Do Gentle Workouts Still Pack a Punch?
We love an intense, sweaty HIIT session, but going hard every single time you hit the gym (pun intended) may not be the best thing for your body and mind. At KYN, we’re all about the process of self-discovery and finding the fitness balance that’s perfect for you.
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has become one of the most popular methods of working out because it’s a great way to get your heart pounding in a short amount of time. But even short HIIT workouts can be seriously draining.
While HIIT sessions are efficient, gentle workouts can pack a punch while helping you stay on track with your exercise plan. Gentle workouts support both your mental and physical wellbeing even though you don’t typically leave drenched in sweat.
Also known as Low-Intensity Steady-State (LISS) workouts, low-intensity workouts are a type of cardio that has you doing aerobic activity for a continuous period at a low-to-moderate intensity.
As HIIT is short bursts of explosive motions, LISS is sustained and controlled exercises. Think of gentle workouts like a slow cooker while HIIT is like a broiler.
Let’s take a look at how gentle exercise sessions can improve your wellness routine.
Fostering the Mind-Body Connection
After the year and a half, we’ve had, we’ve discovered that our mental wellbeing is just as important as our physical fitness. Incorporating low-impact workouts with a mindfulness component—like breathwork and meditation—helps overall fitness and wellbeing in terms of the mind-body connection.
Gentle workouts give you the opportunity to find your center and focus on your posture, alignment, and breath as you exercise.
Giving Your Body a Chance to Relax
Don’t get us wrong; we’re not asking you to quit your HIIT. But adding in one or two restorative or lower-impact sessions can help you recover from more intense sessions. Constantly going hard can lead to fatigue or burnout if you don’t give your body a chance to recover.
At the same time, we understand that you don’t want to take a day off from physical activity altogether. That’s where gentle workouts come in. They help with flexibility and mobility to ease up on your joints and protect you from potential injury on the days you do go hard.
Low-intensity sessions are also helpful for training for endurance events. If you’ve always wanted to run a 5K or marathon, doing LISS training will help you achieve a long-distance goal. HIIT does build your stamina, but since you’re only exercising in short bursts, it’s not as effective as LISS for endurance training.
Burning Fat
Contrary to popular belief, you’re still in the fat-burning zone during a lower impact session. Some say that it may even be more effective than high-intensity exercise because “steady-state training improves your body’s ability to use fat as a fuel instead of using glycogen stored in your muscles.”
Research has demonstrated that continuous aerobic exercise can be more effective at improving evenly distributed fat burning than HIIT. Look for yoga, movement, or steady-state workouts that will still keep your heart rate around 60% of your maximum heart rate.
Sticking to Your Routine
Adding gentler workouts into your routine can help you stick to your fitness goals in the long run. Studies show that those who engage in lower-intensity exercise are “more likely to stick to their plan than those who attempt to accomplish the same goals in half the time with HIIT.”
If you’re starting a new fitness routine, you may be tempted to go all out right away so you can see physical results fast. But many people who do this end up overexerting themselves and have difficulty sticking to the routine they initially set.
Incorporating LISS into your plan enables you to stick to your workout plan for a longer period of time. You’ll find that you’ll feel more connected to your body, and you’ll want to keep being productive in the gym.
Gentle Workouts with KYN
If you’re looking for ways to improve your mobility, recover from yesterday’s intense session or a lower-impact workout that will still get your heart rate up, then we have great options for you here at KYN:
We look forward to seeing you on the mat!
