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Hey Ziddis! If you have just started your fitness journey, here’s a question for you: What do you think is better, HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) or LISS (Low-Intensity Steady-State) cardio? Both methods have their unique benefits, but HIIT has gained more popularity because of how quickly it shows results. But is that it? Let us understand which one is better in what aspect.

HIIT vs LISS: Which is Better?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. HIIT involves short bursts of intense effort followed by recovery periods, making it time-efficient and effective for burning calories in a shorter duration. LISS, on the other hand, is a steady and lower intensity activity like brisk walking, cycling or swimming. When it comes to sustainability, LISS wins. HIIT suits those who want a fast and powerful workout, and for those who don’t mind pushing themselves to the limit, while LISS suits those who prefer consistent endurance building with less strain on joints and recovery.

HIIT vs LISS Cardio

When it comes to cardio, HIIT and LISS both have their own benefits, but check out the impact each has:

HIIT

• Increases heart rate rapidly
• Improved anaerobic and aerobic fitness
• Enhances calorie burn even after the workout
• Requires more recovery
• Not ideal for beginners

LISS

• Promotes fat utilisation during exercise
• Improved cardiovascular endurance
• Easier to incorporate into a busy daily routine
• Gentler on the body
• Calorie burn is slower

Read Also: HIIT May Not Be Right for You. Here’s Why

HIIT vs LISS for Weight Loss

Weight loss is often the main reason one starts working out with HIIT or LISS, so let us understand what the right choice is depending on your body and lifestyle:

HIIT

• Burns more calories in less time
• Elevate metabolism post-workout
• Great for those with limited time
• Perfect if one can handle high-intensity moves

LISS

• Slow but sustainable weight loss
• Helps maintain a calorie deficit
• Reduces strain on the body
• Sustainable for daily practice
• Takes a longer time
• Easier to stick to

The best approach is to combine both. You can have HIIT sessions 2 times a week and regular LISS activities like walking or cycling daily

HIIT vs LISS – The Verdict

It isn’t always about choosing between HIIT and LISS. HIIT is your best bet if you want a quick, efficient calorie-burning activity. It helps in boosting metabolism and improving athletic performance. LISS is great for you if you want a gentle and more sustainable approach that supports endurance and active recovery

Ultimately, what will work best for you is making sure you are combining both, and while you are at it, gear up with fitness accessories like lifting straps for your weight training and HIIT.

Hey Ziddis! Exercises should ideally feel energising and not uncomfortable. So many people experience bloating, gas or cramping during or after workouts. The good news is that with the right nutrition and habits, you can minimise your workout-related bloating and keep your fitness sessions running smoother than ever. If you want a solution to your pre- or post-workout bloating problem, you are at the right spot. Let’s go!

Working Out Without Bloating: Is It Possible?

It is ABSOLUTELY POSSIBLE to exercise without feeling gassy and bloated all the time. The key lies in understanding what is triggering your body to bloat. Once you understand that, you can adjust your pre- or post-workout nutrition and habits to fix it. It could be hydration, food choices, timings and more reasons that could play a huge role in making you feel bloated and gassy.

Workout Bloating Causes and Solutions

Let us understand some of the common reasons why you might be feeling gassy or bloated while exercising. Keep a lookout for the habits that feel familiar to yours.

Habit	Reason	Fix
Eating too close to your workout session	Large meals right before your workout can slow your digestion	Have a small but nutritious snack before you work out to fuel you up instead of slowing you down.
Having too many high-fibre or fatty foods	Beans, broccoli, fried veggies or dairy (if you are lactose intolerant) can cause gas	Stick to the required amount of fibre that your body needs.
Drinking carbonated drinks	Fizzy sodas or sparkling water can fill up your stomach with air	Avoid fizzy sodas and drinks altogether. They do worse than just make you feel bloated
You are dehydrated	Lower fluid intake can slow your digestion and cause discomfort in your stomach	Stay hydrated and drink at least one litre of water during your workout session
Swallowing air	If you breathe too heavily, chew gum, or drink with a straw, it can cause gas buildup, making you feel bloated.	Drink water from bottles or glasses instead of straws. Avoid chewing gum and do some breathing exercises before workouts to regulate your breath.

