If you have a busy life, and most people do, you know that it can be hard to find time to exercise. The demands of children, work, or school can keep you from sticking to your goal to burn fat.

Most people can find a few ten minute blocks throughout the day, so are shorter workouts just as effective as one longer one?

You may be able to find the time for these workouts, but do they burn fat? If your body needs to warm up for about twenty minutes in order to kick into fat burning mode, how can short workouts be effective?

The American Heart Association has found that several short exercise sessions benefit your body just as well as one long session, provided that they equal the same amount of time.

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. Pick up the pace. A lot.

For ten minutes, run faster than you normally do. Walkers, walk more briskly. Make sure to get your heart going.

2. Hop on the treadmill or elliptical.

You probably don't want to drive back and forth to the gym four times a day, but if you're there anyway, hop on a machine and push the intensity.

3. Use the stairs. Or a hill.

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

4. Try some jumping jacks.

5. Try 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

* Tricep dips

* Squats. Squats are one of the most effective moves to tone your lower body.

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.

If you can only fit in short workouts into your schedule, you are doing great things for your body. Above all, you will burn fat and lose weight.

Short workouts are also very motivating. You know you can do ten minutes, so you stick with your workout regimen.

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.