If you think that you can only stay in shape and lose weight by doing hard cardio sessions until you are exhausted, when you discover the advantages of super slow exercise you will change your mind for sure!
Exercising at a leisurely pace has many benefits, little known even by the widespread belief that the faster we run or do repetitions, the better results we will obtain. Of course, high intensity cardio, especially in interval training (HIIT), is effective when it comes to burning calories, but there is another way of training, just as effective, that has more and more followers.
It is what is known as LISS training , which could be defined as the opposite of HIIT, that is, cardio training for a long time maintaining a low and constant intensity (in English: Low Intensity Steady State).
The keys for exercising slowly to be effective
A LISS workout consists of performing any exercise at low intensity, so that your heart rate does not exceed 60 – 65% of its total capacity. According to experts, this is the ideal band for the body to start pulling accumulated fats as a source of energy, so staying in it for a considerable time, at least 45 minutes, is a guarantee that your adipose tissue will end decreasing.
You can try to exercise slowly with almost any sport you do. Common examples of this training option are walking at a good pace, or practicing on the elliptical or on the bike, always maintaining a constant effort and rhythm. They are not the only possibilities. You can also do a LISS workout in the strength series that you practice in the gym, prolonging the time you dedicate to each series and trying to avoid the “peaks” in which you try to give your best.
Why choose to do super slow exercises?
It must be made clear that this way of practicing sport is not incompatible with other types of training. You don’t have to give up anything, because you can perfectly combine LISS sessions with others that require more speed. Knowing the benefits of exercising slowly can change your training plan. Pay attention:
1. Lower risk of injury
Exercising slowly allows beginners or people with a basic level of training to also do sports without health risks. The heart rate does not “shoot up” (especially important for those who may have some type of cardiovascular disease) and the level of demand for muscles and joints is also lower, so the risk of suffering an injury drops significantly.
2. Equal cash
Make no mistake when choosing between slow or fast repetitions to train your muscles. Even if you work at a lower intensity, you will do it for a longer time, so the level of demand will be the same but at a different pace and the results, just as satisfactory.
3. Perfect “fat burner”
It must be emphasized that the heart rate of 60% – 70%, maintained over time, is ideal for your body to burn fat and not limit itself to resorting to the immediate energy provided by carbohydrates. If you want, in addition to losing weight, reduce volume, join the super slow exercises. Keep in mind that metabolizing fats requires a greater expenditure of oxygen and, therefore, a greater expenditure of calories to meet the needs of a metabolism that is working at its best.
4. Improve technique and posture
It is one of the great advantages of exercising slowly. Marking the starting position and paying attention to the evolution of the exercise, because time does not count, is the best option to perfect your execution technique of each of your movements.
5. Less stress
It is also important to enjoy while doing a physical activity. The demand to complete, for example, a circuit training beating your own record can end up causing unnecessary anxiety that brings you more problems than benefits.
6. Shorter recovery time
It’s the good thing about slow exercise. You have trained hard but you do not feel exhausted and you are willing to repeat the next day … is it an advantage or not?
