Flatten Your Belly

	Max Effort	Easy Pace	Reps
Week 1	1 minute	2 minutes	5
Week 2	1 minute	90 seconds	6
Week 3	1 minute	1 minute	8
Week 4	1 minute	1 minute	10
Week 5	75 seconds	1 minute	10
Week 6	90 seconds	1 minute	10

Do the above routine three times a week after you work your core—and always remember to include an easy 3- to 5-minute warmup and cooldown. You can run, bike, or use the cardio machine of your choice.

Directions
Do these moves three nonconsecutive days a week. Start with the Basic Workout to prime your muscles. After three weeks, you'll be ready to graduate to the Advanced Workout, on the flip side of each card. For maximum fat burning, perform the exercises as a circuit: Do one set of each move in the order shown, resting for 30 seconds between exercises. Then rest for a minute and repeat the circuit from the beginning.

Basic Workout: Plank

Starting at the top of a pushup position, bend your elbows and lower yourself down until you can shift your weight from your hands to your forearms. Your body should form a straight line. Brace your abs (imagine someone is about to punch you in the gut) and hold for 60 seconds. If you can't make it to 60 seconds, hold for 5 to 10 seconds and rest for 5 seconds, continuing for 1 minute. Focus on form: Don't drop your hips or raise your butt.

Basic Workout: Side Plank

Lie on your right side with your legs straight. Prop yourself up with your right forearm so your body forms a diagonal line. Rest your left hand on your hip. Brace your abs and hold for 60 seconds. If you can't make it to 60 seconds, hold for 5 to 10 seconds and rest for 5; continue for 1 minute. Be sure your hips and knees stay off the floor.

Basic Workout: Glute Bridge March

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Rest your arms on the floor, palms up, at shoulder level. Raise your hips so your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees (A). Brace your abs and lift your right knee toward your chest (B). Hold for 2 counts, then lower your right foot. Repeat with the other leg. That's 1 rep. Do 2 or 3 sets of 5 to 10 reps.

Basic Workout: Lunge with Rotation

Grab a 5- to 15-pound dumbbell with both hands. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms straight out (A). Take a big step forward with your left foot and, bracing your abs, twist your torso to the left as you bend your knees and lower your body until both of your legs form 90-degree angles (B). Twist back to center, push off your left foot, and stand back up. Repeat on the other leg. That's 1 rep. Do 2 or 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps. Keep your elbows straight but not locked.

Advanced Workout: Plank with Arm Lift

Get into the plank position (toes and forearms on the floor, body lifted). Your body should form a straight line (A). Brace your abs and carefully shift your weight to your right forearm. Extend your left arm in front of you (B) and hold for 3 to 10 seconds. Slowly bring your arm back in. Repeat with the right arm. That's 1 rep. Do 2 or 3 sets of 5 to 10 reps, resting for 1 minute between sets.

Advanced Workout: Side Plank with Rotation

In a right-side plank position (A), brace your abs and reach your left hand toward the ceiling (B). Slowly tuck your left arm under your body and twist forward until your torso is almost parallel to the floor (C). Return to the side plank. That's 1 rep. Do 2 or 3 sets of 5 to 10 reps on each side, resting for 1 minute between sets.

Advanced Workout: Hip-Thigh Raise

Lie on your back with your right knee bent and your left leg extended. Rest your arms on the floor, palms up, at shoulder level with your hips about 2 inches off the floor (A). Raise your hips to form a straight line from your shoulders to your left foot (B). Hold for 2 counts, then return to start. That's 1 rep. Do 10 to 15 reps on each side. To make it harder, cross your arms over your chest.

Advanced Workout: Reverse Lunge with Single-Arm Press

Grab a 5- to 15-pound dumbbell in your left hand and hold it up next to your left shoulder, palm facing in (A). Step backward with your left foot and lower your body until your knees are bent 90 degrees (your left knee should nearly touch the floor) while pressing the dumbbell directly over your shoulder without bending or leaning at the waist (B). Lower the weight back to the starting position as you push quickly back to standing. That's 1 rep. Do 10 to 15, then switch sides.

Lean & Fit in 7 Minutes

Complete one circuit without stopping, rest for 60 to 90 seconds, and then bust out one or two more circuits. Aim for two to three nonconsecutive days a week.

Overhead Squat

Targets core, upper back, and legs

Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, toes turned out slightly. Grab a rolled-up towel with an overhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart, and raise it overhead so your shoulders are roughly in line with your heels (A). Squat down as far as possible without letting your knees jut out past your toes (B). Return to standing. That's one rep. Do 10 to 15.

Trainer Tip The towel helps keep your shoulders aligned. Sans towel, raise your hands overhead--but keep your shoulders back and in line with your heels.

Airplane/ Superman Extensions

Targets core, lower back, and glutes

Lie facedown and extend your arms out at shoulder height, keeping your elbows slightly bent (A). Press your shoulder blades together and lift your arms, torso, and legs off the floor (B). Holding that position, bring your arms in front of you (C), hold for one count, and then move them back. Lower yourself to the floor. That's one rep. Do 10 to 15

Scissor Lunges

Targets lower body

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, hands clasped behind your head. Lunge forward with your left foot and lower yourself until your right knee almost touches the floor (A).Explosively push up and scissor your legs in midair, landing with your right leg forward (B). When you land, drop down, explode up, and scissor again. That's one rep. Do 3 or 4.

