Why You Don’t Need A High-Intensity Workout

High-intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is loved for a reason. It not only torches calories while you're exercising; it even continues to burn them after the workout is over. HIIT may sound like the ideal fitness routine. But, it turns out your workout doesn’t need to be high-intensity in order to get results. Shape reports that researchers in Canada divided a group of overweight adults and randomly assigned them to either execute a short, high-intensity workout or a long, low-intensity workout. The study aimed “to determine the separate effects of exercise amount and intensity on abdominal obesity and glucose tolerance.” Related: 5 Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Workout Interestingly, both groups were met with similar results. “Both groups burned similar amounts of calories from their workouts and lost about the same amount of abdominal fat, which was more than the control group (which didn’t exercise at all) lost,” Shape explains. It’s important to note that this research did not include subjects who are of an average weight — or those who attend the gym regularly. Related: Why Healthy Diets Are Becoming More Attractive Study author Robert Ross, PhD, explained that reaching a high intensity is easier than we think, anyway: "Higher intensity can be achieved simply by increasing the incline while walking on a treadmill or walking at a brisker pace.” Still, it’s good to note that a workout does not need to be incredibly intense in order to get results. Click through to Shape for more information about this study. (Shape) Related: Foods To Help All Of Your Problems