As the name suggests, LISS - Low-Intensity Steady State is the form of workout which involves maintaining the same pace of exercise for a set period.
Unlike high-intensity interval training, low-intensity steady state workout doesn’t involve rigorous training schedule for a short span of time.
Rather it involves slow and continuous exertion of the body for a long duration of time.
Walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, etc. all at relaxed levels comprises of low-intensity steady state workout.
It is found to be quite beneficial in the long run as one doesn’t get exhausted easily. Hence low-intensity steady state workout can be done on a regular basis.
Low-intensity steady state workout is best for those to start who has been leaving a sedentary lifestyle for long.
Not only it helps in burning calories, but also helps to boost the fitness level of an individual.
Let’s learn about the numerous benefits of low-intensity steady state workout in weight loss and fitness.
4 Benefits/Advantages of LISS workout for Weight Loss & Fitness
There are various benefits of low-intensity steady state workout. LISS workouts help in regularising blood circulation in the body, thus improving health parameters. LISS helps in burning body fat effectively and people tend to be more motivated to do LISS as compared to high-intensity workouts. Also, LISS causes less fatigue and thus suitable for all majority of people.
Let us understand how is it beneficial for inducing weight loss and promoting fitness.
1. Low-intensity steady state exercise is beneficial for blood circulation
This type of workout has been found to improve blood supply throughout the body.
As the low-intensity steady state is done for the longer duration, enough oxygen is taken by the lungs that are your respiration capacity gets enhanced.
Enough oxygen taken up by the blood contributes to effective supply to the body. As the blood circulation is enhanced, this helps in the proper functioning of cells and hence the organ system.
The effective functioning of the organ system helps us to stay fit and healthy over the long run. In this way, it acts on cardiac muscles for effective blood circulation through the body.
Hence steady state exercise enhances fitness level and helps one to stay healthy.
What does this mean? Low-intensity steady state workout helps in effective intake of oxygen as it is done for a longer duration. This promotes good blood circulation, thereby enhancing body fitness and health.
2. It helps to enhance the fat burning rate in the body
According to a study conducted, it has been found that low-intensity steady state exercise is beneficial in promoting the overall fat oxidation rate in the body.
As the rate of fat oxidation increases, fats and stored lipids are broken down in the body.
This helps in providing energy to the body to perform the exercise. Also, an excess of fats in the body is removed by this process.
It works on different muscles of the body like arms, legs, shoulder, etc. depending on what type of exercise are you performing.
In this way, it helps to promote weight loss and enhance fitness level.
What does this mean? This type of workout, increases the fat oxidation rate in the body, thereby providing energy to do exercise and also removing excess fats in the body.
3. Low-intensity steady state exercise keeps you motivated to lose weight
A study mentioned in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases states that high-intensity workout decreases adherence and results in the completion of less exercise.
On the other hand, low-intensity steady state exercise involves mild training and a gentler approach towards exercise hence is enjoyed by the people.
This, in turn, motivates them to stick to the routine unlike high-intensity workouts and follow it which can help them to achieve goals on a longer run.
This promotes weight loss and helps in maintaining the body fitness of an individual.
What does this mean? The mild training approach of steady state exercise builds a routine in an individual to carry out the exercise regularly thereby promoting weight loss.
4. Low-intensity steady state exercise helps to avoid fatigue
This type of exercise, unlike high-intensity workout, doesn’t give much pressure to the central nervous system of the body.
High-intensity workout strains the central nervous system leaving you feeling tired, and this hinders you from working more.
On the other hand, low-intensity steady state workout gives you sufficient time to exercise and hence recover faster, thereby not letting you feel tired.
This helps one to work out to one’s best potential and hence aids in weight loss.
What does this mean? Steady state exercise doesn’t let you feel tired as the exercise done of low intensity and hence allows one to do it for a longer duration, thereby aiding weight loss.
Let’s see different ways to practice this exercise.
How to practice low-intensity steady state exercise?
Usually, low-intensity steady state workout involves minimum of 40 minutes of exercise performed at 50 to 65% of one’s heart rate. Let’s have a look at few of how it’s performed.
1) Jogging: Start with 10 minutes of brisk walking and gradually build up for a non-stop jog for 30 minutes or more as per convenience.
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2) Treadmill: Start slowly for the first 10 minutes at a rate of 1 mile per hour. Later increase it slowly to 2-5 miles per hour for the next 30 minutes.
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3) Zumba Dancing: One can start with warm up for the first 10 minutes with slow body moves and later move on gradually for the next 30 minutes.
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Other activities like swimming, rowing, brisk walking, slow cycling, etc. to constitute under this type of workout.
A complete set of varieties of slow exercises can be performed for overall body workout.
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Precautions
As such, low-intensity steady state exercise doesn’t require any major precautions to take, but a few things can be kept in mind while performing it.
This exercise on a regular basis over a prolonged period promotes muscle catabolism which may lead to muscle damage, especially for people with cardiac diseases.
They must consult a doctor before performing the exercise.
If one has suffered from injury recently, they must not stress oneself by performing the exercise for too long a duration.
If suffering from any bone-related diseases, consult a health practitioner before working out.
Overall, this type of workout if done appropriately doesn’t pose any health risk.
Conclusion
Low-intensity steady state exercise has been found to be the most preferred and convenient exercise for people of any age group.
This is considered to be the best to start as it involves doing work out at low intensity for a certain set period usually 30 minutes or more.
It is found to reduce weight and provide fitness due to efficient oxygen supply to the body which in turn promotes body metabolism.
Unlike high-intensity workouts, one doesn’t experience fatigue and rather gets motivated to complete the exercise because of its slow and steady schedule.
This type of workout, when done rightly, can lead to amazing benefits and promote our body to great fitness levels!
One must include this in their daily routine to enhance health and body fitness.