A simple, quick fix to all your bloating complaints is to stick to easily digestible foods 1–2 hours before exercise, and stay hydrated with plain water.

How to Prevent Bloating When Exercising?

You can prevent bloating when exercising by fixing each step of your workout. Here’s how:

Pre-Workout Tips:

• Eat a small but nutritious snack like a banana, oatmeal, rice cake or peanut butter about an hour before your workout.
• Avoid gassy veggies, fizzy drinks and artificial sweeteners.
• Sip water instead of chugging it.

During Workout:

• Take small sips of water after every set instead of gulping your water all at once
• Avoid energy gels or drinks with excessive sugar in them since they can cause energy spikes and drops and cramping.

Post-Workout Tips:

• Go for a light and protein-rich meal, always like chicken with rice, smoothie with protein powder and L Carnitine or yoghurt with fruits.
• Start using a fat burner in your weight loss phase.
• Add electrolytes if you sweat a lot
• Avoid salty snacks
• Stretch and cool down with gentle movements and breathwork to help digestion and reduce gas

Bloating Prevention Exercise

Can exercises actually help with reducing your bloating and discomfort? You bet! These simple exercises and habits can help you:

• Gentle yoga poses like child’s pose, cat and cow, and supine twist can help release the trapped gas.
• Walking post your meals, even for 10 minutes, can improve digestion and reduce the chances of bloating.
• Deep breathing exercises calm the guy and prevent swallowing excess air.

Read Also: How to Train Around Minor Injuries Without Losing Progress

Takeaway

Bloating during a workout is common but avoidable. By timing your meals smartly, choosing light and digestible foods, hydrating yourself and adding some gentle stretches can help you lose your gassy discomfort. Small changes and adjustments to your everyday life can go a long way in keeping your fitness routine.

Hello Ziddis! When we think about getting fitter, most of us hop on the treadmill for cardio or pick up the dumbbells for strength training. However, there is an underrated pillar of fitness that we often tend to overlook, which is mobility work. Mobility is your ability to move freely and easily and have a full range of motion. As we grow older, our body restricts our range of motion, which can cause pain when moving our bodies as freely. This is when having stretching exercises as your base will pay off.

Skipping mobility work might not feel like a big deal at the beginning. But over time, it can limit your progress, reduce flexibility and increase the risk of injury.

Stretching Exercises

Stretching is one of the most basic yet powerful forms of mobility work. It helps lengthen muscles, reduce tightness and prepare your body for movement. There are two main types of stretching exercises:

1. Dynamic Stretching- This is recommended to be done before your workouts to move your joints and muscles and warm them up for activity. Example:

• Arm circles
• Walking lunges
• Torso twist
• Leg swings.

2. Static Stretching- This is to be done after workouts. You will need to hold a position for 20 to 60 seconds to improve flexibility and relax muscles. For example:

• Hamstring stretch
• Seated forward fold
• Tricep stretch

Even 5 to 10 minutes of stretching before and after your workouts can help keep your joints well-oiled and reduce the chances of getting injured.

Injury Prevention Exercises

Mobility training is one of the most effective ways of reducing injury risk. If you are are athlete or training with weights, mobility training is non-negotiable. By improving the flexibility of muscles and function of joints, mobility work helps your body move the way it is supposed to. This means less strain on tendons, ligaments and connective tissue.

