If you have a busy life, and most people do, you know that it can be hard to find time to exercise. The demands of children, work, or school can keep you from sticking to your goal to burn fat.

Most people can find a few ten minute blocks throughout the day, so are shorter workouts just as effective as one longer one?

You may be able to find the time for these workouts, but do they burn fat? If your body needs to warm up for about twenty minutes in order to kick into fat burning mode, how can short workouts be effective?

According to the American Heart Association, you can receive the same benefit from several shorter workouts as you do from one long one. This is true if they add up to the same amount of time.

This means that if you do four ten minute workouts, you are doing the same great things for your body that a single forty minute workout can do. To make it even more effective, the AHA recommends that you make these short workouts as intense as possible.

So the key to making your short workouts count is to make sure they are rigorous and challenging to your body. Here are some ways you can do this:

1. Run like the wind.

Try to go at a faster pace than you normally would. If you’re not a runner, walk very briskly for ten minutes. Both will get your heart pumping.

2. Do a gym machine for ten minutes.

While going to the gym four times a day doesn’t make much sense, if you are there anyway, chose a machine and go full throttle for ten minutes.

3. Run up a hill or a set of stairs.

Sprint up a hill or staircase. Walk down more slowly. At the bottom, sprint up again. Repeat for ten minutes.

4. Have flashbacks to phys ed with jumping jacks.

5. Do ten minutes of jumping rope.

What makes a good ten minute workout is intensity. Work hard, go all out, and you’ll burn fat. Strength training is also great for your mini-workouts.

Don’t let your body get bored; if you do, it is harder to burn fat. Do a few minutes of light walking to warm up, and then do some of the moves below:

* Squats: these are the moves to get the most out of your workout. They are very effective.

* Lunges

* Deadlifts

* Lunges

* Pushups

For great results and a great workout, do several repetitions of each. You can also combine the moves, called compound moves. These work more than one muscle group and include chest presses combined with lunges or overhead presses done with squats.

Just because your workout is condensed, don’t neglect the warm-up and cool-downs. Walking briskly to warm up, and walking at a more moderate pace to cool down is sufficient. You can also do some stretching moves to release tension in your muscles.

Exercise only works if you do it. Fitting in four or so ten minute workouts a day is effective. You will get in shape, burn fat, and have time to spare!

It is also easier to stick with a program that allows such flexibility. Knowing you can do ten minutes and have it ?count? is very motivating.

Your busy schedule may be a valid excuse for not doing a long workout each day, but not with short workouts! You can always find ten minutes somewhere.

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