The Resolution Solution: 7 Goals You Can Meet This Year

I resolve to...try kettlebells.

Maybe you missed the issue in which we showed you how to use those weird-looking weights with handles, but kettlebells are worth getting acquainted with on a weekly basis. John Porcari, PhD, an exercise researcher at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and FITNESS advisory board member, recently put these tools to the test in his exercise lab and discovered that people who did an intense 20-minute workout with kettlebells burned, on average, an astounding 400 calories, or 20 calories a minute. "That's equivalent to running a mile at a six-minute pace," says Porcari, who believes that the megaburn occurs because kettlebells combine cardio and strength training and use several muscle groups at once.

Get started with a single-arm swing: Stand with your hands at your sides, feet shoulder-width apart, with an eight- to 15-pound kettlebell on the floor between your feet. Hinge forward from your hips as you lower into a squat and grasp the kettlebell with your right hand. Drive quickly through your heels to straighten your legs, swinging the kettlebell in an arc to chest level in front of you, right arm extended. Immediately return to a squat position, swinging the kettlebell in a controlled manner through your legs behind you. Switch hands so you are grasping the kettlebell with your left hand. Continue the previous sequence to complete one rep. Squat and swing for six to 10 reps. (Increase the reps and the weight of the kettlebells as you get stronger.)