Rev Up Your Reps

The Plan

Get set to sweat and sculpt with Jackie Warner's 18-minute cardio acceleration session. Complete this routine three times and you're guaranteed to need a towel when you're done.

Do 15 reps of each of these moves:

15-pound-dumbbell squat: Hold a dumbbell in each hand with arms by sides and palms in, then squat.

10-pound-dumbbell lunge: Hold a dumbbell in each hand with arms by sides and palms in, then step right foot forward, bending right knee 90 degrees. Return to standing with feet together; repeat with left leg.

Push-ups

10-pound-dumbbell bent-over row: Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand with arms by sides and palms in. Hinge forward so that your back is 90 degrees to floor; drive elbows behind you, bringing dumbbells by ribs.

10-pound-dumbbell military shoulder press: Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Bend elbows to bring dumbbells to shoulder height in goalpost position, palms out. Press dumbbells overhead, keeping arms slightly bent.

10-pound-dumbbell biceps curl: Hold a dumbbell in each hand with arms by sides and palms up, then curl weights toward shoulders.

Triceps dips: Sit on bench, palms next to hips and fingers pointing forward. Extend legs forward, keeping heels on floor and back straight, and then bend elbows to lower your body; repeat.

Choose your cardio move: Jumping rope, jumping jacks, star jumps, or mountain climbers

For a longer workout, try a five-minute HIIT like the one mentioned below.

Doing movements that hit multiple muscles -- like a squat with a shoulder press, or a lunge with a biceps curl -- will zap more calories than movements that isolate individual body parts. "During a short workout, this is the fastest way to bump up your heart rate and keep your body in a fat-burning zone," Warner says.

Group your exercises -- for instance, push-ups, squats, and lunges -- and perform them as a series without taking a break. "You'll maximize your calorie burn if you do more work and keep your downtime to a minimum," Warner notes. If you must take a breather, make it no longer than 15 seconds.

"Tackle all your strength moves first, then go all out on the treadmill for high-intensity interval training," Warner says. Try this: Start with a 12 percent incline and walk at a fast pace (3.8 miles per hour) for two minutes. Then decrease the incline to 0 percent and run hard (6.0 to 8.0 miles per hour) for another two minutes. Finish with a slow jog (3.5 to 4.0 miles per hour) for the final 60 seconds. "You're spiking your heart rate with these short spurts while toning your lower body on the inclines," Warner says.

Originally published in FITNESS magazine, March 2013.