10 Worst Cardio Crimes

tashjs21
tashjs21 Posts: 4,584 Member
I found this blog post nteresting (by interesting I mean some neat info, not the gospel truth, just some neat things to keep in mind)

here is a link to the original blog: http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=the_10_most_common_cardio_crimes


cardio_crimes.jpg


10 Most Common Cardio Crimes

Leaning on the Machine
While gripping the handles or console of a cardio machine can aid in balance, leaning too much of your weight into the handles of the machine will decrease your workout intensity and burn far fewer calories. I see this all the time in Spinning class (people leaning weight into their arms while standing instead of keeping their weight in their legs), and see it at the gym with people leaning onto the treadmill handles or console. If you're moving so fast or feel so tired that you cannot keep the pace without taking weight off of your legs by placing it into your arms, you are far better off decreasing your speed or workout intensity than by keeping the speed and leaning. Try to use the handles only temporarily, such as when you first hop on the treadmill and find your footing, or if you have to pause the machine.


Skimping on Resistance
As a Spinning instructor, I see this a lot when I monitor the students in my class. Many people fear the resistance on stationary bikes because they fear it will make them "bulk up." (This is so not true.) Similarly, I see a lot of people using treadmills and elliptical machines with little to no incline. When it comes to getting a better, more challenging workout (that also burns more calories) resistance—or incline—is essential. This is especially true on the treadmill, which propels you forward automatically and makes both walking and running easier. By bumping up the incline, you'll counteract that propelling motion of the belt and get a better workout.


Stretching before Your Workout
I highly discourage people from stretching before a workout. (Read my stretch-after-your-workout manifesto for more details.) Stretching is NOT the same thing as a warm up, although many people confuse the two. And stopping to stretch after you warm up completely negates the fact that you just warmed up. By the time you're done stretching, you're right back where you started! Your muscles are warm and your joints most lubricated at the end of your cardio session. There's no need to stretch twice, so you might as well save your stretching time for the end when you'll get the most benefit.


Carrying Weights While You Walk
Although the American Council on Exercise recently published a story saying that walking with weights in your hands isn't as risky as we all once thought, I wouldn’t rush to add them to your walks. It's generally safe if you're holding weights less than 3 pounds, but at that weight, there might not be a huge challenge or benefit for you. Hold much more and your injury risk skyrockets. Experts do agree that ankle weights are a no-no. When it comes to cardio, I'd much rather see a person work on increasing speed, incline or resistance to increase the cardio challenge of a workout than simply add weights to a workout.


Only Doing Cardio
Cardio exercise has tons of amazing benefits for your health and weight loss. So if you're doing any cardio at all, kudos to you! But if cardio is the only form of exercise in which you partake, you are really missing out. You may even be at risk for what many people fear: becoming "skinny fat." Many people think of cardio as the key to fat-burning, and it is important. But strength training is, too. More muscle helps boost your metabolism so you burn more calories all day—and during every cardio session. Further, on a weight-loss program, you will lose muscle mass as you lose weight (not a good thing), but regular strength training will help you minimize that muscle loss. In my expert opinion, regular strength training is just as important in a fitness and weight-loss program as cardio. Pick up the weights and watch the scale go down.


Not Drinking Water
When you're doing cardio right, you're going to sweat. And when you sweat, you need to replace those fluids. Waiting until the end of your workout to drink up can be a risky practice. You're much better off keeping a water bottle with you during your workout and sipping every few minutes. Definitely don't wait until you're already thirsty to start drinking. Learn more about how much water you need to drink during workouts.


Doing the Same Cardio Workout
Most of us have a go-to workout that we love to do as often as possible. Whether it's walking, Zumba, running or the elliptical, we tend to have a mainstay cardio workout. It is important to enjoy your workouts (you're more likely to stick with them that way), but you'll get far better results by mixing up your routine as often as possible. At the very least, add 1-2 days of cross-training to your existing cardio program (if you tend to do the same thing all the time). Mixing it up prevents overtraining and its related injuries and keeps your body guessing so that you don’t plateau.


Zoning Out
I know it's the only way a lot of us can get through the monotony of the gym, but zoning out (think reading, watching or listening to media) during cardio can really hurt your results. When we're not focusing on the task at hand, two things happen; first, we start to slack off because bouncing around too much makes it harder to read or we're simply forgetting what we're really at the gym to do (work hard). Second, because we're not paying attention, our form tends to go by the wayside. Your posture slouches, your arms and legs aren't moving through the idea range of motion, and you're not striking with your feet or engaging your core properly. It's fine to entertain yourself with TV, an audio book, or music during cardio. Just make sure to check back in every couple minutes to pay attention to your intensity and your form.


