Cardio is defined as any type of exercise that gets your heart rate up and keeps it up for a prolonged period of time. Your respiratory system will start working harder as you begin to breathe faster and more deeply. Cardio is one of the most common things people train in the gym. That said, there are many dumb forms of cardio workouts that you should avoid if you not only want to see your best results but stay safe when doing it. In this post, I cover the 5 worst forms of cardio and show you how to make each of them better.
1. Battle Ropes
Battle ropes are a new way to get in your conditioning and cardiovascular training, but only if you do them right. They aren’t called battle ropes for no reason. If you want to get the most out of this workout tool you are going to have to go to battle with the ropes. In other words, you need to attack the workout with a super high-intensity level. It is ok if you wind up cutting down the amount of time you spend swinging the ropes if the trade-off is that you are working harder. Work harder for a shorter period of time and you will see more efficient results from your workouts.
2. Treadmills, Bikes, and Ellipticals
Treadmills, bikes, and ellipticals are three common forms of cardio that get used every single day in the gym. Their popularity should not be confused with them being the best thing you can do, however. In fact, the postural mistakes that are not only encouraged but somehow possible on these machines make them a very poor alternative to the equivalent activity that you could be doing outside. Not just that, but nobody would ever argue that walking on a stair climber is somehow harder than walking real flights of stairs. Get outside and away from the machines and you will see a more effective carryover in your training.
3. Tabata
Tabata is also a very popular form of cardio. The problem here is twofold. The exercise selection for using your Tabata as well as the fact that you need to train at a much higher intensity during your interval is key to the success as it was originally designed. The Tabata interval is 20 seconds of activity followed by 10 seconds of rest. You repeat this for a total of 8 rounds or 4 minutes. The key however is that your high activity levels must be near your max heart rate. If you choose an exercise that is either too easy or takes too long to ramp up and down from, you will be costing yourself the major benefit of the cardio protocol.
4. Poorly Designed HIIT Training
The same can be said for poorly designed HIIT training. If your idea of HIIT is that you perform a max effort lift with a conditioning exercise interspersed, you are going to wind up either hurting yourself or at the very least getting submaximal results for both of the goals you are training for. Instead, focus either on strength training or cardio but don’t try to do both in the same workout. Again, this is a very popular way to train these days but popularity does not mean safe or beneficial.
5. Jogging
Finally, jogging is a very common form of cardio. The issue with jogging is that it is smack dab in the middle of sprinting and walking and often takes on the worst traits of each. If you are overweight and in need of a good cardio workout, a slow long-duration walk would be good for keeping it easy on your joints while still allowing enough time to burn sufficient calories at a lower energy output. Sprinting is a bit harder on the joints but can really ramp up the effort and get you a better workout faster. Jogging has the impact of running but is usually not long enough to sustain the benefits of walking.
The Bottom Line
Whatever you are doing to get in your cardio, remember there are ways to train to burn fat that can be efficient and safe. For more content on total body workouts for beginners and the best full-body beginner workout, be sure to subscribe to our blog via the link below and remember to turn on your notifications so you never miss a new post when it’s published.
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