LISS stands for low-intensity steady state: continuous cardio done at an easy, unchanging pace you could hold for 30 to 60 minutes while talking comfortably. Walking, easy cycling, light rowing, a slow jog. No intervals, no sprints, just one steady effort from start to finish. It overlaps almost completely with zone 2 and is the gentlest way to build aerobic fitness.
Why it matters
LISS is easy to recover from, and that changes everything about how much of it you can do. A hard interval session costs you something the next day. An easy 40-minute walk costs you almost nothing, so you can stack sessions all week without wrecking your lifting or your sleep. Steady, easy volume is what grows your aerobic base. And because the intensity is low, the skip rate is low too. People actually stick with it.
How to use it in training
Make LISS the bulk of your cardio minutes. Something like 80 percent easy, 20 percent hard is a good split for most people. Two to four sessions a week, 30 to 45 minutes each, at a pace where full sentences feel comfortable.
Incline treadmill walking is the underrated pick here. So is cycling with a podcast on. The temptation is always to push harder, and that's the one mistake to avoid: once you're breathing too hard to talk, it stopped being LISS.
Related terms
Go deeper
Wondering whether intervals or steady work wins for your goal? We compared the research: HIIT vs steady state.