Lifting Weights Really Fast
We're all strapped for time and many of us are lucky if we get to the gym a few times a week. We all want to make the most of our workout time. However, lifting weights really quickly (as in lifting the actual weight up and down at rapid speed) in order to try to ink out a little extra "cardio" benefit is a super bad idea. Slow, controlled form is essential for weight training. Speeding up your exercises is majorly risky. If you really want to try to turn your strength training routine into something more aerobic, don't go faster. Instead, use full-body (compound) moves that work your upper and lower body simultaneously and/or get rid of the resting periods between sets in favor of circuit training. Both are safe ways to train that can amp up the cardio component of your toning program. Never sacrifice form or safety for speed.


Confusing "Activity" with Cardio
This is probably the most common mistake I see. We know how important it is to be active, and so we try to count every activity we do as "exercise" or cardio. That can be a big mistake for several reasons. While any activity is better than no activity, only those activities that meet the requirements for cardio activity really give us the health and fitness benefits we exercise in order to reap. Plus, tracking calories burned from every little thing you do is only misleading. You're only really burning "extra" calories when you're working pretty darn hard—not when you're simply walking leisurely through the mall or doing some light cleaning. Learn more about the differences between activity and exercise.
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Replies

  • mheath1293
    mheath1293 Posts: 35 Member
    Really surprised to read number 3, about the author discouraging people from stretching before your work out.. I actually disagree with that. Is it not true that you decrease your risk of injuring a muscle if you stretch before exercise?
  • tashjs21
    tashjs21 Posts: 4,584 Member
    Really surprised to read number 3, about the author discouraging people from stretching before your work out.. I actually disagree with that. Is it not true that you decrease your risk of injuring a muscle if you stretch before exercise?

    I was surprised by that too. I have always heard you should stretch before. Every organized sport I have played we stretched before. That is exactly why I put the disclaimer at the beginning. :huh:
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    What the heck? What's wrong with ankle weights?

    Why no stretching BEFORE? Further words need to be said about this.
  • bluechip777
    bluechip777 Posts: 160 Member
    I saw a figure athlete lean on the step mill all the way to the Olympia Stage - nobody scoffed at her physique.
  • Lina4Lina
    Lina4Lina Posts: 712 Member
    Ankle weights are known to be an issue and a bad idea. I don't see a problem with handheld weights though.
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    Ankle weights are known to be an issue and a bad idea. I don't see a problem with handheld weights though.

    Why are they known to be an issue? Why are they a bad idea?
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    http://www.cracked.com/article_19954_5-ways-to-trick-your-body-into-being-more-awesome.html

    This is for all of you guys who are asking about the not stretching before workouts. Read number four on the list. Cracked isn't made of fitness experts (it's obviously a comedy site), but it links to studies in the article that you might find interesting.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Really surprised to read number 3, about the author discouraging people from stretching before your work out.. I actually disagree with that. Is it not true that you decrease your risk of injuring a muscle if you stretch before exercise?

    I was surprised by that too. I have always heard you should stretch before. Every organized sport I have played we stretched before. That is exactly why I put the disclaimer at the beginning. :huh:

    Perhaps the author was referring to static stretching as opposed to dynamic.

    There has been some recent research that suggest that static stretching before running etc has little or no value in terms of injury prevention (ie injury rates were virtually identical between stretchers and non-stretchers) and may actually be detrimental to performance.

    Dynamic before, static after.
  • Lina4Lina
    Lina4Lina Posts: 712 Member
    Ankle weights are known to be an issue and a bad idea. I don't see a problem with handheld weights though.

    Why are they known to be an issue? Why are they a bad idea?

    It puts unnecessary stress on your joints.
    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ankle-weights/AN01867
  • CarrieMyPhilos
    CarrieMyPhilos Posts: 38 Member
    Perhaps the author was referring to static stretching as opposed to dynamic.

    There has been some recent research that suggest that static stretching before running etc has little or no value in terms of injury prevention (ie injury rates were virtually identical between stretchers and non-stretchers) and may actually be detrimental to performance.

    Dynamic before, static after.

