HIIT or LISS - You decide?

What type of exercise is best - HIIT or LISS
HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)
Many people spout HIIT as the winning formula. Short bursts of hard exercise followed by short rest periods. If you are performing HIIT sessions for 1 hour or more, then you are not conducting HIIT. You may be doing interval training or working hard but HIIT should be all out effort for a short space of time
PROS:

• One advantage is getting the whole workout done in a short space of time.

• Time efficient
• Another advantage that people link to HIIT is EPOC (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption) or afterburn. It is the thought that after conducting HIIT you burn more calories than if you just do steady state cardio (jogging) for example. EPOC does exist. But don’t rely on it. It equates to 6 to 15% percent of the total calories burnt during the workouts, (300 calorie workout = 18-45 calories extra).

CONS:

• You need to work very hard to be conducting HIIT effectively.
• It can make you feel sick.
• You can lose form when conducting exercise at a very high tempo and may be more susceptible to injury.
• Unless you start to add resistance it will be difficult to build muscle in the long term.

LISS (Low Intensity Steady State)
The go to exercise that most people choose when they decide to get fitter or lose weight is to hit the paths/roads and go for a jog. It is so easy to do, just stick your trainers on and get out there. You can choose how fast and how far you run and who you run with, it’s so simple. You might choose to cycle, swim, walk and these all have similar benefits.
PROS:

• Easy to do with minimal equipment
• Can be a great way to get started or back into exercise
• Can conduct easily with others
• Can be less impactive on joints

CONS:

• Takes up more time
• Can take more time to achieve desired goal
• You may need to increase the time spent doing it as you progress
• You may find it boring as the sessions get longer

So the take home points; don’t choose HIIT for it’s extra fat burning qualities. Yes it does elicit higher EPOC than LISS but we are talking marginally, it isn’t a magic formula. Don’t avoid LISS because it doesn’t burn as much fat as HIIT. Both types burn calories. How many calories is mainly determined by the intensity and duration of each workout. Not eating a piece of chocolate cake makes a ‘saving’ of roughly 300 calories, whereas training really  hard for 30-40 minutes may burn 300 calories. Do not rely on exercise to increase your calorie deficit. Make your calorie savings where you can from your food and drink choices.
The best type of exercise you can do for fat loss is any exercise that you enjoy doing, can fit into your daily routine and that works alongside you being in a calorie deficit.
The best type of exercise for muscle gain is resistance training of any sort that you can progress with over time. Whether that is increasing the weight lifted, the number of sets and reps or decreasing the rest periods. Progressive overload is key.
Overall do not stress about what type of exercise to do if you are looking for general fitness improvements, fat loss or mental well-being. Choose something that you enjoy, that you can stick with and that gets you closer to your goals.