You might have heard that cardio burns calories more than resistance training could. This isn’t far from the truth if your goals are just overall health and weight loss. But which cardio is better for weight loss? HIIT (High intensity interval training) or low intensity steady-state cardio, also known as LISS.
HIIT cardio
These are exercises that you can’t do for a longer period of time at full intensity and need to slow down after a few minutes if you are able to do it that long. What this does is increase your heart rate, which helps you burn calories, as HIIT is an endurance-based cardio which includes any cardio exercise that you do at full intensity for a few minutes and then at a lower intensity classified as HIIT. (Examples would be runner’s lunge and burpees).
LISS cardio
LISS cardio are exercises that can be done for a longer period of time with relative ease as compared to HIIT cardio. Exercises like Jogging, hiking and biking are not only more easier to perform and for longer duration. They burn more calories as well while allowing you to recover and do it all again yesterday.
LISS vs HIIT
So which cardio is better for weight loss? as the calorie burn from HISS isn’t that significant when compared to jogging and walking, for you simply cannot do HIIT for an hour, but you can walk or even jog easily for an hour depending on your fitness level. Which, depending on what your weight is, can allow you to burn way more calories easily than you would with HITT cardio as you will end up stopping after 10 to 20 minutes tops as a beginner or even intermediate.
The number of calories burned from any cardio exercise, whether HIIT or jogging, is completely dependent on your weight and how hard you go. That’s why there is no ball park that can be given to you for how much you burn. It’s different for everyone.
If we compare HITT and jogging based on duration. A 20- min session of HITT isn’t going to burn what a 1-hour session of jogging would help burn. So, only do HIIT if you like it. But it isn’t optimal for weight loss as it tires you out and, depending on your fitness level, you might get tired before you even burn any significant amount of calories as your goal is to lose weight, not endurance. It’s just not as rewarding despite its after-burn effect. Do a Stairmaster instead, or a treadmill at incline if you want to challenge yourself as well as burn calories, as it won’t tire you out as fast and will allow you to burn more calories. HIIT is an excellent endurance builder but not optimal for losing weight. For this specific purpose, LISS is more optimal. A few examples of LISS are hiking, biking, walking, jogging, brisk walking etc.
Conclusion
- Prioritize eating some carbs as you are going to be depleting your glycogen stores
- You definitely have to track your calories as that is the most crucial thing to for anything related to weight loss or weight gain. To calculate your calories based on your weight and height use https://www.freedieting.com/calorie-calculator
- To log your calories and keep track of them better use. MyFitnessPal. https://www.myfitnesspal.com/
- for android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.myfitnesspal.android&hl=en&gl=US
- for IOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/myfitnesspal-calorie-counter/id341232718
- if your looking to start your fitness journey. Read Some of the best-fitness-tips you can know as a beginner.
- To know more about how you can eat more while burning it off. how-can-you-lose-weight-while-eating-more
(For more weight loss tips and what food groups to eat to further facilitate your weight-loss goals. Read best-tips-to-lose weight & you-are-what-you-eat)