You may have heard about the trendy HIIT and LISS workout routines. HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training and LISS stands for low-intensity steady state. Got it? That should give you a good idea of what these programs are about, but allow us to go into a little more depth about the difference between HIIT and LISS workouts.
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Difference Between HIIT and LISS Workouts
Let’s start with HIIT. HIIT is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. A HIIT workout consists of short bursts of intense exercise intervals separated by short rest periods. For example, if you are doing upper-body workouts, you could do lat raises for 45 seconds, take a 30-second break, then do biceps curls for 45 seconds, followed by another 30-second break, and so on. During the exercise portion, you should be hitting 80-100% of your maximum heart rate, hence the “high intensity.” A HIIT workout should consist of this kind of split for 30-45 minutes. The advantage of HIIT is its efficiency. By going all-out on every exercise with short periods of rest, you will burn more calories in a shorter amount of time and continue burning calories after thanks to an increase in your metabolism.
Now how about LISS? A LISS workout is a steady cardio workout that is meant to get you to about 50-70% of your maximum heart rate. LISS is more about endurance than intensity. LISS is most often associated with cycling, running, swimming, power-walking, and other cardio exercises that require longer sessions. A good LISS workout should last at least an hour and can be as long as 90 minutes.
So which program is better for you? We hope you have learned something about HIIT and LISS!