    I have actually heard this, too - that you should either do different kinds of stretching (dynamic vs. static) before and after a workout, or not stretch before your workout at all. One person likened the stretching to relaxing the muscles, pulling out all the tightness, and then forcing them to run when they were just relaxed. I don't know if that's accurate, but it's what I've heard.
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    Really surprised to read number 3, about the author discouraging people from stretching before your work out.. I actually disagree with that. Is it not true that you decrease your risk of injuring a muscle if you stretch before exercise?

    I was surprised by that too. I have always heard you should stretch before. Every organized sport I have played we stretched before. That is exactly why I put the disclaimer at the beginning. :huh:

    Perhaps the author was referring to static stretching as opposed to dynamic.

    There has been some recent research that suggest that static stretching before running etc has little or no value in terms of injury prevention (ie injury rates were virtually identical between stretchers and non-stretchers) and may actually be detrimental to performance.

    Dynamic before, static after.

    That's what I was taught when I started running.

    Personally I don't stretch before but I was taught it's the thing to do.
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    Ankle weights are known to be an issue and a bad idea. I don't see a problem with handheld weights though.

    Why are they known to be an issue? Why are they a bad idea?

    It puts unnecessary stress on your joints.
    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ankle-weights/AN01867

    Could. May. Those are some pretty concrete findings there...??? Eh. I dunno. I've never used ankle weights but nothing in this thread or in that link have convinced me they're a problem.
  • tashjs21
    tashjs21 Posts: 4,584 Member
    Really surprised to read number 3, about the author discouraging people from stretching before your work out.. I actually disagree with that. Is it not true that you decrease your risk of injuring a muscle if you stretch before exercise?

    I was surprised by that too. I have always heard you should stretch before. Every organized sport I have played we stretched before. That is exactly why I put the disclaimer at the beginning. :huh:

    Perhaps the author was referring to static stretching as opposed to dynamic.

    There has been some recent research that suggest that static stretching before running etc has little or no value in terms of injury prevention (ie injury rates were virtually identical between stretchers and non-stretchers) and may actually be detrimental to performance.

    Dynamic before, static after.

    Ah that would make sense, I don't do static before. Which I suppose is what they meant by 'warm up' instead of stretching. Dynamic stretches are the warm up?
  • MemphisKitten
    MemphisKitten Posts: 878 Member
    ALWAYS STRETCH AFTER YOU WARM UP!!! I made the mistake of stretching before my workouts for many years, and NO WONDER I always had pulled hamstrings, calf muscles, etc.! Thanks for sharing this!! :flowerforyou:
  • Midnight_Sunshine
    Midnight_Sunshine Posts: 369 Member
    Confusing "Activity" with Cardio
    This is probably the most common mistake I see. We know how important it is to be active, and so we try to count every activity we do as "exercise" or cardio. That can be a big mistake for several reasons. While any activity is better than no activity, only those activities that meet the requirements for cardio activity really give us the health and fitness benefits we exercise in order to reap. Plus, tracking calories burned from every little thing you do is only misleading. You're only really burning "extra" calories when you're working pretty darn hard—not when you're simply walking leisurely through the mall or doing some light cleaning. Learn more about the differences between activity and exercise.

    OooOOOooooo I bet lots of MFP'ers are going to be upset about this one. Haha.
  • Pineapples
    Pineapples Posts: 246 Member
    Really surprised to read number 3, about the author discouraging people from stretching before your work out.. I actually disagree with that. Is it not true that you decrease your risk of injuring a muscle if you stretch before exercise?

    I was surprised by that too. I have always heard you should stretch before. Every organized sport I have played we stretched before. That is exactly why I put the disclaimer at the beginning. :huh:

    Perhaps the author was referring to static stretching as opposed to dynamic.

    There has been some recent research that suggest that static stretching before running etc has little or no value in terms of injury prevention (ie injury rates were virtually identical between stretchers and non-stretchers) and may actually be detrimental to performance.

    Dynamic before, static after.

    That is correct. Dynamic before, static after
  • rlmadrid
    rlmadrid Posts: 694 Member
    Ankle weights are known to be an issue and a bad idea. I don't see a problem with handheld weights though.

    Why are they known to be an issue? Why are they a bad idea?

    It puts unnecessary stress on your joints.
    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ankle-weights/AN01867

    Could. May. Those are some pretty concrete findings there...??? Eh. I dunno. I've never used ankle weights but nothing in this thread or in that link have convinced me they're a problem.

