Rethinking Cardio: Why Steady State is Better Than HIIT for Long-Term Fat Loss
Image courtesy of Mike Cox via Unsplash
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has been a massive trend for years. It is fast, efficient, and promises maximum calorie burn in minimal time. When setting ambitious New Year's goals, many people feel they must punish themselves with relentless, breathless bursts of effort.
While HIIT is a valuable tool, it is often misunderstood and overused, making it a poor choice for the average person seeking sustainable, long-term fat loss and building a health legacy.
At Legacy Fitness & Nutrition, we encourage a strategic approach: For most people, Low-Intensity Steady State (LISS) cardio, like brisk walking or cycling, is a more effective, safer, and less stressful tool for consistent fat loss. It is time to rethink your cardio.
The Hidden Cost of Too Much HIIT
The issue with HIIT isn't that it doesn't burn calories; it is that it places immense stress on your system, which can work against the goals of fat loss and recovery.
It Spikes Cortisol: HIIT is a massive stressor. When you push yourself to the limit, your body floods your system with cortisol (as discussed in Your Secret Fitness Weapon). Chronic, elevated cortisol signals your body to store fat, particularly around the midsection, and also ramps up sugar cravings, undermining your diet.
It Kills Recovery: Constantly pushing high-intensity effort depletes your glycogen stores and delays muscle recovery, forcing you to skip lifting or feel too exhausted to work out the next day (see article, The 3 Rules of Recovery). This creates inconsistency, which is the enemy of all progress.
It Increases Injury Risk: When you are pushing intensity, your form often breaks down, making you much more prone to joint and soft tissue injuries, which halts all training.
The Power of Steady State (LISS) Cardio
LISS cardio involves maintaining a comfortable, conversational pace for a longer duration (30 to 60 minutes). This means you should be able to talk easily while moving.
1. The Low-Stress Fat Burn
LISS keeps your heart rate comfortably elevated but crucially, keeps your body out of the high-stress, cortisol-spiking zone. LISS is often performed at a heart rate where your body naturally prefers to use stored fat as its primary fuel source. Your body isn't in panic mode; it is in efficiency mode.
2. The Recovery Accelerator
Unlike HIIT, LISS actually aids in recovery. The gentle, sustained movement increases blood flow to your muscles, helping to flush out waste products and transport nutrients for repair. It is active recovery that is easy to stick with daily.
3. The Consistency Builder
LISS is easy to do every day and requires no special equipment; you can simply take a brisk walk (as discussed in The Power of the 15-Minute Home Workout). This ease of entry ensures you maintain the consistency that is the true driver of long-term fat loss.
How to Strategically Use Cardio
For the most effective health legacy, integrate both types of cardio strategically:
LISS (The Foundation): Perform 3 to 5 times per week for 30 to 60 minutes. Use LISS on your rest days or active recovery days.
HIIT (The Accelerator): Use only 1 to 2 times per week, primarily on days when your stress level is low, your sleep was optimal, and your recovery is complete.
For long-term fat loss, resilience, and stress management, prioritize the gentler, more strategic effort of steady state cardio. It is the sustainable path to building an enduring fitness legacy.
