What are the benefits of short bouts of exercise?

The benefits of exercise are cumulative. Intervals of short exercise bouts throughout the day are just as effective as one long workout and may be even better. So you don't have to sweat it out on a treadmill for a full 60 minutes all in a row. You can do 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there. The reason for this is two-fold. First, interval training that really gets your heart and lungs thumping trumps the slow-and-steady exercise routine.

The essence of interval training is going hard for a short period of time, then backing off for a few minutes before resuming a higher level of intensity again for another short interval. You can do this in virtually any type of exercise, from walking to utilizing equipment in a gym. Varying your speed, adding weights, or increasing the incline on, say, a walk outdoors on hills, are all ways in which you can create your own interval training routine. Those bursts of high-intensity intervals will equate with bursts of high-intensity energy! If you're not the type to zone out for an hour in a workout like Julia Roberts, then sprinkle pockets of workout times into your day -- at lunch, after dinner, or in the 15 minutes right after you get up and the house is still quiet.