Get It Now: A Supercharged Metabolism

Your Calorie-Blasting Plan

Pump up your strength workout and you'll reap the rewards long after you've put down the dumbbells. Research has shown that your metabolism can stay revved by 25 percent for up to 15 hours after a high-intensity strength session. Plus, regular resistance training helps keep your metabolic fires ignited daily, notes Michele S. Olson, PhD, an exercise physiologist at Auburn University in Montgomery, Alabama. This workout focuses on a slower lowering phase for each exercise, which forces the muscles to work harder, says Cindy Whitmarsh, president of Ultrafit Nutrition Systems in San Diego. 

For each rep, lift the weight in two counts and lower it in eight. Do two or three sets of each move. Aim for a total of three workouts a week -- after six weeks, you'll have sleeker muscles and a metabolism that roars!

Mix the strength moves here with short, high-energy bursts of cardio and you'll boost your calorie burn by as much as 25 percent, blasting about 320 calories in 45 minutes.

Warm up: Do any form of moderate-intensity cardio (jogging, cycling, elliptical machine, stair stepper, etc.) for four minutes.

Intervals: Alternate one strength move with three minutes of cardio -- try jumping rope, jogging in place, or quickly stepping up and down off a step bench. (To make it harder, lift your knees into your chest or raise both arms overhead while stepping.)

Cool down: After your last weight move, do four minutes of moderate-intensity cardio.