You want a challenge.

By alternating high-intensity intervals with short recovery periods, you can get health benefits in less time while challenging your fitness. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, high-intensity intervals should be performed at 80 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate, followed by rest periods at 40 to 50 percent of your maximum heart rate. The duration of the intervals can range from five seconds to eight minutes, and a complete workout can be as brief as 20 minutes. These short workouts have been shown to improve fitness, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and insulin sensitivity.

You are easily distracted.

Spending an hour on a cardio machine can often lead to boredom and a lack of motivation. This can result in behaviors that decrease your intensity and the number of calories burned. You might find yourself stopping to change your playlist, pausing to flip through television channels, or slowing down to read or send text messages.

In contrast, short, high-intensity interval workouts minimize distractions. By moving quickly from one exercise to the next, you'll stay engaged and focused. The time will fly by, and you won't need to look for ways to entertain yourself during a long and tedious workout.

You skip workouts because you don’t have time.

Lack of time is the biggest barrier to exercising regularly. If you often skip workouts because you can’t commit to a full 30 to 60 minutes, it’s time to stop using time as an excuse. Instead, consider shorter workouts. A 20-minute session is much easier to fit into your lunch break or to do first thing in the morning. Focus on reducing the duration while increasing the intensity to make exercise a regular part of your daily routine.

You want to lose weight.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown to reduce abdominal fat and overall body weight while helping maintain muscle mass. The American Council on Exercise reports that one study found that each additional minute of higher-intensity activity decreased the odds of obesity by five percent for women and two percent for men. Researchers concluded that the intensity of an activity may be more important than its duration for maintaining a healthy weight. Additionally, participants who engaged in these shorter, more intense workouts were more likely to meet the recommendation of 150 minutes of exercise per week.

Sources

• American College of Sports Medicine - High Intensity Interval Training

Lori Rice, M.S., is a nutritional scientist and author with a passion for healthy cooking, exercise physiology, and food photography.