    I tried them once before reading that they may be bad. I found they altered the way my feet hit the ground. Perhaps the change in natural gait is the forgotten factor that attributes to the joint strain correlation?

    Edit: because I can't spell and I'm forgetting words.
  • GasGas450
    GasGas450 Posts: 11 Member
    Really surprised to read number 3, about the author discouraging people from stretching before your work out.. I actually disagree with that. Is it not true that you decrease your risk of injuring a muscle if you stretch before exercise?

    I was surprised by that too. I have always heard you should stretch before. Every organized sport I have played we stretched before. That is exactly why I put the disclaimer at the beginning. :huh:

    Perhaps the author was referring to static stretching as opposed to dynamic.

    There has been some recent research that suggest that static stretching before running etc has little or no value in terms of injury prevention (ie injury rates were virtually identical between stretchers and non-stretchers) and may actually be detrimental to performance.

    Dynamic before, static after.


    Well put.

    Stretching a cold muscle (not warmed up) is a risky endeavor. don't get "warming up" confused with stretching. If I am going to stretch before an athletic activity, I warm up first, then stretch.
  • ravenlaramie
    ravenlaramie Posts: 165 Member
    Really surprised to read number 3, about the author discouraging people from stretching before your work out.. I actually disagree with that. Is it not true that you decrease your risk of injuring a muscle if you stretch before exercise?

    I was actually really surprised at this as well. Not stretching before certain exercises can really hurt you, so I've heard.

    I took Tae Kwon Do a few years ago. My instructor told me about a man that was in his class shortly before I got there. He said the man always put his all into his kicks and punches, but not always with the stretching. Apparently he didn't stretch his leg muscles properly one day, threw a kick like he normally did and snapped his Achilles tendon.

    Edit
    Perhaps the author was referring to static stretching as opposed to dynamic.

    There has been some recent research that suggest that static stretching before running etc has little or no value in terms of injury prevention (ie injury rates were virtually identical between stretchers and non-stretchers) and may actually be detrimental to performance.

    Dynamic before, static after.

    That explains a lot.
  • jnh17
    jnh17 Posts: 838 Member
    Really surprised to read number 3, about the author discouraging people from stretching before your work out.. I actually disagree with that. Is it not true that you decrease your risk of injuring a muscle if you stretch before exercise?

    I was actually really surprised at this as well. Not stretching before certain exercises can really hurt you, so I've heard.

    I took Tae Kwon Do a few years ago. My instructor told me about a man that was in his class shortly before I got there. He said the man always put his all into his kicks and punches, but not always with the stretching. Apparently he didn't stretch his leg muscles properly one day, threw a kick like he normally did and snapped his Achilles tendon.

    Edit
    Perhaps the author was referring to static stretching as opposed to dynamic.

    There has been some recent research that suggest that static stretching before running etc has little or no value in terms of injury prevention (ie injury rates were virtually identical between stretchers and non-stretchers) and may actually be detrimental to performance.

    Dynamic before, static after.

    That explains a lot.

    I doubt that was from not stretching BEFORE his workout.

    And the article isn't saying don't stretch EVER, it's saying don't stretch before. So let's say you're going to do a 5K (or marathon), do something for 5 minutes as a warmup (slow job, jumping jacks -- whatevs), THEN stretch, THEN do your workout.
  • Krissy366
    Krissy366 Posts: 458 Member
    I doubt that was from not stretching BEFORE his workout.

    And the article isn't saying don't stretch EVER, it's saying don't stretch before. So let's say you're going to do a 5K (or marathon), do something for 5 minutes as a warmup (slow job, jumping jacks -- whatevs), THEN stretch, THEN do your workout.

    Actually it specifically says DON'T stretch after you warm up as it defeats the purpose of the warmup. (not commenting on the accuracy one way or the other, just saying it does mention that as bad).

    I like #1 cause I used to laugh at the people at the gym that would have the treadmill on the biggest incline and fastest speed and then grip the railings and lean back so their body was at a near 90 degree angle with the treadmill floor. Not a natural walking posture at all.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    Really surprised to read number 3, about the author discouraging people from stretching before your work out.. I actually disagree with that. Is it not true that you decrease your risk of injuring a muscle if you stretch before exercise?

