Getting the body to burn fat effectively can be a challenge. Most of the challenge comes from a lack of time. With jobs, family, and other responsibilities, finding the time to get in what most fitness trainers would call an effective fat burning workout is difficult or impossible on most days.

Is it possible to force the body to burn fat with a fast, effective workout? The answer is yes, if it’s done correctly. You can burn fat in a 15 to 30 minute workout session, but the key is to stay focused and concentrate. You can’t allow your mind or body to wander from the task. Here are some ideas for fast, effective fat burning workouts.

1. Choose Strength Training. If you’re short on time, always go with a short, concentrated strength training session. Building muscle allows you to burn more fat 24 hours a day. Grab some weights and pick one body part for a 15 minute session. Make sure the weights you are lifting are heavy enough to completely fatigue the body part. Three different excercises with 2 sets and about 6 to 10 reps per set will be enough provided you are lifting enough weight. Do not rest more than 10 – 15 seconds between sets or exercises. The point is to be focused and finish in 15 minutes.

2. High intensity cardio. If you choose to do a short cardio session for 15 to 20 minutes, then high intensity interval training (HIIT) is an excellent option. One easy idea is to run as fast as possible for 1 minute, then walk for 2 minutes to recover. Alternate this pattern throughout the enitre session. You can change the run/walk pattern to suit your fitness level. This idea can also be applied to all cardio machines such as the stair stepper, treadmill or eliptical machine. Use your imagination to keep your workouts interesting.

3. If you have a full 30 minutes to devote to a fat burning workout, then you could complete either a full upper or lower body strength training session. You could also benefit from a longer cardio session, however, strength training would be preferable to burn more calories over a 24 hour period.

Fat burning workouts don’t have to be long or boring in order to be effective. Keeping your workouts short and focused will help burn the maximum amount of fat in the minimum amount of time.