You started the day with plans for an hourlong workout before dinner. But a late-afternoon meeting ran over, urgent emails kept popping up in your inbox and your kid’s car pool fell through. Your workout window shrunk to 30 minutes, then 20, then 10.
At times like this, it can be tempting to throw up your hands and just not exercise, but it is possible to get a decent workout in a short time. To make those 10 minutes count, though, you will have to work hard.
High-intensity interval training workouts, or HIIT, which involve bursts of high-intensity effort followed by short rest periods, are almost unmatched in their efficiency. These workouts can take a variety of forms, but the bottom line is that any type of high-intensity workout comes with impressive health benefits, said Fabio Comana, who teaches exercise and nutritional sciences at San Diego State University.
Some research shows HIIT can improve cardiovascular health by almost double that of steady-state (also called zone two) training. It also increases blood volume and red blood cell count, which can help boost energy while improving overall health and athletic performance.
The secret to getting the most out of HIIT is pushing the intensity to your limit, said Aaron Leventhal, author of “The New Fit: How to Own Your Fitness Journey in Your 40s, 50s, and Beyond.” If you’re not sure how far to push, use a heart rate monitor and keep yourself just under 100 percent of your maximum.
Or, go by how you feel. If you’re truly exercising at high intensity, you can expect your muscles to burn and you shouldn’t be able to talk by the end of each interval.