    I was surprised by that too. I have always heard you should stretch before. Every organized sport I have played we stretched before. That is exactly why I put the disclaimer at the beginning. :huh:

    Actually, I've seen LOTS of things that stay stretching before your workout INCREASES injury risk. You should stretch after.
  • mangozulu
    mangozulu Posts: 90 Member
    Really surprised to read number 3, about the author discouraging people from stretching before your work out.. I actually disagree with that. Is it not true that you decrease your risk of injuring a muscle if you stretch before exercise?

    I was surprised by that too. I have always heard you should stretch before. Every organized sport I have played we stretched before. That is exactly why I put the disclaimer at the beginning. :huh:
  • Alex_is_Hawks
    Alex_is_Hawks Posts: 3,499 Member
    the way I read it was he didn't want people doing something to warm up...and then cool off by stretching...i think if you stretch before you start any activity then sure that's ok...but the way he stated how people confuse a warm up with stretching and that stretching cools down the muscles so why bother warming up....

    means he's reading it as people 1. warm up 2. stretch 3 work out....where as I think if we 1. stretch, 2 warm up, 3 work out...that would work...

    at least that's how I'm looking at it.
  • decdav
    decdav Posts: 41 Member
    Really surprised to read number 3, about the author discouraging people from stretching before your work out.. I actually disagree with that. Is it not true that you decrease your risk of injuring a muscle if you stretch before exercise?

    I was surprised by that too. I have always heard you should stretch before. Every organized sport I have played we stretched before. That is exactly why I put the disclaimer at the beginning. :huh:

    The stretching before working out is very old school. You're more likely to strain something stretching cold muscles. You're much better off stretching once everything is all warm up. If you use something like TRX for strength, the stretching is actually part of the workout.
  • mangozulu
    mangozulu Posts: 90 Member
    Really surprised to read number 3, about the author discouraging people from stretching before your work out.. I actually disagree with that. Is it not true that you decrease your risk of injuring a muscle if you stretch before exercise?

    I was surprised by that too. I have always heard you should stretch before. Every organized sport I have played we stretched before. That is exactly why I put the disclaimer at the beginning. :huh:

    the latest research is indicating that static stretching isn't beneficial and actually undermines muscle strength. Dynamic stretching (putting the joints through their full range of motion without holding a static stretch) is the new recommendation, this can also function as a warm up.
  • Bailey543
    Bailey543 Posts: 375
    Really surprised to read number 3, about the author discouraging people from stretching before your work out.. I actually disagree with that. Is it not true that you decrease your risk of injuring a muscle if you stretch before exercise?

    I was surprised by that too. I have always heard you should stretch before. Every organized sport I have played we stretched before. That is exactly why I put the disclaimer at the beginning. :huh:

    You should always do a short warm up (jumping jacks, ect), then stretch. That's what I've been told anyway...
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Really surprised to read number 3, about the author discouraging people from stretching before your work out.. I actually disagree with that. Is it not true that you decrease your risk of injuring a muscle if you stretch before exercise?

    I was surprised by that too. I have always heard you should stretch before. Every organized sport I have played we stretched before. That is exactly why I put the disclaimer at the beginning. :huh:

    Actually, the advice to stretch cold muscle before you workout was changed years ago.

    Better to just extend the warmup longer.
  • TheNewLeslie
    TheNewLeslie Posts: 44 Member
    I doubt that was from not stretching BEFORE his workout.

    And the article isn't saying don't stretch EVER, it's saying don't stretch before. So let's say you're going to do a 5K (or marathon), do something for 5 minutes as a warmup (slow job, jumping jacks -- whatevs), THEN stretch, THEN do your workout.

    Actually it specifically says DON'T stretch after you warm up as it defeats the purpose of the warmup. (not commenting on the accuracy one way or the other, just saying it does mention that as bad).

    I like #1 cause I used to laugh at the people at the gym that would have the treadmill on the biggest incline and fastest speed and then grip the railings and lean back so their body was at a near 90 degree angle with the treadmill floor. Not a natural walking posture at all.

    ^^^ This ^^^

    Because they STILL make me laugh.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Fitness advice is like diet advice. Ten years ago or more, everyone stretched before their workouts. These days, they say not to stretch or only do dynamic stretches. Just like Ten years ago they said eggs are bad for you and now everyone thinks their God's gift to nutrition.

    Go with the flow and do what you feel is best for you and take all advice with a grain of salt.