What if someone told you that they can get you fit in just 8 minutes a day? You’re probably pretty skeptical, to say the least, after all, 8 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot. But, fitness experts will surely tell you that if you’re trying to lose weight, intensity always trumps quantity. Put another way, doing an intense workout like running stairs or sprinting for 8 minutes will burn more calories than an hour of moderate pedaling on a stationary bike. Armed with that knowledge, we came away with a much greater appreciation for short, efficient workouts.

How do these fast-paced programs work? Very simply, through something called super sets! The idea is borrowed from professional athletes who perform two consecutive exercises with no rest in between. Immediately after exercising one muscle group, another immediately follows, causing a maximum amount of stress on the body and consequently burning more calories than moderate exercise over long periods of time. By alternating exercises in this way, the major muscle groups in your body are worked out evenly. The results of this type of exercise routine are a strong athletic body, which means that 8 minutes is more than enough, guaranteed.

Another component of this type of training is variety. Some fitness gurus call this “muscle confusion.” The fact is that the body gets used to an activity in about 3 weeks, and this can lead to weight loss and stagnation of muscle development. The solution is to vary your exercises each day, challenging your body to keep up and forcing your mind to focus on the new movement. Say goodbye to your old boring training! Another advantage of this is that it gives your muscles more time to recover from the previous day’s workout. So you don’t insult yourself. After all, muscle growth actually happens when you’re resting.

As for the occasional muscle soreness associated with this type of training, they are not caused by lactic acid, as is commonly thought. They are the product of small muscle tears that occur after strenuous activity and are usually noticed within 2 days of exercising. Simple ways to prevent these pains include exercising regularly and making sure you maintain proper form. Another helpful tip is to increase your range of motion before trying to increase the intensity or weight so that your body gradually gets used to the exercise. And of course you can spend time in the sauna or get a massage.

So the key to working out is intensity, and this can be done in as little as 8 minutes if you train properly.