Jake Louro

Should we train hard when appropriate? Absolutely. You will likely make very little progress if you do not train with intensity and purpose. Do you need to kill yourself everyday to get results? Absolutely not.

LISS is and acronym for low intensity steady state cardio and it is the most efficient way of burning fat while preserving lean muscle. This is because oxygen is needed to break down fat and when you do LISS cardio at the correct intensity you don’t put your body into an oxygen deprived state, making it more likely to burn excess fat stores. Did you say burn fat while simultaneously preserving muscle?! Yep.

The way you do this is pretty simple. First, in order to calculate your estimated target heart rate zone you need to subtract your age from 220. Then multiply that number by 60%. This will reveal the ideal heart rate for you to maintain while performing a LISS workout. Your goal is to maintain this heart rate for 30-90 minutes.

I typically recommend that my clients do two days of LISS cardio per week, ideally on rest days. It’s a great active recovery that will help you reach your goals without hindering any strength progress. Add this to your training program, be mindful of what you eat, and the results will speak for themselves.