LISS - Why does it work?

Dustin07

Dustin07

Legend
I spent years heavily focused on HIIT training, and got absolutely shredded when I was competing in CrossFit / Strength sports. Rarely did any sort of LISS and if I wasn't doing a WOD with implements, I was doing HIIT sprints or something of that nature.


Now, I'm enjoying a more laid back approach, focused on power and oly lifting with BB lifts as accessory work. My body recovers better. My conditioning is dogshit compared to my CrossFit days but I have been adding LISS in here and there. 15-20 minutes on an incline treadmill or something of that sort.

I know the studies show that HIIT can burn 9x more fat, but why on earth is LISS so effective? after nearly 15 years of playing this game I still struggle to wrap my head around why 20 minutes of additional LISS work accomplishes so much when added to a clean diet and lifting program.

it really doesn't seem like much extra energy expenditure, but it always seems to be that difference between maintenance, and melting BF.
 
I guess because you're already putting your body through a lot of stress from power/olympic lifts that LISS is a welcome relief for the body. I'm sure if you did HIIT with power/olympic lifts, you'd feel miserable, drained, and at risk of getting an injury. But LISS without some high-intensity lifting regimen would probably be not as effective.
 
It is my impression that because the average gym rat is already slaging iron, that LISS helps you to up NEAT and that coupled withthe weight training epoc is more effective due to HIT exponentially further increasing cortisol to potentially unhealthy and catabolic levels...just personal expirence tho 🤷‍♂️
 
yes that makes a lot of sense as well. one thing I have been watching on my wife is how slowly the scale has moved despite her losing many inches, three on the waist alone in the first 2 months with no lbs dropped. I associated this to a lot of things. First, her nutrition is spot on. She's not crash dieting, so she's geared up for a slow fat loss which is pro-muscle development. She's already an athlete but is getting more serious about weight training since being put on a COVID break.

Second, I speculate that some HIIT barbell training, CrossFit style, could be detrimental to muscle mass in the same way that running a marathon can be. I am thinking in these cases, that steady weight training with a program geared towards muscle development coupled with nutrition that fits the bill just right, could actually be more productive than overly intense training which burns calories and prohibits the sparing of muscle mass.

Enter LISS training to up NEAT like you mentioned.

What is most curious about it, is that I have done it all. Strict BB, 2 a days, 3 a days, hours of cardio in the morning + hour of lifting at night, years of CrossFit style training, and now back to a more laid back approach of "fun" power lifting and BB lifting matched with solid diet and LISS. of all the styles I've done and encountered, what we are doing now is the "laziest", the least hard on the body, and seemingly VERY effective.
 
I always prefered LISS over HIIT. I used to road cycle a lot in my longer years, and it appears to be what my body is used to. But when I say LISS, i'm at medium resistance with a 90rpm for 40-50 minutes. Probably not what a lot of people call LISS, but I found my body just wasn't cut out for intervals. I think as everyone else says, it just burns calories, all abou the deficit
 
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