have to switch over.

3.) I used to do all steady state cardio. but a few weeks ago I switched to interval or HIIT or whatever. It's definately a lot better because I hit that "oxidative phosphorization" you mention because of the pain i feel in muscles and the deepness of the breaths I take. I'm sure some people can achieve that in steady state, but for more trained athletes it requires incredibly tough or long periods of cardio, like running for 10+ miles or shadowboxing.

4.) I always do cardio after weights. It makes no differnce for me.

5.)I'm definately gonna need me some new running shoes

[DaRkAnGel]

Like everyone else Im fine with all of the mistakes except for #3. Cardio does in fact use up muscle glycogen and burn muscle depending on how you do it. I do agree with Maverick also about how your cardio should be.

Point is that no powerlifting, olympic lifting athlete in the world will every do cardio before lifting weights, and probably wont do cardio at all during a serious training cycle. You can have endurance, or strength, or a medium in between, but you cant have both.

[standAPART]

Originally Posted by DaRkAnGel

. You can have endurance, or strength, or a medium in between, but you cant have both.

I don't agree with your last statement...take a look at Olympuic sprinters....very jacked and very conditioned. Take a look at NFL cornerbacks, running backs, and safeties...very jacked and very conditioned. Take a look at colegiate rowers (Harverd & Yale)...very jacked and conditoned. Look at wrestlers...very jacked and conditoned.

We really need to UNLEARN all the Ronnie Coleman & Lee Priest crap that we read in magazines.

You can look like them....if you inject 300 cc's of Dianabol and HGH!!!!

[Maxgain]

Originally Posted by standAPART

all the Ronnie Coleman & Lee Priest crap that we read in magazines.

You can look like them....if you inject 300 cc's of Dianabol and HGH!!!!

300 ccs i think we will say that is a major exaggeration and quite impossible and diananbol is oral and i am still waiting for an answer for sneakers when you advise people to change them
Thanks
Maxgain