HIIT or LISS?

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY RACHEL DOELL

For many of us, the idea of cardio or working out is filled with images of sweat-filled rooms, feeling like you’re running out of oxygen, or torturing your body through another round of hell!

Although high-intensity training can be beneficial for your fitness journey, it’s not always the best thing or the necessary thing for our bodies.

RACHEL DOELL is an instructor, personal trainer, mother, and wife who loves health and fitness. Her fitness company, Daily Routine Fitness, features simple ways to fit living a healthy life into your everyday routine.

dailyroutinefitness.com |

LISS training has become a common word in the fitness industry, describing low-intensity steady-state training, a method of cardiovascular exercise in which you do aerobic activity at a low-to-moderate intensity for a continued, or often extended period of time.

High intensity interval training or (HIIT) involves alternating short bursts of intense cardio or strength movements, with your heart rate generally reaching 80 to 95 percent of your max and 40 to 50 percent for your low intensity intervals.

CONNECT

Find Rachel on Instagram @dailyroutinefitness Tag her with your workout posts and send her any questions you may have.

So Why LISS over HIIT?

People often associate HIIT training with a way of achieving your fitness results in a shorter period by burning a significant number of calories in a shorter amount of time. But too much HIIT training without combining low intensity aspects into your fitness routines can lead to over-training, Challenges of LISS Training injury, and a stressful impact on your When it comes to LISS training, one of hormones. Here are some other benefits of Here are some of the ways I keep the challenges I see show up for clients or LISS cardio: LISS in my weekly workout even my own workout schedule is the time It aids in fat burning and fat loss. Low impact steady state workouts like schedule and stay motivated in these longer workouts: commitment. One of the positive things and huge draws of HIIT training is that it’s short and powerful! HIIT workouts are typiswimming, yoga, biking, and walking have 1. Schedule connection time with cally under 45 minutes and can be done on been shown to improve your body’s ability friends as a way of getting outa lunch break or injected into free time in to use fat as fuel instead of glycogen that side for a hike/walk. our days in order to get our bodies moving. we store in our muscles. Continued aerobic exercise has been shown to be more effective than HIIT at improving fat distribution on the body. 2. Put it on the calendar. If I don’t put my yoga on my weekly workout schedule or plan for recovery LISS workouts typically range from 60–90 minutes and require more time and planning in order to fit them into our schedules. It’s appropriate for all levels. time for my body, it honestly just won’t happen. Because LISS workouts are longer, we also risk feeling bored with our workOne of my favourite things about LISS is that it’s gentle on the body and appropriate for all fitness levels. So whether you’re a seasoned athlete or just dipping your toe into your new fitness journey, there are many options for getting your body moving 3. Try something new! Whether it’s a new hike, trying cold water swimming, or discovering a new biking trail, adding variety and exploring your city is a great outs and can lose interest. Even when we know something is beneficial for our bodies, if we are not having fun or seeing a positive effect on our mood, we can quickly lose interest. in a gentle and enjoyable way. way of keeping things interestI personally have seen huge benefits with It improves mental health and recovery. ing and also staying connected to movement without it seeming LISS training on my stress levels by reminding myself to slow down, allowing Movement is essential for not only keeplike a chore. my body to recover more efficiently from ing our bodies strong and healthy but also workouts, and also learning to fall in love improving our mental state. Movement has with new aspects of movement. been shown to improve our brain function, mood, and our hormone levels. Adding something like a hike, a gentle morning swim, or a yoga flow into In the words of Albert Einstein: “Nothing happens until our day is not only a great way to improve blood flow and recovery in our something moves.” bodies but also boost our moods and improve our energy levels. What would change, shift, strengthen, or soften if you chose to move in this season?