This article explains what LISS Cardio is, and looks at its benefits, drawbacks, and how it differs from HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training).
The acronym LISS stands for Low-Intensity Steady-State (Cardio). It is a steady-state exercise that involves maintaining the same low-intensity pace for the duration of the exercise period.
Results will take longer to realize than an intense exercise such as HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training). However, it offers a safe and reliable means of getting fitter and leaner over time.
When combined with regular HIIT workouts (High-Intensity Interval Training), LISS can help you see faster results.
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Whom does it suit?
LISS is an easy, low-intensity form of exercise suitable for individuals of every fitness level.
Being low-intensity, LISS Cardio is excellent for anyone who hasn’t exercised for a while and wants to get back into it.
It is also helpful for people who want to ease back into fitness following an injury or illness.
Next, we look at an example of the types of LISS Cardio exercise you can do.
All should be undertaken at a moderate pace.
Examples of LISS Cardio
- Walking
- Jogging
- Hiking
- Cycling outdoors or on a spin bike
- Exercising in your lounge room
- Rowing
- Swimming
- Using cardio equipment
- Vinyasa or Flow Yoga
- Recreational activities such as skating or surfing
LISS Workout Schedule
Do 3 x 15 to 20-minute workouts per week if you’re starting your fitness journey. Increase the length and frequency as you become fitter
Fitness experts recommend doing that only 20% of workouts should be high-impact.
If you are an intermediate or advanced level exerciser doing high-impact exercise five times a week, replace three of your workouts with LISS. Your program will be more rounded, and you will be less prone to injury.
How do LISS and HIIT Differ?
While both are cardio-based, LISS and HIIT differ considerably.
LISS is undertaken at the same low-intensity steady pace for the session duration. Sessions are typically 30 minutes or longer, with 45 to 60 minutes ideal.
The aim is to keep your heart rate at 50% to 65% of your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) from the start to the finish of your workout.
A simple way to estimate your MHR in beats per minute (bpm) is to subtract your age from 220. Multiply the result by 0.5 and then 0.65 to determine your target heart rate zone.
Alternatively, you can use an online MHR calculator.
While offering a variety of valuable health benefits, when using LISS for weight loss, it takes longer to get results than HIIT.
HIIT, on the other hand, involves fast and furious bursts of cardio. These are interspersed with short rest periods during which the pace slows or stops entirely.
You will generally work at 70 to 95% of your max heart rate for the high-intensity portion of your workouts and 40 to 50% for the low-intensity intervals.
Due to its intensity, HIIT workouts are shorter than LISS, usually 30 minutes at most.
While LISS workouts are typically longer than HIIT, they don’t necessarily burn more calories.
Studies have shown that a 60-minute LISS workout burns around 500 calories, while 30 minutes of HIIT burns approximately 200 calories.
However, HIIT promotes “afterburn,” resulting in approximately 50 calories being burned for 10 to 12 hours after finishing your workout. This amounts to between 700 and 800 calories in total.
This does not negate the benefits of LISS.
Next, we will touch on some of the benefits of LISS, the drawbacks, and why you may want to add LISS cardio workouts to your fitness program.
Benefits of LISS Cardio
- It suits exercisers of every fitness level.
- Being low-impact, workouts are gentle on the joints and muscles.
- There’s no steep learning curve.
- You won’t be gasping for breath, so the workouts are ideal to do while catching up with what’s new with family or friends.
- You can use it as a recovery exercise.
- It promotes fat-burning.
- It offers stress relief.
- Regular sessions will increase your endurance.
Disadvantages of LISS Cardio
- Workouts are long, so may not be suitable if you have limited time to exercise.
- With workouts usually 30 minutes or longer, they could become boring if you don’t vary them.
- While gentle, its repetitive nature could lead to overuse injuries.
- It’s not the best choice for improving strength.
Following are some reasons you should consider adding LISS to your fitness regimen.
30-Minute Indoor LISS Cardio Workout
Reasons to do LISS Cardio Workouts
Practical and Accessible to All –
LISS is an easy, low-intensity exercise form suitable for individuals of every fitness level.
You won’t have to go to the gym to do it, not even step outside if you don’t want to.
This makes it an excellent choice for anyone who wants to improve their fitness without paying gym fees or working out in public.
