Introduction

What’s up by beautiful kit-kat and Nutella crepe lovers, today I’ll be talking about LISS. So, what is LISS? Larry is super smexy? Lemon icing super sexy? I can’t think of anything else that sounds ridiculous. It stand for “low intensity steady state cardio”. I’ll be explaining what it is, its significance and why it’s important. It’s basically an expansion of my first article called “Cardio”. Make sure to check it out, here the link: https://fitnessfinancetravel.com/cardio/.

What’s LISS??^3,5

So what is LISS? It’s a form of cardio that isn’t too intense where you perform the cardiovascular exercise (cardio) of your choosing at a moderate intensity level for an extended duration of time. You don’t have to go crazy run, pedal or strain on the toilet as hard as you can. You just have to get your heart rate up. Examples of this include:

• Going for a walk (at a pace of 2.5 mi/hr as recommended by the American Heart Association, but do what you can!!!)
• Light jog
• Pedaling on an elliptical
• Just riding a bike
• Gardening
• Stationary bike at home or the gym
• Naruto running (briskly)
• Walking to McDonalds for some French fries, pies, Mcflurry, a few sandwiches and a diet coke

It’s great because unlike HIIT (high intensity interval training), you don’t have to go crazy and cause excessive strain on your joints and muscles. You could perform LISS everyday; performing HIIT everyday would be very taxing on your body. LISS can also be performed for longer durations of time, like 60 minutes or more. Start at whatever duration you can and build up stamina. Maybe try increasing by 5-10 minutes per week. There’s no right answer.

If you tried to do HIIT for 60 minutes or more on a regular basis, you’d probably be taking a trip to Snap city eventually because your joints and muscles would be very fatigued and you might injure yourself.

For LISS cardio, you just want to get your heart rate within a certain goal range. From the research I’ve done, it’s about 50-70% of your maximum heart rate. This differs by age. You can calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. To get your suggested range for moderate intensity cardio multiply that number by 0.5, that’ll be the lower number of your range and then by 0.7, that’ll be the higher number.

Example – Age: 20

• Maximum heart rate: 220 – 20 – 200
• 50% of a maximum heart rate for a 20 year old: 200 x 0.5 = 100
• 70% of a maxium heart rate for a 20 year old: 200 x 0.7 = 140
• Goal range for heart rate for moderate intensity cardio for a 20 year old: 100 – 140

I don’t monitor that at all, I just try to break a sweat.

LISS At Home

You don’t feel like going to a gym? No problem! The world is your deep dish cheese pizza! Oh wait, I think the saying is oyster, the world is your oyster! You can go for a walk outside like previously stated. You can go for a jog as well. You can invest in stationary bike, elliptical or treadmill.

What Is The Best Form Of LISS³

There is no correct answer to this. The best from is the one that YOU enjoy the most. If you hate them all, it’s the one you hate the least! If you enjoy the elliptical, do that. If you like walking and are able to do so, then do that. You might be asking me what do I do? Well, I like to either put an elliptical at 10 resistance or set a treadmill to 12 incline and 3 speed and do that. I just make sure to get in 150 minutes total cardiovascular activity throughout the week. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiovascular activity throughout the week.

Ideas For Low Impact LISS

Some people have joint issues and it’s no excuse to not perform cardio. Here are a few examples of low impact cardiovascular exercises.

• Walking – you can do this anywhere
• Cycling
• Stationary bike
• Elliptical
• Swimming

Does Cardio Cause Muscle Loss

If you are eating a sufficient amount of protein, strength training then you will not lose muscle. Especially as a beginner, you can build muscle in a caloric deficit. Even if you lose a little bit of muscle, isn’t it fine to have your biceps a little smaller so you have a healthy heart? The answer is yes, don’t try go argue against that. No cake for you if you said no. That means more cake for me then. So maybe think that, so I get more cake. Just know you’re wrong though.

