Can You Get the Fat-Burning Benefits of a 30-Minute Workout in Just Two Minutes?

by Lexi Petronis, Glamour

Oh, science. I know, I know, we just talked about the study showing that exercise could possibly lower your metabolism-but here's another study with some evidence that physical activity really might give it a nice little boost-even if you're doing it in less time. Way less time.

A study in the International Journal Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found that you may be able to get the same health benefits from a super-intense sprint that you would in a 30-minute moderate workout.

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Three times a week for six weeks, eight male students either performed 30 minutes of endurance exercise or two minutes of sprint intervals. Researchers then measured their oxygen consumption. At first, the sprinters had a significantly higher oxygen intake, but after 24 hours, both types of participants had identical oxygen intakes.

What this means: you may be able to boost your metabolism with an intense, super-short workout just as much as you would with a longer workout.

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Yeah, the study was a small one, and because they used men as subjects, who knows if it'd for sure work for women too. But other research has shown that short, high-intensity workouts could possibly lower your blood sugar and burn more calories--so it's at least worth thinking about, right?

Which do you prefer: longer, moderate workouts, or shorter, intense workouts? (Or maybe some of each?)

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