Being low-intensity, LISS Cardio is excellent for anyone who hasn’t exercised for a while and wants to get back into it.
It is also useful for people who want to ease back into fitness following an injury or illness.
As LISS is so simple to do, it can easily be added to your workout routine if you already exercise. LISS does not put a lot of strain on your body, so you can do it several times per week.
It’s a sustainable form of exercise –
LISS cardio exercise is a great way to get moving if you aren’t a fan of high-intensity cardio like HIIT. 
it is easy to integrate into your lifestyle as almost anything goes as long as you undertake it at a consistently moderate pace for at least 30 minutes.
Even walking your dog counts as long as you do it briskly.
Having said this, there’s a reason it’s called low-intensity steady-state cardio. It must be steady and continuous, so if your pup stops to sniff every few steps, this is not a workout.
This is not to suggest they should miss out on their walk or that you should drag them along. Treat the walks with your furry friend as a bonus.
It burns fat –
When training at a lower intensity, such as when doing LISS, your body gets more oxygen. The more oxygen you can give your body, the more fat you can burn.
When doing steady-state cardio, your body uses fat for fuel rather than the glycogen stored in your muscles.
The combination of both HIIT and LISS in your routine is an effective way of losing body fat.
LISS exercise can help burn stored body fat and calories because it helps your body metabolize fat.
If you only do low-impact exercise, your body may break down your stored muscle as it burns energy. This could potentially cause you to lose muscle mass and strength.
To counteract this, include strength training in your fitness regimen.
It’s helpful for recovery training –
Incorporating low-impact workouts such as LISS cardio into a higher impact fitness regimen will enable you to keep fit without overstressing your muscles and negatively impacting your joints.
You may be able to do LISS Cardio while recovering from an injury. Workout recovery time is shorter, and, being gentle, LISS can often be mixed in with HIIT without delaying your recovery. In fact, it can help increase blood flow to sore muscles and help reduce post-workout stiffness.
NB: If you are recovering from an injury, check with your doctor or physical therapist before resuming exercise.
It can relieve stress –
Exercise is known to relieve stress. However, not all forms provide this benefit.
In fact, studies have shown that HIIT can increase the stress hormone cortisol, while low-intensity exercise like LISS decreases it.
This makes LISS a sound choice to lower both physical and mental stress.
It’s useful for endurance training –
HIIT develops explosive fitness and speed and builds muscle.
However, exercising at low intensity for an extended period places less stress on the heart and lungs than high-impact training. This makes LISS effective for improving endurance.
It develops Type 1 Slow twitch muscle fibers which support long-distance and endurance fitness activities and increase blood supply to muscles.
LISS improves cardiovascular function by improving the body’s ability to take in, transport, and use oxygen over an extended period.
Additionally, with workouts being longer, it improves focus and the ability to concentrate.
This makes LISS valuable for anyone who partakes in endurance sports such as marathon running or walking, road cycling races, and the like.-
Why LISS Cardio may not be for You
The time factor –
For optimum benefit, steady-state cardio workouts such as LISS require more time than some other forms of exercise.
While any fitness activity is better than none, if you only have 20 minutes to exercise a few times a week, there are better choices.
Boredom could come into play –
Boredom can be an issue with any exercise, not just LISS; however, it can be more prevalent with longer workouts.
If you find long workouts tedious, you may need to vary the activity you do.
Doing so will keep your workouts more engaging and bring better results as you will target slightly different muscles.
There’s potential for overuse injuries –
With workouts being on the long side, overuse injuries and muscle imbalances could occur if you repeatedly do the same activity.
Again, this is not exclusive to LISS and can happen with any exercise. The incidence with LISS is actually lower because it is gentle.
It’s not ideal for power gains –
LISS won’t do much for improving your strength.
Use light dumbbells or fitness bands to increase or retain your strength and muscle tone, working all of your major muscle groups two or three times a week.
You can target all muscle groups in longer, single sessions or alternate the muscles you work in shorter, more frequent sessions.
LISS Cardio Workout Summary
LISS cardio is an effective and versatile workout that can include numerous exercises.
By not treating it as something you have to do, you will look forward to your workouts, so mix things up. Doing so will prevent boredom and bring better results.
You may also like this article on the benefits and drawbacks of cross training.
