The 2,500-Calorie Workout: Fight Fat Faster

Find Your Perfect-Body Equation

How much exercise do you really need to get slim and strong? Your doctor may tell you one thing, the trainer at the gym another, even Uncle Sam has recently joined the fray with the USDA's 2005 Dietary Guidelines. But we've got the simple solution to your perfect-body equation: a point-based exercise and diet program with everything you need to reach your goals.

Here's the plan: Instead of counting calories or minutes, you'll accumulate points. (Each point equals 100 calories.) You'll earn them by doing the workouts created by Morgan Luzier, director of Balance, a fitness studio in Minneapolis, and by following some nutrition and lifestyle tips. Add it all up and by four weeks you'll start to see a lean, sexy body you'll love!

Your Better-Body Points Plan

You Want: To Boost Energy and Feel Stronger
Try: Workouts 1-5, done in the order given over the course of a week (18.5 points). Add in Bonus Activities (2.5 points).
Total Points Earned: 21 (Actual calories burned: 2,100)

You Want: To Get Lean and Sculpted
Try: Workouts 1-6, done in the order given over the course of a week; take one rest day (22.5 points). Add in Bonus Activities (2.5 points)
Total Points Earned: 25 (Actual calories burned: 2,500)

You Want: To Lose 8 Pounds in 2 Months
Try: Workouts 1-6, done in the order given over the course of a week; take one rest day (22.5 points). Add one 30-minute cardio session to workouts 2 and 6 (2.5 points). Add in Bonus Diet Points (2.5 points) and Bonus Activity Points (2.5 Points).
Total Points Earned: 30 (Actual calories burned: 3,000)

Workout 1: Strength Circuit

See our step-by-step slide show, with photos to show you how to execute each move perfectly.