Blog

For most of us, time (or lack of it) is the biggest reason not to exercise. But this year’s No. 1 fitness trend—high-intensity interval training—is leaving no room for excuses. It can get results in less than half the time of more traditional routines! And for that reason, high-intensity interval training or HIIT, has been called the most time-efficient way to exercise.

Start out by choosing a cardio exercise—anything from sprinting to jumping rope as long as it can be done vigorously. Then, instead of going at it until you reach a goal or tire out, HIIT calls for intervals of exertion and rest (or recovery). For example, you might cycle fast against high resistance for 30 seconds, then take a more leisurely pace, before hitting it hard again. Get bored of bicycling? Switch over to sprinting to lose monotony but not benefits as diversity is another thing fans like about HIIT.

It’s easy to see why HIIT is taking the lead over other exercise pathways this year: You get more bang for your exercise routine with HIIT—putting your body in hyper mode can burn fat and calories long after you’ve already left the gym. And for those of us really short on time (and who isn’t?), you can burn more calories in 15 minutes of intervals than in an hour of treadmill jogging.

That’s 45 minutes left for far more enjoyable pursuits, like shopping at Garmany, perhaps for the latest athleisure apparel to wear to the gym for your next supercharged workout.