Why add Sprints to my Workout?

We all do our best to stay in shape, but are we using our time to the fullest? When you get on the treadmill or elliptical, do you stay at one speed for the entire time, or do you add short bursts of speed every few minutes? Hopefully you do the latter, because sprinting has been shown to increase calorie burn during AND after a workout. So next time you start your cardio workout, make sure to add a 10-20 second sprint every few minutes. If you are a beginner I would recommend doing a sprint every 2-3 minutes, giving you enough time to recover. Here is a great article detailing the other benefits of high intensity interval training (HIIT). http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/8-benefits-high-intensity-interval-training-hiit