Shorter Workouts: How does it benefit you?

In a perfect world, we would all be dedicating hours on end to working out and taking the necessary steps to leading a healthy life. Unfortunately, with the various time constraints that many people experience on a daily basis (be it work or personal obligations), this isn�t always a viable option. What if there was a way you could get all the gains of a long workout routine, without taking up too much of your time?

1. No more �No Time for This� excuse

When you know that you�ll need to spend an hour or two each day working out, you�re more likely to skip the whole workout as you may feel as if you are pressed for time. However, with shorter interval workouts, the �I don�t have time for that� excuse gets thrown out of the window quickly, because everyone has at least 10 to 15 minutes to spare for one workout a day. As a matter of fact, you can complete an effective HIIT workout in just 4 minutes, and everybody should have no trouble sparing that amount of time.

Because of the quick and low commitment nature of workouts such as HIIT, it�s certainly a lot easier to stick to it in the long term compared to a longer workout regime. This is also supported by a study that found that people reported much greater enjoyment of HIIT over continuous vigorous-intensity exercise and continuous moderate-intensity exercise. In short, once you do commit to a short, intense workout, you�ll save time, enjoy yourself, and be more likely to keep at it to get great results for the many days to come. 

Many of the exercises in quick, high intensity workouts such as HIIT involve running, biking, jump roping, rowing and more. While all of them work great, you don't really need any equipment to get results. Other exercises such as high knees, fast feet, or anything plyometric like jumping lunges will work just as well to get your heart rate up fast. If anything, some equipment like dumbbells can make HIIT less effective because it takes away from the focus of pushing your heart to its highest potential, which should always be the case.

Quick and intense workouts such as HIIT have been shown to stimulate the production of human growth hormones (HGH) by up to 450 percent during the 24 hours after the workout has been completed. For more clarity and perspective, HGH is the hormone responsible for boosting your metabolism, raising your body�s fat burning power, increasing muscle growth, and helping you burn more calories in a shorter amount of time. On top of that, HGH also slows down the aging process, which is a great incentive to get into quick, high intensity workouts.

Another crucial part of any workout is the calorie burn. How do quicker, more intense workouts stack up against longer, less intense workouts in this area? Studies have shown that 15 minutes of high intensity interval training can burn more calories than jogging on a treadmill for an hour (which can be attributed to the aforementioned HGH). Since this calorie burn reduces the chances of storing fat, you�ll be getting the maximising the energy you get from the food you eat, which is most definitely a plus.

Believe it or not, doing a shorter, but higher intensity workout can generate greater fitness than longer, less intense workouts. To support this, one study put this comparison to the test and found that quicker, high intensity workouts improved both aerobic and anaerobic capacities, while longer, less intense workouts only improved the aerobic capacity. Simply put, your muscles will be able to do a lot more with or without oxygen in your body to help them when you opt for quicker, more intense workouts.

AIA Vitality is a unique insurance and health programme that actively supports and rewards you for making healthier choices every day so you can live a healthier, longer and better life.