--- title: High Intensity Interval Training: Trick Yourself Into Working Out Harder description: High-intensity interval training is the way to go to burn more calories and work harder canonical: https://time.com/3914552/workout-harder-hiit/ author: ashley Ross article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-09T19:05:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:58.200Z article:section: Health og:title: How to Trick Yourself into a Harder Workout og:description: High-intensity interval training is the way to go to burn more calories and work harder og:url: https://time.com/3914552/workout-harder-hiit/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Trick Yourself into a Harder Workout twitter:description: High-intensity interval training is the way to go to burn more calories and work harder twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # How to Trick Yourself into a Harder Workout > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: How $1,000 Could Help Your Health [Watch (HLS stream): How $1,000 Could Help Your Health](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EILRa37f.m3u8) (2:01)  _Published 2014-08-22. From acupuncture to yoga, $1,000 can go a long way to improving your health._ by [ashley Ross](https://time.com/author/ashley-ross/) ## ashley Ross Jun 9, 2015 7:05 PM UTC by [ashley Ross](https://time.com/author/ashley-ross/) ## ashley Ross Jun 9, 2015 7:05 PM UTC It’s no secret that fitness is a mental game. Now there’s research that suggests even overweight, sedentary adults can trick themselves into working harder in the gym. A [study](http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/2015/05000/Impact%5Fof%5FHigh%5FIntensity%5FInterval%5FDuration%5Fon.19.aspx) in the journal _Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise_ found that if you work out in short intervals as opposed to long stretches, it will feel easier, even if you’re doing the same amount of work overall. This type of high intensity interval training, commonly referred to as HIIT, has been on the rise in the fitness world. Researchers have proven the [benefits](http://time.com/3082281/short-bursts-of-exercise-are-better-than-exercising-nonstop/) of short, intense bursts of exercise: they can burn more fat, increase levels of fitness, [improve blood pressure](http://time.com/3633639/one-minute-workout-exercise/) and increase muscle activity. There seems to be an interval-training sweet spot, the new study suggests. In it, researchers observed unfit and overweight adults as they did two types of exercise: heavy continuous exercise without a break, and three different intervals of exercise during which they rested for 30 seconds on and off, then 60 seconds on and off and 120 seconds on and off. The exercisers reported thinking that the 120-second trial would be the hardest, and they indeed perceived that shorter bursts were easier, in spite of the fact that they were all the same intensity. Short intervals of one minute or less may be a way to trick yourself into working harder, simply because it may seem easier, the researchers conclude. _Read next:_ [_Short Bursts of Exercise Are Better Than Exercising Nonstop_](http://time.com/3082281/short-bursts-of-exercise-are-better-than-exercising-nonstop/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3914552/workout-harder-hiit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3914552/workout-harder-hiit/"},"headline":"How to Trick Yourself into a Harder Workout","datePublished":"2015-06-09T19:05:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:58:58.200Z","description":"Follow the 60-second rule","url":"https://time.com/3914552/workout-harder-hiit/","keywords":["Exercise & Fitness","fitness"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"ashley Ross","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-ross/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/exercisefitness/","name":"Exercise & Fitness"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3914552/workout-harder-hiit/","name":"How to Trick Yourself into a Harder Workout"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How $1,000 Could Help Your Health","description":"From acupuncture to yoga, $1,000 can go a long way to improving your health.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EILRa37f/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-08-22T16:19:48.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EILRa37f.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3914552/workout-harder-hiit/","duration":"PT2M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3914552/workout-harder-hiit/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```