Fight Fat After 40!

Not exercising as often as you'd like? We all get sidetracked now and then. So we asked top fitness experts to create 4 routines that anyone can ease into--all take 20 minutes or less. In a study from Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA, exercising 15 minutes a day 3 or 4 times a week was all women needed to shed abdominal fat. Try 1 plan--or all 4! In just 2 weeks, you'll notice a tighter belly, a loss of 1 to 2 pounds, better muscle tone (and higher metabolism), and more energy!

"I gain weight more easily since turning 40"

Boost Metabolism with a Strength Circuit
This full-body circuit routine--doing one strength exercise after another without rest--builds fat-burning muscle fast while targeting belly bulge with ab moves. A University of Hawaii study found that circuit-training raises your heart rate higher than vigorous running (15 beats per minute faster). The moves alternate between upper and lower body, so your heart works harder pumping blood up and down your body. "All that extra work means a bigger calorie burn," says trainer Juan Carlos Santana.
Your Workout at a glance
Weeks 1 + 2: Perform the routine 3 times a week on nonconsecutive days. Using light dumbbells (3 to 5 pounds), do 1 set of 12 to 15 repetitions of each move in the order given. Do the exercises without stopping--or rest for no longer than 15 seconds.
Weeks 3 + 4: Repeat the circuit twice so you're doing a total of 2 sets per exercise. Keep It Up: After 4 weeks, try increasing the weights by 1 to 3 pounds. You'll burn fat, tone muscle, and build bone even faster!