Most people think that for a workout to be effective it has to be long. That is not always true. In many cases a short workout can be just as effective, if not more effective, than a long workout. There is not always a need to spend hours sweating away in the gym. You can do effective short workouts and still reach your fitness goals.

The Key to Effective Short Workouts

A short workout needs to have certain characteristics if you want it to be just as effective as a longer workout. For a short workout to be effective it needs to be intense. This is the key to getting your body really burning fat and calories. You do not have to kill yourself, though.

Often when people hear the word intense they think it means pushing themselves until they can barely move. This is actually going overboard. You do want to give your body a real workout and get your blood pumping, but pushing too hard can cause injury and do more harm than good. The key here is balance.

With shorter workouts every minute has to count. You need to be working at your top level. That means you are really focused and every move you make is serving a purpose. You can’t simply just “get through” a short workout. You have to really be thinking about how your body is working and how your body is benefiting from the exercises you are doing.

Short Workout Tips

Here are a couple tips that will help you ensure your short workouts are just as effective as your long workouts.

Make sure that you are pushing yourself through the whole workout. Keep increasing the intensity level each workout. Try using a heart rate monitor to ensure that you are getting your heart rate up during your workout.

Vary your workout. Doing different exercises stops your body from adjusting to the workouts and keeps it guessing. If you do the same thing everyday your body will adjust and you will have to work harder and longer to get benefits from it.

Stay focused through the whole workout. Make sure that you are focused on form and on doing the exercise correctly. Good form is essential for really getting the most from an exercise move.

Do strength training, too. Building muscle helps your body burn more calories and makes losing weight or maintaining weight easier. The more muscle you have, the less time you have to workout to get a good calorie burn.