When it comes to losing weight and burning fat, women are led to believe that the only way to meet their weight loss goals is to train stronger, harder, and faster. This is the main reason high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is immensely popular since they ensure fast results in a limited amount of time — but that’s only if it’s done right.
Pushing yourself to do as many exercise reps and cardio as possible, especially in a short amount of time, and doing them so over again, isn’t the only effective way to burn fat and maintain a healthy weight. This is where low-intensity steady state exercise (LISS) comes in.
What Exactly is Low-Intensity Steady State Exercise?
LISS exercise could be more difficult and yet as effective as HIIT since it requires your focus on multiple muscles groups and concentration on holding specific poses, rather than trying to perform as many reps of a particular exercise move as possible.
Personal trainers from popular fitness training studios in Woburn, MA explains that it focuses on exercising at the same pace for a predetermined period of time, typically between 30 minutes and 60 minutes. Rather than pushing hard to get your heart rate up quickly, it aims to keep your heart rate at 60% or 80% for maximum fat burning.
LISS exercise is especially great for women since it’s much easier on the joints. When exercising slowly, but with intent, you could better perform movements in proper form and gain maximum benefits. In addition, lower intensity training means that your body could take in more oxygen, which in turn could help in breaking down more fat that your body could burn. LISS exercise is likewise more difficult simply because you need your muscles to be completely fatigued for your exercise routine to be effective.
Examples of Low-Intensity Steady State Exercises
The good news is that you’re probably familiar with LISS exercises but don’t know it. Perfect examples of LISS exercises include brisk walking and jogging, as well as Pilates, Barre Body, and yoga, as these require holding specific poses for maximum burn. If you’re into strength training, you could still do LISS by slowing down your movements.
For example, when doing bicep curls, you simply curl up slowly in four seconds and then curl down in four seconds. While you have to wait for after more reps to break into a sweat, you’d definitely feel the burn and see results if you really focus and exercise regularly.
Physical activities that promote weight loss vary, as there’s no one-size-fits-all way to achieve an ideal body. Know what works for your body, so you can make the most of the exercises you do.