Low intensity steady state training

Over the last few years, I have discussed the benefits of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and incorporating various forms of interval training into your weekly regimen.

Regular vigorous intense bursts of exercise such as HIIT can yield big gains, but it is not necessarily for everyone.

High intensity training also has it’s downside when done too often.

There are many reasons people should consider a different approach, whether it’s due to health related issues, physical condition, stuck at a plateau or just avoiding exercise burnout.

The term low intensity steady state training or LISS was coined by a pretty well known personal trainer a few years ago.

The idea behind the term is simple and many fitness professionals have been incorporating this idea for many years. Low intensity steady state training simply put is a lower level of exercise exertion for a long, continuous period such as walking, swimming or biking.

One of the net gains from this form of exercise beyond the fact that it is easier on your body is its potential to burn fat more efficiently.

As usual in health and fitness, not everyone in the fitness community would agree that low intensity training burns fat better than high intensity running for example.

But the many complexed factors that come into play around how the body metabolizes fat, sugar and handles hormone responses caused by exercise is not well understood by many fitness professionals.

Scientific research and studies across many fitness disciplines have shown that lower intensity continuous exercise allows an increased delivery of oxygen, helping cells burn fat efficiently.

This essentially allows your body to be a fat burner that does not rely as heavily on carb or sugar as a primary fuel. Now this is a far too simple explanation, but a deeper dive would quickly become confusing for most of us.

The best way to understand what the body is doing during exercise is to understand the role that oxygen plays in energy delivery.

If the level and intensity of an exercise does not allow solid oxygen delivery to easily produce energy from fat stores, our body and muscles must rely on sugar as its primary fuel source.

High intensity workouts create oxygen peaks and valleys going from aerobic to anaerobic demands.

One major benefit to low intensity continuous training is it allows a greater, more consistent availability of oxygen to break down your fat at the cellular level.

Raised metabolism from even low level exercise coupled with better oxygenation of the blood allows muscle and fat cells to secrete epinephrine, a hormone that improves the release of fatty acids into the blood and within the muscle for fuel.

One downside to low level continuous training that many fitness people with busy lifestyles do not like is it requires consistency and much more time spent exercising to burn the same amount of calories that they would get from HIIT training.

As we look at the effectiveness of low intensity steady state training, we need to remember 70 percent of our overall health footprint is based on what we eat. LISS training burns fat well, but it also burns fewer calories than more intense training, running versus walking for example.

This aspect is important to factor in since when optimizing LISS results, you have to have a good nutrition plan with calorie limits in place.

Since the LISS is the opposite of HIIT, you get two very different reactions from your body’s hormonal responses from the exercises.

During high intensity training, over time can lead to stress, which releases the hormone cortisol which triggers a number of negative effects.

High impact training creating cortisol in your body will decrease the body’s ability to tap into its own fat as fuel.

HIIT training overdone can also impact testosterone levels and bring estrogen in to play. Although these changes can effect both men and women, women can run into weight loss obstacles due to hormonal imbalances from over-training.

This is where a balance of LISS and HIIT becomes a great solution for maintenance, growth and recovery.

Both LISS and HIIT exercise has a positive effect on the release of serotonin, dopamine and growth hormone levels.

The point to discuss low intensity steady state training is to give seasoned athletes an added tool to balance their workout regimen, avoid overtraining issues and keep momentum.

Older or sedentary folks, LISS training can build lasting foundational fitness without the impact and discomfort of high intensity exercises.

For overweight people who have failed at fad dieting and do not wish to join a gym or hire a trainer to lose weight, LISS done properly in a reduced calorie diet can shed inches effectively.

For the rest of us that fall in-between super fit and sedentary, it should be something to add to your weekly fitness regimen to optimize your overall wellness.

Judd Jones is a director for the Hagadone Corp.