Examples of mobility-focused injury prevention moves:

• Hip circles
• Cat-cow stretch
• Should pass-throughs
• Ankle mobility drills
• Tread the needle

Mobility work can be considered as the “maintenance” for your body

Benefits of Mobility Exercises

Adding mobility training to your routine brings benefits far beyond just flexibility

• Better performance
• Increased range of motion
• Reduced pain and stiffness
• Faster recovery
• More stamina
• Improved circulation

Mobility Exercises for Seniors

As we get older, joints can become stiffer and muscles shorter and weaker. Ageing is also hard on our balance and general mobility. Mobility work can help slow or even reverse these changes. Some of the easier everyday mobility exercises for seniors are:

• Seated cat and cow for improved spine flexibility
• Ankle rolls for balance
• Wall angels to open up the chest, improve posture and upper body stretch
• Seated hip march for hip mobility and circulation

These are low-effort exercises and can be done anywhere. They are safe for most levels of fitness, and even 10 minutes of doing these can make a big difference.

These exercises are low-impact, can be done anywhere, and are safe for most fitness levels. Even 10 minutes a day of doing mobility work can make a big difference.

Read More: Flexibility and mobility: The Often Overlooked Components of Fitness

Takeaway

Mobility work is not optional; it is essential. We will inevitably grow old, but how we age is in our hands. If you want to train harder, recover faster and move without restrictions, mobility work is very important and deserves a place in your workouts. If you need some fitness accessories to advance your mobility work, having lifting straps would be helpful. A flexible, mobile body isn’t just more athletic but more resilient, pain-free, and ready for whatever life throws your way.

Hello Ziddis! Did you know that omega-3 fatty acids are more than just “good fats”? They actually play a pretty important role in maintaining your overall health and are super valuable for those who have the habit of exercising regularly. But is it really as important as people say? Let us find out how omega-3 is an underrated tool in our fitness journey.

Is Omega-3 Good for Fitness?

Yes, omega-3 is highly recommended for being beneficial to your fitness. The essential fatty acids in omega-3 help in

• Reducing inflammation in our body
• Improving the blood flow to your heart to support our cardiovascular health.
• Contribute to better endurance and performance
• Help minimise the muscle soreness after intense workouts.

What does omega-3 do for fitness?

Omega-3 is an unsung hero in your fitness. Here is how it helps you in many ways:

• Reduces exercise-induced inflammation
• Speeds up healing
• Helps lubricate joints
• Lowers stiffness
• Reduces chances of injury
• Improves the supply of oxygen to muscles
• Improves stamina
• Increases focus
• Improves mental clarity during workouts
• Omega-3s can significantly reduce levels of triglycerides
• Some studies suggest that omega-3s could raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels.
• Omega-3s can prevent blood platelets from clumping together, which can help prevent the formation of harmful blood clots.
• According study conducted a few years ago, intake of fatty acids like omega-2 during childhood can lower the risk of type 1 diabetes-associated autoimmunity later in life.
• Higher omega-3 intake can decrease age-related mental decline and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.   

What Happens if I Take Omega-3 Every Day?

One of the most frequently asked questions is whether omega-3 is supposed to be taken every day. Short answer is: Ideally! A slightly longer answer is that taking omega-3 every day can help your body maintain optimum levels of essential fats. Over time, you will start noticing reduced muscle soreness, more energy and better cardiovascular health. Regularly taking omega-3 is great for your long-term wellness and reduces the risk of heart disease, improves your mood and keeps your joints healthy.

Why do Gym Goers Take Omega-3?

Like creatine, omega-3 is becoming popular among gym-goers. Here’s why omega-3 has found its place in their cabinets and regimes:

• Boosts recovery between training sessions
• Reduces muscle soreness after high-intensity workouts
• Support fat loss by improving metabolic health
• Maintain heart health even during cardio-heavy routines.

Read More: Top 5 Benefits of Fish Oil for Muscle Builders

Takeaway

Omega-3 fatty acids are not only beneficial for general health but also crucial for fitness performance, recovery, and injury prevention. Whether through fatty fish, flaxseeds, chia seeds, or gym supplements, make sure to find a way to incorporate omega-3s into your routine to train smarter, recover faster, and perform better.