Fast-Track Your Fat Loss!

By Chris Freytag

10-minute workouts that slim you down and tone all your trouble spots

The Expert:  Chris Freytag, contributing fitness editor and model for our story, created this workout based on her forth-coming book and new DVD, both titled Shortcuts to Big Weight Loss.

"No time" is no longer an excuse for skipping a workout. Just ask Prevention's contributing fitness editor, Chris Freytag, who developed this supereffective program that will shape you up on your schedule. As a working mother of three who drives car pools, corrects homework, and travels up to 2 weeks each month, Chris knows a thing--or five--about living a hectic lifestyle and keeping trim. Her secret weapon: do-anywhere 10-minute routines that burn calories and tone every trouble spot. Even better, the latest research shows that they're more effective than traditional half-hour workouts. Almost instantly, you'll have more energy. Within 2 weeks, you'll feel stronger and look firmer. In 6 weeks, you could lose up to 10 pounds!

Put It All Together

What you need
A pair of supportive walking shoes, a set of 5- to 8-pound dumbbells, a chair or low table, and an exercise mat or a soft, carpeted area.
 
How to do it 
Choose your goal below (lose weight, get toned, or boost energy and get healthier). Each one has a target number of sessions you need to complete each week. You'll mix and match our various 10-minute cardio workouts and our 10-minute firming routines weekly to achieve your desired results.
 
When to do it
Ideally, aim to fit in 2 or 3 sessions throughout each day--but if you can't, simply adjust your workouts over the week. For example, if you have time for only 1 or 2 workouts one day, double up another day when you have more time. Just try to get all your sessions in by the end of the week.
 
Here's how a typical day could pan out: 

              
Do these: To Lose Weight
5 Energy-Boosters
6 Calorie-Burners
4 Toning Walks
2 Butt & Thigh Firmers
2 Arm Sculptors
2 Belly Flatteners
Total: 21 sessions each week
 
Do these: To Get Toned
3 Energy-Boosters
2 Calorie-Burner
6 Toning Walks
3 Butt & Thigh Firmers
3 Arm Sculptors
3 Belly Flatteners
Total: 20 sessions each week
 
Do these: To Boost Energy And Get Healthier
4 Energy-Boosters
4 Calorie-Burners
4 Toning Walks
1 Butt & Thigh Firmer
1 Arm Sculptor
1 Belly Flattener

Total: 15 sessions each week

10-Minute Workouts: Walking Workouts

Each of these three 10-minute routines revs up your calorie burn; we've tailored them even further for variety and to help you reach your specific goal. All three maximize every minute of your workout time by getting your heart rate up quickly and keeping you in the optimal fat-burning zone throughout the 10-minute routine. Intensity levels are based on a 1-to-10 scale, with 1 being how you'd feel standing still and 10 how you'd feel sprinting. And because the workout is short, you'll have more energy to give it your all the entire time and burn more fat in the process.