Currently, everyone raves about the benefits of HIIT – and rightly so – but we don’t often hear about the great benefits of LISS.

LISS is an acronym for Low Intensity Steady State Cardio; examples of which include walking, cycling, elliptical training and rowing. For LISS, the aim is to work at 40-50% of your maximum heart rate, training in this consistent state for a longer period of time. In essence, if 1 is equivalent to lying on a couch and 10 is running away from a lion, you should be aiming for approximately a 4!

As a general rule of thumb, 45-60 minutes of LISS will condition your body to burn fat as a fuel source for your next workout. In addition, these workouts are a fantastic way to deplete stress, to burn fat, and also offer you a great way to remain active on a recovery day. In essence, it allows you to live the lifestyle of “less sitting, more movement.”

It’s worth noting that LISS alone will not accomplish a toned, muscular and athletic physique, as your body will become used to doing the same thing, thus the rule of always challenging your body still stands. You must always train with weights alongside cardio, but it will act as a superb complimentary workout and a dynamic that should not be underestimated.

Due to the extended length and steady state of the workout, it isn’t appropriate for some personality types, and some people may find themselves feeling bored and under-worked. If you fall into this category, we strongly recommend HIIT as a beneficial alternative to accomplish a good calorie burn, but with a shorter and more strenuous training session. However, if you can manage a couple of LISS sessions a week, it is an incredible addition to all workout regimes and is a good technique for depleting cortisol, encouraging your body to burn fat.

HIIT and LISS Training

During HIIT, your body doesn’t actually burn the majority of calories through the workout. Instead, HIIT increases your metabolism to burn calories during the next 24 hours. However, during LISS you are burning the majority of calories through the workout, not after. So, if you have over indulged and want to burn off that bottle of wine or cake, then LISS could be a good solution at this time!

HIIT workouts can also be incredibly hard on the body. Due to the high intensity of jumping, pulling, cutting, running and the short sharp bursts, HIIT can put a lot of strain on your joints and ligaments. LISS on the other hand, acts as a more gentle form of exercise, meaning you can almost always fit in a session whilst recovering from weight training. Your body has the capacity to recover whilst still burning calories during these lower intensity sessions.

Recovery is just as important as training, so giving your body the capacity to recover whilst still burning calories is a huge added bonus to any weight loss or fat loss regime. Its addition will also encourage heart health too! It has a huge benefit to your cardio care which is important for any healthy lifestyle.

Introduce LISS into your workout regime for the next two weeks and let us know how you get along. Stay mindful about changes in your mind and body. We always love to hear your feedback!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 01202 618220 or email – [email protected]