Trainer Tip Land as lightly and quietly as possible

Standing Bird Dog

Targets core and lower body

Stand with your arms at your sides, right foot raised a few inches behind you (A). Lean forward while you extend your right leg directly back and your left arm forward (B). Keep your right arm against your body. Your torso, left arm, and right leg should be parallel to the floor. Hold for one second, then return to start. Repeat on the other side. That's one rep. Do 5 or 6.

Mountain Climbers

Targets core and upper body

Get in plank position with your hands directly below your shoulders and your feet together (A). Bend your left knee and draw it toward your chest (B). Extend back to start. Repeat with your right leg. That's one rep. Do 20 to 30, moving quickly.

Trainer Tip Brace your abs and keep your back flat.

Squat Thrusts

Targets core and legs

Stand with your feet together, arms at your sides. Bend your knees and place your palms on the floor in front of your feet and along the outsides of your knees (A). Using your arms for support, jump both feet back and land in plank position (B). Jump both feet forward to return to the squat. Return to standing. That's one rep. Do 12 to 15.

Pike Walk/Pushup Combo

Targets core and upper body

Stand with your feet together, arms at your sides (A). Bend over (it's OK for your knees to be slightly bent) and place your hands or fingertips on the floor in front of you (B). Walk your hands forward into plank position and do one pushup (C). Keeping your hands in place, walk your feet up until they're as close to your hands as possible. That's one rep. Continue moving forward until you've done 5 to 6 pushups.

Trainer Tip Keep your neck in line with your spine at all times

Fitness Rules to Break

Position your hands shoulder-width apart

You often see this in instructions for upper-body moves like bench presses and lat pulldowns. Why? Because it gives you a stable starting point. But that doesn't mean you need to stay there set after set.

"Spreading your hands a few inches farther out stresses more of the inner portion of your biceps; bringing your hands in a few inches builds more of the outer part," says New York City personal trainer Steve Lischin, M.S. Switch up your position after every set for balanced strength and overall tone.

Crunches for a flat belly

Turns out Pilates abdominal moves are superior to crunches for sculpting your midsection and uncovering those abs, according to a study at Auburn University Montgomery in Alabama. An exercise called "the teaser" is especially effective. It activates 39 percent more of your rectus abdominus muscle (that's your six-pack) and 266 percent more of your external obliques (your love handles).

To do it: Lie face-up on a mat. Lift your legs so your thighs are perpendicular to the floor and your knees are bent 90 degrees. Raise your hands toward the ceiling. Lift your torso and straighten your legs, so your body forms a V. Hold for one second, then roll back down, keeping your legs raised. Do 8 to 10 reps.

Squats = a perfect bum

To flaunt that sexy bikini bottom by your when-will-winter-end beach getaway, try doing hip extensions instead of squats. The move hits 55 percent more of your hamstring muscle and 79 percent more of your glute muscle, according to a study by the American Council on Exercise.

To do it: Get on your hands and knees. Keeping your knees bent, lift your right heel toward the ceiling, then lower it back down to the starting position. Do 12 reps, then repeat on the other side.

Eat lots of extra protein for less jiggle and more tone

While it's true that protein is a vital muscle food, your body can use only so much of it. "Any extra protein calories you take in will be stored as fat," says Molly Morgan, R.D., owner of Creative Nutrition Solutions in Vestal, New York. "As a general rule, remember that 20 percent of your calories should come from protein."

So if you're eating an 1,800-calorie diet, try to shoot for a maximum of 360 calories, or 90 grams, of protein each day. Low-fat milk and cheese, broccoli, and chicken are all good sources of lean protein.

Up-down-up-down. Repeat.

Instead of raising and lowering a weight (or your body weight) in one continuous motion, pause for a second about halfway up, continue the movement, then pause again about halfway down.

"In a set of eight to 12 repetitions, you'll add only an extra 16 to 24 seconds to each set, but you'll exhaust your muscles," Lischin says. Translation: You'll fry more fat without sucking much more time out of your schedule.

Watch yourself in the mirror while you work out

While the occasional glance at your reflection to check form is a good idea, for exercises that involve balance, such as the one-legged squat, you'll get a bigger boost if you face away from the mirror and close one eye. Doing so activates neural pathways between your brain and your muscles that you don't otherwise use.

"That forces your body to establish better balance," says Carter Hays, C.S.C.S., a speed and strength coach at D1 Sports Training and Therapy in Franklin, Tennessee.

Burn the most calories with cardio

According to a recent University of Southern Maine study, 30 minutes of weight training burns as many calories as running at a blazing six-minute-per-mile pace for the same amount of time. (And it has the bonus of building more muscle tone than running.) What's more, unlike aerobic exercise, lifting weights has been shown to boost metabolism for up to 39 hours after you finish your last rep.

Interval training--short, all-out sprints interspersed with periods of rest--has yielded similar benefits. For optimal results, do a total-body weight-training workout three days a week, resting at least a day between sessions, and do intervals on at least two of the off days.

Rest between sets

"Less rest increases your calorie burn and adds a cardio component to strength training," says New York City personal trainer Lindsay Dunlap, N.A.S.M.

Try supersets: two exercises performed back to back. For example, you might do a set of pushups immediately followed by a set of seated cable rows, then rest a minute before repeating.

Weigh yourself daily for motivation

The scale measures water and muscle, too. It's not a great indicator of fat loss. For a better--and more, um, hands-on--progress report, place your fingers on your belly and inhale deeply so that it expands. As you exhale, contract your abdominal muscles and push your fingertips against your hard abdominal wall. Now pinch.

"You're holding pure fat," says Tom Seabourne, Ph.D., author of Athletic Abs. Do this every day, 30 minutes before your workout, and you'll find that you rarely decide to skip a session.