10 Amazing Life Hacks That Are Actually Backed By Science

3. Use HIIT To Get Workouts Over With Faster

HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training, seems like a dream come true for the busy and the lazy. Rather than slave away over a hot treadmill for hours on end, it suddenly seems to be possible to achieve your fitness goals with just minutes of gym time.

The exercise hack now recommended for people who want a six pack, but also want to get home in time for Pointless, is to do short bursts of exercise at 100% intensity, punctuated by short rests. Sure, it feels like you're gonna die at the time, but then you get to go home after half an hour and get on with your life.

It seems to good to be true, but how does it work?

By working your body to exhaustion, as opposed to plodding along at a comfortable pace, it seems to get the message that it's going to have to up its game and quickly develops adaptations that help you cope with the intense activity. Studies show that subjects show improvements in cardiovascular performance, insulin resistance, VO2max and fat burning after a few weeks of beginning the programme.

Whilst the jury is still out on whether it is ultimately better than steady state cardio, it's certainly much less time consuming, meaning that you're more likely to actually do it.