It is very important for each one of us to get our heart and heart health in shape. Ofcourse this involves eating right, staying fit and working out on a regular basis. There are certain exercises which are especially meant for benefiting our cardiovascular health in shape and these are known as cardiovascular exercises or simply cardio. Some of the common cardio workouts include running, using the stairclimber, using the elliptical etc. But while using these methods and machines, a lot of us tend to make certain mistakes which must be avoided to gain benefits of the workout session. The following are the top 5 most common cardio mistakes to avoid:

1. Using cardio to compensate for diet

If you are trying to use the means of cardio to compensate for your diet then it is one of the major mistakes that you are making. You cannot work out on the treadmill and then head to the kitchen for a snack. You have to use both the methods in combination of one another to see the real benefits. You have to be conscious of what you eat but at the same time, pay attention to your physical fitness as well. Be smart and plan it out correctly.

2. Overdoing it

Another mistake which people tend to make with horizon treadmills and horizon elliptical are that they overdo the workout and do not know when to stop. It is important to divide your workout time into different types of exercises and giving all the time to cardio isn’t the best idea. Cardio may help you lose weight but it won’tchange the shape of your body. Also, long periods of cardio can result in loss of metabolically active muscle tissues.

3. Not varying the intensity

Running at the same pace everyday on the elliptical and treadmill and not varying the intensity and speed etc. is also a mistake which people make with cardio. Working out at the steady and same intensity will not pose a challenge for your body and may thus not push it to its limit. Thus make it a point to engage in interval training which involves alternating between high intensity workout and then a resting period.

4. Doing cardio without any motivation

Doing cardio in a boring and mechanical way isn’t going to help you at all. You need to be motivated, charged up and full of passion when you get on top of the cardio workout. If you aren’t motivated enough, you will soon be bored and this will take the energy out of the workout session, thus reducing the benefits.

5. Doing cardio before doing weights

Another common mistake related to cardio that most of us tend to make is doing cardio before doing weights. This is not really a bad thing but if you do weight training after a high energy and high intensity cardio session, then you will be exhausted and may not do complete justice to the weight training