Weight loss is a multi-billion dollar business. Social media influencers, doctors, and personal trainers try to sell you weight loss products and their expensive “personalized” workout programs. They can cost you from 100 to 1500 dollars for a PDF file on the computer. Some may even have a fancy app on their phone to share with you. However, weight loss is not as difficult as people think. It is not just calorie in and calorie out. But if you know the basics of weight loss, you can control the outcome in a short amount of time.
I am a proponent of low-intensity steady-state training as I have had the most success. I have lost over 25 lbs in three months using LISS. Most commonly, people use two main exercise patterns: low-intensity steady-state training (LISS) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT). As their names imply, a low-intensity steady-state training requires time under tension and to burn a small number of calories but over an extended time. On the contrary, HIIT training involves a lot of muscle capacity, going all out, and explosive movement in a short time. They both have their utility in strength and athletic training. However, for weight loss, LISS has its unique advantages.
1. LISS is easy to adhere to.
Have you tried a HIIT session, only to find out that you are exhausted after one set of exercises? LISS training is excellent because it does not cause significant fatigue. You are distributing the stress on your muscles for a long time. For example, walking on the treadmill at an incline for 60 minutes can burn about 450 calories. This amount of fatigue is nowhere close to a HIIT session, which lasts about 20 minutes and burns the same amount of calories. You can also try other LISS exercises, such as jogging on the elliptical or walking on the stair master. The goal is to keep you exercising for an extended time. You can aim for at least 10,000 steps daily with a heart rate goal of 130 during your exercise. Some people may even combine intermittent fasting with LISS training because it does not cause significant hypoglycemia during exercise.
2. Your bone and joints will thank you for doing LISS exercises.
HIIT can be dangerous to your joints and bones because of its high intensity and impact. If you are significantly overweight with BMI greater than 30, you are more likely to suffer consequences from HIIT sessions. Plantar fasciitis, patellofemoral syndrome, iliotibial band syndrome, and osteoarthritis, just to name a few. Worse yet, you may tear your ligaments such as the ACL, MCL or sustain a rotator cuff injury. Each one of these will require months of recovery along with physical therapy.
On the contrary, LISS is straightforward on the mechanics of your body. If you combine light impact exercises such as swimming, elliptical, and walking, you can efficiently perform these activities for 60-120 minutes with no risks for injury. Simply bring a book or watch a movie while exercising. Be patient, and your body will reward you with weight loss.
3. It focuses on fat burning instead of carbohydrates.
Our body shifts the focus from burning carbohydrates to lipids in low impact activity state. This is because fat burning is more time-consuming than undergoing glycolysis with the breakdown of carbohydrates. In a HIIT session, your body is attempting to quickly increase its metabolic rate and, therefore, needs to use its energy source in seconds. As a result, we burn our glycogen storage and our phosphorus pathways. We have less requirement for quick energy supply; therefore, fat is the preferred method. It provides a little more than twice the energy compared to carbohydrates. When performing low-intensity activities, you will notice it is unlikely to have muscle breakdown and a low glycemic state, which are common problems with HIIT training. This is also why long-distance marathon running also tends to be much slimmer compared to sprinters. One may ask, “But I don’t want to look like the marathon runners! they are skinny!” My response would be, “you will most likely not look like them because you don’t train or eat like them and it takes decades of training!” 3 months of training alone will unlike make you lose all your muscle mass.
I believe a well-rounded athlete will require a combination of LISS and HIIT type of exercises. One should incorporate strength resistance training on top of long-distance walking. If you want to lose weight, you should start with a program that is rich in LISS training until your body is accustomed to the stress, in order to avoid injury.