Why Zoe Saldana limits her cardio to 20 minutes—max

It doesn’t matter if you’re an a.m. workout type of girl or prefer to sweat it out in the evening—carving out time to hit the gym or take a class takes planning, and it isn’t always easy. That’s why the quickie workout trend among celebs is a welcome one, with Scarlett Johansson’s trainer packing a lot of action into just 20 minutes, and now…Zoe Saldana saying there is such a thing as too much cardio.

How much is too much for the star of the Star Trek and Guardians of the Galaxy franchises? Anything over 20 minutes.

“Between travel, meetings, and shoots, schedules are rough for me,” she tells Shape magazine. “I try to work out three times a week, but I don’t believe in getting on one machine for 30 minutes.” Instead, she does 20-minute intervals at a time, at the gym or at home, like squats, running in place, or throwing around a heavy, medicine ball.

“If I do a lot of cardio, it usually just means I’ll be dragging my feet for the rest of the day.”

Time constraints aren’t the only reason why Saldana is all about keeping her cardio to 20 minutes. For her, working out for 30 minutes or more makes her feel tired—and she definitely doesn’t have time to nap. “If I do a lot of cardio, it usually just means I’ll be dragging my feet for the rest of the day,” she says.

For some people, a workout can be energizing, or even lead to a better night’s sleep. But as Saldana shows, not everyone’s body works the same exact way. There’s definitely no one way to to stay active—so if absolutely love your long runs, there’s no need to cut those extra sweaty, meditative minutes.

But if you’re always looking for more time in your day (and who doesn’t love a productivity hack?), this badass star’s approach helps you  mix it up, schedule wise (more minutes in the day to fight intergalactic enemies!).

If even 20 minutes is pushing it for you, here’s a 15-minute workout you can do anywhere. And here are the signs that you’re overdoing it with cardio.