Are You Burned Out? Try These LISS Workouts for Muscle Recovery

Simples exercises to restore your energy when your body is exhausted.

There are days I shut down, emotionally and physically. In those days, I don’t have the energy or desire to go out with my friends. I neglect my health and I feel discouraged to keep doing my work. Burnout can mess up your health, happiness, relationships, and job performance.

However, it’s one thing to recognize you are burned out, and it’s another thing to get your energy back up. When I notice signs of burnout, I make adjustments to my lifestyle, especially my fitness routine.

I’m lazy when it comes to exercising. I choose workouts with minimal effort that will give me what I intend to achieve. This is why LISS is my go-to workout routine.

Since this is low-intensity cardio, it can be a great form of exercise for someone recently recovering from injury or illness and looking to get back in shape.

If you’re looking to improve your fitness or haven’t exercised in a while, LISS is a great way to do it!

Why You Should Include LISS In Your Fitness Routine

Who can resist a brisk walk, bike ride, or swim in the name of good health?

LISS stands for “Low Intensity Steady State” cardio. As the name suggests, this is any form of cardio exercise in which you maintain the same low-intensity (i.e., steady-state) cardio pace for a period of time.

LISS has several advantages, it does not overload your body and it is easy to recover.

LISS is a great way to increase total energy expenditure in a low-impact way that won’t negatively affect your strength training or gym workouts.

LISS activities can increase your non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), which is simply the energy used for daily activities beyond structured exercise or gym work.

NEAT is a big part of the weight loss puzzle that many people overlook: your hour in the gym won’t add much to your daily energy expenditure, it’s what you do in the other 23 hours of your day which adds a lot. have a greater impact on your total energy consumption.

For example, if you don’t spend most of your day sitting at a writing desk, in a car, and then on the couch watching Netflix when you get home, your energy consumption is likely to be low and therefore much more easy for you to gain weight.

However, if you walk to the office, stroll with your dog in the evening, do housework, run errands, or play with your children, your energy consumption and calorie burn will likely be much higher.

This is why LISS is a great option for most people, especially those who aren’t in shape to start HIIT training initially. So here are 10 LISS workouts you can incorporate into your daily activity to stay fit.

Courtesy Lunge Row

The courtesy lunge primarily works the quads and glutes. It activates the glutes in a unique way because it targets the hip abductor muscles more than a standard lunge. The gluteus minimus muscles also work as they are used to pull the leg towards the body. These muscles are located on the side of the buttocks.

Lying Heel Tap

Heel tap exercises focus on the ab, and oblique and engage muscles in the upper back as you lift up. This exercise can help remove tummy pooch and strengthen your core in general. It also works the hips flexor as you bend the knees to drive them in, or bend your waist to meet the legs.

Side Plank

Side planks are a variation of traditional planks. These are stability exercises that strengthen your core and leverage your obliques more than a regular plank. If you’re just starting out, the half-knee side plank gives you a bit more support when lifting and holding.

Standing Toe Tap

The standing toe tap exercises are great for increasing your heart rate, targeting lower body muscles, burning calories, and improving foot speed, balance, and control. They train the glutes, hip flexors, quads, hamstrings, calves, and core for flexibility and strength.

Alternating Reverse Lunge

The alternating side lunge targets the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and inner thighs and helps strengthen the core, calves, and outer thighs. This exercise improves dynamic balance and agility and increases performance and flexibility.

Side Crunch

The side crunch, or oblique crunch, is a bodyweight exercise that improves your core strength. It also works as an abdominal exercise that activates and tones your transverse abdominis and your internal and external oblique muscles.

Side Squat Steps

Side squats are an awesome power move that works your butt, legs, and core while giving an extra focus on the outer thighs that a basic squat can’t. You’ll also work muscles such as the hip adductors and glutes

Squat Jack

Squat jacks are a lower-body power and strength exercise that target the quads, glutes, and hamstrings. The exercise also improves hip mobility and cardiovascular endurance. During this move, you’ll hit your abs as well, because your core needs to engage to power you through the move with good form.

Standing Knee Drive

Standing knee drive targets the hamstrings, hip flexors, quads, glutes, and calves. As a result, it improves the balance of the body. It also greatly activated the abdominal and core muscles, which will eventually make it more effective in improving body posture.

Squat Jack With Clap

Burnouts can be frustrating, but you can recover easily by simply adding the squat jack to your workout plan. This movement engages the shoulders, chest, quadriceps, hamstrings, abductors, adductors, glutes, core, and lower back. If you need an easier variation at first, go up and down instead of jumping.

Parting words

Whether you are a beginner or a professional trainer, LISS will help you improve your fitness. It can help you lose weight, improve your heart health, and build muscle.

The great thing about LISS is that you’re more likely to stick with it. Consistency is key to maintaining and improving your current fitness level.

Even if you don’t like slow-move workouts, choose your easiest three LISS exercises from this list and begin each set with 45 to 60 minutes and see how it goes. The longer the duration the more fun your workout will be. And if you stay consistent you might be surprised at the excellent results.

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