HIIT vs LISS

RepswithRyan

What's your favourite type of cardio?

SnifterPug

HIIT (or at any rate absolutely NOT LISS!) I do heavy bag boxing for my cardio, 3 mins on, one rest, 12 rounds. That takes quite a while so the intensity cannot get as high as the shorter duration HIIT would.

Djproulx

RepswithRyan wrote: »

What's your favourite type of cardio?

all of it.

kimny72

I hate doing HIIT (real HIIT, not the circuit training lots of people try to sell as HIIT).

But I think it's important, so I try to do it once or twice a week. Try being the operative word lol.

goal06082021

Google tells me LISS stands for Low-Intensity Steady State, so, like...walking? Yeah, that. Walking outdoors is my preferred form of cardio (although I have found some Youtube kickboxing workouts that are pretty fun).

sijomial

Rule of thumb....
If someone says they enjoy HIIT then they most likely aren't doing real HIIT, they are just doing somewhat intense interval training and hanging the wrong label on it.

My favourite "cardio" is cycling in beautiful countryside, neither LISS or HIIT.

AnnPT77

I find the question kind of confusing, actually.

I don't think of HIIT or LISS as "types of cardio". I think of them as pacing strategies. When I think "types of cardio", I think of running, rowing, XC skiing, swimming, cycling, skating . . . . etc. LISS and HIIT are not opposite exercise poles, either, to me. Steady state can be intense, medium, low, or anything along that continuum. So can intervals. There's more to it, but it's more like a graph with intensity on the X-axis and steadiness vs. interval-ness on the Y axis.

On top of that, HIIT is over-hyped and overgeneralized these days, with virtually anything of a variable intensity or "push your hardest" nature being called HIIT (for marketing reasons, I guess), but the actual exercises and their effects vary all over the map. When people talk about HIIT, it's now essential to ask what they mean, really. (People post "how do you estimate calories for HIIT" here . . . you don't, you estimate calories for circuit training, rowing, biking, calisthenics, or whatever the heck actual exercise activity you're doing, taking into the consideration the pace and pace variability.)

I'm a rower, have been a competing rower in the past, have followed periodized training plans, which is a normal sort of approach among competing athletes (or those who want to make similar types of progress) in cardiovascularly-intensive sports. Those plans include a mix of different paces/intensities, and will typically include both interval-type and steady-state type workouts (either of which can happen at different intensities). The mix of workouts varies across a longer period, typically set up to shoot for peak performance at key competitions. By far the largest volume (time-wise) over the full plan is longer, lower-intensity work, but it's a mix, for cardio-intense sports I'm aware of.

These days, I mostly just stay active for fun, doing lots of rowing (shells when possible, machines when necessary) but some biking (stationary and outdoor/recreational), strength training, and other stuff. I don't follow highly structured training plans anymore, but still use varied intensities and both interval & steady state pacing approaches at different times, because it's more fun to mix things up a little (and can be more beneficial for general fitness).

I'm not saying it's necessarily wrong to prefer a certain pacing strategy for whatever reason, and not use other strategies that are less enjoyable. Most of us are just working out for fun, general fitness, maybe some extra calorie expenditure. Any of the strategies are better than no CV exercise. Fitness-wise, performance-wise, a mix is really the best idea, IMO. Health-wise, enjoyable exercise we'll actually do is the best idea, with pacing/intensity less important, IMO.

ninerbuff

Most people CAN'T do HIIT because they don't realize what it really is.

For me, I INTERVAL train for cardio varying speed and recovery on how I feel that day.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Speakeasy76

When I have done real HIIT classes (like Les Mills GRIT) I have not enjoyed them at all. Even when finished I Don't feel like I have a rush of endorphins. Why would I do something I don't enjoy even if it's supposedly "better" for me? I'm in good cardiovascular health and don't need to lose weight but I still like to mix up my cardio. I do anything from walks outside to cardio dance to Tae Bo to intervals on my Bowflex trainer. The key for me is finding something I actually at least partially enjoy and don't dread. It's also really important for me to make sure I'm active throughout the day outside of formal exercise.

NorthCascades

FL = Fast & Light. 🌄 🏞️ 🏔️

spiriteagle99

I'm a runner who enjoys competing in distance races. Most of my training is slow and steady. The goal is to improve my endurance so I can finish the race strong. I do some sort of speed work once a week when training for a race and intermittently when I'm not in hopes of improving my aerobic fitness. Sometimes I do high intensity intervals, sometimes lactate threshold workouts, sometimes hills. None of it really qualifies as true HIIT since I do the intervals for more than 30 seconds and the rest for much more. I do occasionally do HIIT on the stationary bike, but that is for fun, not because I actually perceive any benefit from it. NB:I don't.

MikePfirrman

I do both but others are right. Without low intensity work (and a lot of it), you really can't do HIIT work because you don't have the physical capacity to actually do it. And both work different things. HIIT is fun for me because it's short and sweet. Much better than 30 or 45 minutes of pushing as hard as you can and less boring than an hour or two of slow intensity work. But all have a purpose.

I used to do this, but most that think they are doing HIIT that have never done a lot of cardio (four or five hours a week or more) were likely just experiencing being out of shape.

Chieflrg

As a power lifter I gravitate towards LISS on average 300 minutes per week and add 60min or more of moderate intensity.

I try to keep cardio down to RPE6 but will jump to RPE8 on the moderate days to increase my work compacity for my sport and general fitness.

cwolfman13

My primary cardio is cycling, either road or mountain/trail followed closely by walking and hiking. Depending on the ride selection, a ride can be gentle and easy, strenuous, long endurance, etc...just depends on the ride. I do interval training on my bike as well and it can be pretty strenuous, but it isn't HIIT. Most people "doing HIIT" aren't really doing it...they're just doing the mass marketing version of it.

jjpptt2

MIIT -- medium intensity interval training.

I live in a hilly area, so all of my running/cycling involves some hills. As such, there is a necessary interval nature to my efforts.