Some people exercise for hours in the gym or in the park in the hope of shedding off those unwanted pounds but the truth is you don't really need to train for such a long period of time to see results. You can achieve weight loss by working smarter instead of harder. The strategy is to perform high-intensity interval training(HIIT), hence just a few minutes of exercise per week can be enough for weight loss. So that's good news for people who want to exercise and lose weight but don't have much time.

High-intensity interval training for weight loss and burning fat is achieved by performing short bursts of strenuous exercising for several minutes followed by less intense motion afterwards, switching back and forth. For example if you're doing brisk walking or jogging, walk or run fast for several minutes then slow down the rhythm for a few minutes and start again. Brisk walking and fast-paced running are more beneficial for burning fat and calories faster than doing long never-ending leisure walking or slow-paced jogging. You'd be better off increasing the intensity of your workout.

HIIT is a time saver as well as you'll finish your training earlier. Imagine you do a vigorous session of jogging for only 20 minutes total as compared to 60 minutes of slow jog. I think the first choice is wiser for people with busy schedules. This intense session can be 5 minutes fast-paced running followed by 3 minutes medium-paced running and 2 minutes slow-paced running, then repeat the process for a total of 20 minutes. If you need to rest after the initial energetic session, you can also do so for say 1-2 minutes, then perform a vigorous session for 5 minutes again immediately after, then rest and so on till you reach about 20 minutes total. It's really up to you how you want to perform your HIIT. You can customize it your own way. More importantly, it should be intense, that's what matters most.

High-intensity interval training for weight loss and burning fat can also be done with weight training. You don't need 3 hours in the gym everyday to lose weight. In fact just 10-15 minutes of intense exercise is enough to achieve some weight loss. Say you perform deadlifts, do it intensely. With moderate-heavy weights, perform 3-5 sets of 8-12 repeats. Allow 30 seconds rest in between. You can also add other exercises like bent-over rows, bench press, military press and squats. So in just 10-15 minutes, you can have a great fat-blasting workout with just 2-3 exercises. You'll be amazed how much energy will be drained from your body and how satisfying your workout will be. While some people are still exercising in the gym, you'd be long gone. Following this routine 3 times per week with a total of 30-45 minutes is enough to get some great weight loss results. You don't need to slave away at the gym. Vary the exercises to avoid boredom.

Don't want to get a gym membership? No problem. You don't need weights to perform HIIT. Heard of push-ups, bodyweight squats etc…? These don't require any weights and gym as they can be done at the comfort of your home. These are known as bodyweight exercises and high-intensity bodyweight training will be your answer for fat burning and weight loss. Perform 4-5 sets of 10-15 push-ups and allow 20 seconds rest in between sets. For squats, perform 4-5 sets of 20-25 repeats with 20 seconds rest.

Here are 3 great benefits of HIIT:

(1) Your fat-burning hormones are stimulated and released and these help break down fat cells which will get burnt over time.

(2) Vigorous and short bursts of physical activity can also suppress appetite while longer workouts increase it.

(3) Glucose is transported from your bloodstream to your muscle tissues and used as energy there instead of getting stored as fat deposits. If you have too much glucose in your blood and you don't exercise, the excess will be stored as fats.