What Are Some Other Benefits of LISS^1,2,3

These benefits don’t just apply to LISS, but any form of cardiovascular exercise, but it’s very important to know about these. First and foremost, it’ll help you to keep some extra pounds off or lose weight coupled with a healthy diet. You’ll experience increased stamina as your body is able to handle more physical stress. Cardio can help to decrease LDL, which is considered “bad cholesterol”, so it doesn’t clog up your arteries and lead to other medical problems. It can help strengthen your immune system so you’ll be less susceptible to viruses.

You’ll be less likely to experience conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes (type 2), strokes and more. Cardio can also boost your mood, which means you’ll feel happier in general! It can help fight against osteoporosis, reduce signs of aging, and improve digestion!! So many!

Almost everyone should perform cardio. You can’t live without a heart. I know a lot of people want to focus on other parts of their body (get your mind out of the gutter), but the heart is the most important. You can have huge biceps, triceps, butts, but they just aren’t as important.

As opposed to other strenuous forms of cardio, LISS puts less stress on your joints. It might be easier on a mental level as well. I performed HIIT cardio before, I dreaded it much more than LISS cardio without a doubt. It’s much tougher.

Is Cardio Enough By Itself to Lose Fat

The simple answer is no. If you continue to eat a terrible diet and don’t lower your calories by a little to start off with, probably not. You really can’t outrun a bad diet. You need to know approximately how many calories your body needs and then decrease your calories slightly until you start losing weight. You can do this or increase your cardio. I have an article on how to approximate the calories you need:

https://fitnessfinancetravel.com/calculatingcalories/

You can also increase your metabolism by weightlifting so your body burns more calories by you just existing! Here’s my article on weightlifting for beginners:

Weight Lifting

My personal Preference and Experience

I’ve done HIIT cardio and LISS cardio both to lose weight and I have to say that I much rather prefer LISS cardio. I dread it much less and it’s just so much easier on the joints. I also feel extremely exhausted after performing HIIT cardio, but the point of cardio is to feel more awake and alert. I’ll talk a more about HIIT cardio and compare LISS and HIIT in my next blog, but I’ll say that per studies that have been conducted, HIIT cardio isn’t really superior to LISS.

Conclusion

As you can see, it’s pretty straightforward what LISS is, it’s just low intensity steady state cardio. Almost everyone should be performing it as it will help to build a healthier heart. You heart becomes more efficient at pumping blood, your endurance increases and it can help to decrease anxiety. Coupled with a healthy diet, it can aid you in losing fat! That’s just some of the benefits! You just have to find the type that you like the most (or hate the least) and do it!

Key Points:

• LISS stand for “low intensity steady state cardiovascular exercise”
• This can be considered moderate intensity aerobic activity per the American Heart Association
• You should perform 150 minutes of cardio per week per the American Heart Association
• The best form of cardio is the one you enjoy the most (or hate the least). Maybe a combination of them
• Cardio DOESN’T by itself cause muscle loss. It have to be coupled with other factors such as starving yourself.
• Cardio has many benefits such as improved immunes system, improved digestion, decreased blood pressure and many more!
• Couple cardio with a caloric deficit to lose weight

Disclaimer: I’m not your doctor. Please consult your doctor, nutritionist or any health care professional before making any changes in your own lifestyle. These blogs are just me sharing my knowledge for you reading entertainment purpose only. None of this is medical advice.

Resources

1. “10 Great Reasons to Love Aerobic Exercise.” Mayo Clinic, 17 Feb. 2022, mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/aerobic-exercise/art-20045541.
2. (2023, May 9). Cardio exercises benefit more than just your heart. Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/the-many-benefits-of-a-cardio-workout/
3. The American Heart Association. (2022, July 28). American Heart Association recommendations for physical activity in adults and kids. www.heart.org. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/aha-recs-for-physical-activity-in-adults
4. The Johns Hopkins University. (2021, August 8). 7 heart benefits of exercise. JHM. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/7-heart-benefits-of-exercise
5. American Heart Association. (2023, May 15). Target heart rates chart. www.heart.org. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/target-heart-rates

Share this post: on Twitter on Facebook