{"id":48098,"date":"2016-03-15T07:15:35","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T11:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=48098"},"modified":"2021-04-30T07:42:35","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T11:42:35","slug":"liss-cardio-low-intensity-workouts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/liss-cardio-low-intensity-workouts\/","title":{"rendered":"LISS Cardio: What It Is and Why It Works"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"LISS
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These days, kick-your-butt workouts<\/a> reign. If you\u2019re not lying in a sweaty puddle on the floor by the end, was it really worth it? (The answer is yes; but we\u2019ll get into that in a sec.) Luckily, if doing burpees \u2018til your brain hurts<\/a> doesn\u2019t sound all that great to you, we\u2019ve got an alternative to all that, and it\u2019s called LISS \u2014 low-intensity steady-state cardio.<\/p>\n

\u201c[LISS] means doing light cardio \u2014 50 to 60 percent of your maximum heart rate<\/a> \u2014 at a consistent pace, usually for long durations,\u201d says Alex VanHouten, National Development Specialist and Master Trainer at Life Time Fitness Centennial outside of Denver, CO. Think power walking<\/a>, using the stair-stepper or biking at a steady pace.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Daily Burn 365: New Workouts, 7 Days a Week<\/a><\/p>\n

While you\u2019ve heard about the calorie-blasting and metabolism-boosting benefits of high-intensity interval training<\/a> (HIIT) \u2014\u00a0LISS has its benefits, too. \u201cAbout 45 to 60 minutes of LISS can help the body become conditioned over time to use fat as a fuel source better at your next workout,\u201d says VanHouten. It\u2019s also a low-impact way to work your ligaments, tendons, joints, and muscles in preparation for when you want to crank up the intensity. That\u2019s especially great if you\u2019re just starting an exercise program and aren\u2019t ready to go all-out with something like HIIT<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Plus, you can do it again the next day. \u201cSince recovery is quicker than other higher intensity training, you can do LISS in back-to-back exercise sessions. It mostly adheres to a lifestyle I endorse: more moving, less sitting!\u201d says Michael Moody<\/a>, a Chicago-based personal trainer.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Power Walkers: 3 Treadmill Workouts Just for You<\/a><\/p>\n

Why You Should Do All LISS, All the Time<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cGym-goers who skip LISS are missing out on a stress buffer, fat burner…and an active recovery day.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Before you chill on the elliptical for the fifth day in a row, know that you shouldn\u2019t rely on LISS workouts as your one-and-only form of exercise. \u201cYour body adapts over time. So if all you do is LISS, you\u2019ll miss out on the adaptations that come with higher intensity bouts of cardio,\u201d says VanHouten. In other words, if you\u2019re looking for more muscle and less fat<\/a>, LISS alone won\u2019t be enough.<\/p>\n

Plus, your personality might not mesh with LISS. If you thrive on a creative routine that changes things up and keeps you (and your body) guessing, it\u2019s so easy to fall into the trap of being bored, says Moody. (Another mile walked\u2026yay?) Another point: \u201cMost people prefer to burn calories in the shortest amount of time possible, and this is not what LISS training does,\u201d he says. If you only have 15 or 20 minutes for a workout<\/a>, HIIT might be a better bet.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 3 Elliptical HIIT Workouts That Won\u2019t Bore You to Death<\/a><\/p>\n

Your LISS Cardio Workout, Explained<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re doing three to four days of cardio and two to four days of weight training per week, try to make only one or two of those cardio sessions LISS workouts. Start with 30 minutes and work up to one hour, VanHouten advises. If you\u2019re not a newbie exerciser, you might make LISS part of a routine that includes HIIT<\/a> and yoga<\/a> for a well-rounded week, Moody says.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, pick your (healthy) poison: running<\/a>, swimming, biking, walking, or using the elliptical or the stair stepper. The key is reaching and maintaining a pace that makes you feel like you\u2019re working at a level of 3 to 4 on a scale of 1 to 10, says VanHouten. (He says \u201c1\u201d is watching Netflix and 10 is \u201cfeel-like-death-at-this-level.\u201d This is different for everyone. After four weeks, you\u2019ll be able to pick up the pace but still feel like you\u2019re only exerting yourself at the same level.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> The Easiest 5K and 10K Training Plan Ever (Walking, Allowed)<\/a><\/p>\n

The Bottom Line<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Bootcamp lovers, don’t be fooled into thinking LISS is for wimps. \u201cGym-goers who skip LISS are missing out on a stress buffer, fat burner, cardiovascular conditioning and an active recovery day that can help their mind, body and metabolism recover from a long week,\u2019 says VanHouten. Well, we\u2019re sold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For starters, it\u2019s the opposite of HIIT. Here\u2019s why you should make low-intensity, steady-state cardio \u2014 or, LISS \u2014 part of your routine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,24,6],"tags":[288,289,108,341,343,100],"class_list":["post-48098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cardio","category-exercise","category-fitness","tag-cardio","tag-exercise","tag-running","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2exercise","tag-workout"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48098\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}