When you are busy taking care of children, working, going to school, or anything else our busy world demands, trying to burn fat doesn't always fit neatly into your schedule.

An alternative many people turn to is short workouts. Do three or four ten minute workouts produce the same effects as one long one?

But wait. If your body needs about twenty minutes of activity before it kicks into fat burning mode, will short workouts even do anything? If you need to burn fat and don't have a lot of time, what do you do?

If you spend the same amount of time on your short workouts as you would on one long ones, the American Heart Association says that you will get the same benefits.

This means that if you do four ten minute workouts, you are doing the same great things for your body that a single forty minute workout can do. To make it even more effective, the AHA recommends that you make these short workouts as intense as possible.

If you are going to try short workouts, they need to be difficult in order to burn fat. The following tips can help you challenge your body:

1. Run for ten minutes.

With a short workout, go faster than you normally do during a long workout. Run for ten minutes at a fast pace. If you prefer to walk, go much more briskly than you usually do. The key is to get your heart going.

2. Do a gym machine for ten minutes.

While going to the gym four times a day doesn't make much sense, if you are there anyway, chose a machine and go full throttle for ten minutes.

3. Hills and stairs are made for climbing.

Sprint up a hill or staircase. Walk down more slowly. At the bottom, sprint up again. Repeat for ten minutes.

4. Jumping Jacks: you'll feel like you're in gym class again!

5. Do ten minutes of jumping rope.

Basically, anything that is intense and hard work for your body can make a good ten minute workout. And don't forget your strength training!

Don't let your body get bored; if you do, it is harder to burn fat. Do a few minutes of light walking to warm up, and then do some of the moves below:

* Squats: these are the moves to get the most out of your workout. They are very effective.

* Pushups

* Deadlifts

* Lunges

* Pushups

For great results and a great workout, do several repetitions of each. You can also combine the moves, called compound moves. These work more than one muscle group and include chest presses combined with lunges or overhead presses done with squats.

Just because your workout is condensed, don't neglect the warm-up and cool-downs. Walking briskly to warm up, and walking at a more moderate pace to cool down is sufficient. You can also do some stretching moves to release tension in your muscles.

The important thing with exercise is to do it. If you can do four ten minute workouts per day, that is great. You will see results, and you will burn fat.

It is also easier to stick with a program that allows such flexibility. Knowing you can do ten minutes and have it ?count? is very motivating.

Your busy schedule may be a valid excuse for not doing a long workout each day, but not with short workouts! You can always find ten minutes somewhere.