Transcript: Wait, Is HIIT Just a Marketing Label? What Fitness Buzzwords Actually Mean
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Famous Ashley Grant introduces the episode and hands it over to guest voice note contributor Annie Landry.
Wait, you're telling me all these class names
are just marketing labels? What's up, you guys?
Famous Ashton Grant here. Welcome to More Movement,
Please, the podcast where I hope to inspire you
to move your body more. Today I have another
exciting voice note, and this one comes to us
from Annie Landry, and here's what she had to
Annie Landry argues that terms like HIIT and LISS have no universally standardized definitions in fitness and function more as marketing labels, then breaks down what each term loosely means in practice.
say. Hi, I'm Annie Landry. If you're a woman
over 35 trying to figure out the best way to
work out, You've probably heard a lot of buzzwords
lately. HIIT, LIS, fat -burning zones, metabolic
conditioning, hormone -friendly workouts. And
somewhere in all of that, you're just wondering,
okay, so what actually works for my body right
now? Today, we're going to simplify this. Because
here's the truth. There's no universally standardized
definition of terms like HIT and LIS in the fitness
world. There are more like marketing labels than
strict scientific categories. What one trainer
calls HIT, another might just call circuit training.
What someone else calls LIS might just be walking.
So let's break it down. HIT stands for High Intensity
Interval Training. In theory, it means short
bursts of very hard effort followed by recovery.
True HIIT, from an exercise physiology standpoint,
usually involves near -maximal effort. Most people
think of sprinting when they think of HIIT, but
it can be weightlifting or, yes, even dance or
Pilates if you've ever taken one of my classes
or trained with me. Then we have LIS, low -intensity
steady state. That's your sustained, lower -effort
movement. Walking, easy cycling, inclined treadmill.
something you can do while breathing through
your nose and having a conversation. But some
in the fitness industry refer to running as list
training as well, so you can see how these definitions
can get tricky. Now here's where this becomes
Annie explains that hormonal shifts and recovery capacity changes after 35 make daily high-intensity training risky, and that pairing short intense sessions with consistent walking supports strength, recovery, and longevity.
powerful for women over 35. As we move through
our mid -30s and beyond, recovery capacity changes.
Stress load matters more. Hormonal shifts are
more dramatic, and piling on intense workouts
every single day can backfire. That's why I love
combining short, intentional, high -intensity
sessions with consistent walking. The HIIT, or
higher -intensity intervals, help maintain muscle,
power, bone density, and metabolic health. The
walking, your LIS, supports recovery, blood sugar
regulation, stress management, and overall daily
expenditure without spiking cortisol through
the roof. It's not about choosing one. It's about
pairing them strategically. Because the goal
isn't to train like you're 22. It's to train
in a way that supports strength, longevity, and
feeling amazing in your body for decades to come.
Ashley riffs on the marketing label idea using examples like Zumba vs. 'shaking your ass to music,' then shares her own practice of taking Wednesdays and Sundays for walking, yoga, or stretching so her muscles get a break before the next hard session.
So you heard it here first. Basically, all the
different names that you hear for various classes,
you could basically just chalk up to their marketing
labels. So is it Zumba or is it just Latin dancing?
Is it Latin dancing or is it dance fitness? Is
it dance fitness or is it just shaking your ass
to the music? You know, it's funny thinking about
this because whenever I've heard different people
refer to different things, it's all just. different
forms of movement right and yes some of it is
high intensity some of it is strength training
some of it is just cardio some of it is just
just different types of movement and so regardless
of what you're calling your workouts the key
is that you need to be moving your body And I
do like what Annie was saying about how if you
just always are going high intensity, it can
backfire. Whenever you're spiking your cortisol
levels, it can actually raise your stress. And
it not only raises your stress, sometimes it
actually defeats the whole purpose of what you're
trying to do, which is trying to strengthen your
body and help you lose weight. So I think that's
part of why it's so important to have the active
recovery days. It's one of the reasons that I
was so adamant about making sure that I have
active recovery days, because I know that if
I just go high intensity all the time, time,
it's not going to help my body. Sure, I could
get used to, you know, moving the way that I
move every single day. But having the days on
Wednesdays and Sundays where I walk or just do
yoga or just more stretching, that's really beneficial
to me. It makes me feel like my muscles are getting
that break that they need so that, you know,
whenever I actually do put in the work the next
time that I go to work out, it's actually doing
something. And so that's the big message I want
to send with you today is that, you know, You
don't have to just go high intensity all the
time. You can pair it with low intensity stuff
as well. And that might actually help you. more.
It just depends on your body. So it all goes
back to, you got to listen to your body, right?
And so I hope this message was helpful. Thank
you, Annie, for leaving your voice note. And
if you want to be on the show as well, I would
love to hear from you. Head to famousashtagrant
.com backslash fitness. You'll find a form there
where you can reach out to me and leave a voice
note, whether you want to share your fitness
journey, or if you are in the fitness industry
and you want to share a tip with my lovely movers
and shakers, I would love to hear from y 'all.
Famousashtagrant .com backslash fitness. Onwards
and upwards, my friends. Have you worked out
today?