Improving your nutrition is the most important step to losing excess body fat, but if you want to maximize your results, you’ll also have to choose from among the many fat loss routines available.

However, the reality is that 98% of fat loss routines fail because they hinge on moderate cardio sessions lasting 45–60 minutes instead of focusing on short bursts of high intensity cardio. While these low intensity fat loss routines can be effective, their results do not match those achieved through high intensity, low duration fat loss routines.

You’ve probably been taught that if you can’t carry on a conversation while you’re exercising, you should relax your intensity. This advice is based on the theory that when the oxygen supplied to the body equals its oxygen demand, the body is in a steady state and will mainly burn fat for energy.

In the larger view of fat loss routines, this idea doesn’t make sense. Although you’ve burned some fat during these cardio sessions, you won’t get any of the important “after burn” benefits. The fat burn only lasts as long as your workout.

Higher intensity fat loss routines work differently.

A body in an intense, anaerobic phase—where oxygen supply does not meet demand—begins burning carbohydrates for fuel. Burning carbs instead of fat will create a metabolic “spike” that will ensure that your body continues to burn calories for hours after your actual workout; this is what makes high-intensity fat loss routines so effective.

Low intensity fat loss routines do burn a larger PERCENTAGE of fat during workouts, but high intensity fat loss routines burn a greater TOTAL amount of fat during the 24 hours after the workout.

The intense cardio sparks a slow burn that lasts for hours, turbo-charging your metabolism.

You can’t get this effect from low intensity, long duration fat loss routines, meaning that your fat burn stops the moment you get off that treadmill. Without the power to create a long-lasting fat burn, these fat loss routines are less effective overall.

By trading your long, low intensity cardio workouts for shorter, higher intensity fat loss routines, you can save time, burn fat round the clock, and boost your metabolism.

These fat loss routines can be accomplished in as little as 5 to as much as 20 minutes. Making high intensity your goal, choose simple exercises that won’t require a large amount of skill and concentration. Treadmills, recumbent bikes, and stair steppers are good examples of this type of exercise.

Take advantage of the “interval” setting on these machines to shape your fat loss routines. You’ll automatically alternate between high intensity exercise and a slower pace. The incorporation of interval training into your fat loss routines can take their effectiveness to the next level.