How To Get Fat Off Your Face

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 belly 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!

1. If you...Gain weight more easily since turning 40
Try: A Strength Circuit That Boosts Metabolism
This full-body circuit routine—doing one strength exercise after another without rest—builds fat-burning muscle fast while targeting belly fat 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.

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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!

Lateral lift
Tones legs and butt

John Dolan

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, hands on hips, then slowly squat until thighs are almost parallel to ground. As you push back up, lift left leg out to side as if you were going to step out—leg should create a 45-degree angle with ground. Hold for 1 second, then return foot to ground. Squat with both feet once more, then repeat with right leg. That's 1 rep.

Chest fly & press
Tones shoulders, chest, and triceps

John Dolan

Lie faceup with dumbbell in each hand, elbows and knees bent, feet flat. Raise arms above chest, palms facing each other. Slowly lower arms out to sides as far as you can, then raise back to start. Next, bend arms and lower weights until upper arms touch ground, elbows out to sides to form a T. Straighten arms, pressing weights above you. That's 1 rep.

Pilé Squat
Tones legs and butt

John Dolan

Stand straight with feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointed out. Hold one end of dumbbell in each hand in front of you, arms hanging straight down. Squat slowly until thighs are almost parallel to ground. Slowly rise back up, pushing down on heels to help contract glutes and hamstrings.

One-arm rotation row
Tones back and biceps

John Dolan

Stand with right side next to bench or bed, holding dumbbell in left hand. Rest right hand and knee on bench and bend at waist—back should be almost parallel to ground, left arm hanging down, palm facing forward. Slowly pull weight up to side, rotating it as you go so palm faces behind you at top. Lower weight, rotating it so palm faces forward at bottom. Complete reps, then switch sides to work right arm.

Lunge
Shapes legs and butt

John Dolan

Stand tall with dumbbell in each hand, feet hip-width apart, arms hanging straight down at sides, palms facing in. Step 2 to 3 feet forward with left foot and lower your body until left thigh is almost parallel to ground. Right leg should be extended behind you with only ball of right foot on ground. Push off left foot to return to start position, then repeat with right leg. That's 1 rep.

Tuck & Crunch
Tones abs

John Dolan

Lie faceup with knees bent, feet on ground. Touch hands lightly to sides of head, pointing elbows toward knees. Curl head and shoulders up as you raise knees toward elbows—try to touch thighs with elbows—then slowly lower. Avoid pulling head forward with hands.

Uppercut
Tones shoulders and arms

John Dolan

Stand tall with dumbbell in each hand, arms at sides, palms facing forward. Curl both weights up to shoulders, then draw hands in toward each other until weights touch in front of chest. Press weight in right hand above head, palm facing you. Lower back to chest, then repeat move with left hand. Lower back to chest. Separate weights so hands are in front of shoulders, then curl weights back down.

Rotating knee
Tones abs and obliques

John Dolan

Lie faceup with knees bent, feet on ground with arms out to sides, palms facing up. Keeping legs together, lift butt and feet an inch off ground and slowly rotate legs to right, lowering them to ground without touching. Hold, return to center, then twist to left. Alternate from right to left. If the move is too intense, rest butt on ground between reps.

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2. If your...Joints ache
Try: Blast Fat by Treading Water
"When you're neck-deep in water, your body weighs 10% of what it does on land," says Nicholas DiNubile, MD. "That helps reduce stress on joints." A recent Australian study found that subjects who used hydrotherapy not only had less pain and improved physical performance but also exercised more often. Not a swimmer? With these unique treading drills, you'll boost metabolism (burning 12½ calories per minute) and sculpt muscle without breaking out of a dog paddle.

Your workout at a glance
Do the routine 3 or 4 times weekly. You'll start by repeating our short routine 5 or 6 times (to burn 125 to 150 calories in 12 minutes), building up to 20 minutes by week 4 (250 calories). Count or watch a clock while doing each move.

Week 1: Repeat the cycle 5 or 6 times.
Week 2: Repeat the cycle 6 or 7 times.
Week 3: Repeat the cycle 7 to 9 times.
Week 4: Repeat the cycle 9 or 10 times.

Keep it up: Treading is great, but swimming can boost the calorie burn even higher. Find an instructor near you at swim.isport.com.

Wade right in
Start basic tread: In water deep enough that feet don't touch bottom, hold arms out at sides underwater and trace imaginary 8s with fingertips. Kick as necessary.
0:15 Upper-body tread: Keep treading water using just arms (legs crossed).
0:30 Wall flutters: Grab edge of pool (hands about shoulder-width apart) and straighten arms so body floats on top of water. Kick vigorously.
0:45 Belly-down tread: Still floating on belly, keep head above water with arms out. Angle hands down, cupping them, then tread, moving only lower arms and hands back and forth. Kick as necessary.
1:00 Belly-up tread: Flip onto back, keeping hands by waist, just below water. Bending hands at wrists, draw tiny circles with cupped hands to stay afloat. Kick as necessary.
1:15 Wall pull-ups: Grab edge of pool with both hands and slowly push yourself up out of water until arms are straight, with elbows unlocked, then lower yourself back into water, repeating as often as you can in 15 seconds. Avoid using feet by keeping legs crossed throughout move.
1:30 Rest for 30 seconds.
2:00 Repeat cycle.

3. If you...Need to shape up fast
Try: Burn Mega Calories With Walking

John Dolan

Add high- and low-intensity intervals to your daily walk to make it a super fat-blaster. A University of New South Wales study found that people who exercised for 20 minutes, alternating between a high intensity for 8 seconds and a low intensity for 12 seconds, lost 3 times more fat than those who worked out at a constant pace for 40 minutes. In other words, intervals delivered more fat loss in half the time. This routine is a modified version of that program.

Your workout at a glance
Weeks 1+2: Three or four times a week, do either the Indoor or Outdoor Interval for a total of 20 minutes. Each routine burns about 150 calories.

Weeks 3+4: Walk 7 days a week. Continue your Interval workouts; on alternate days, do a 30- to 45-minute walk at a moderate speed.

Keep it up: To continue losing weight, challenge yourself: Speed up the pace of your fast intervals, raise your treadmill incline higher, or add another 10 minutes to your workouts.

Indoor intervals
Start: Warm-up, walk at a 3 to 3.5 MPH pace, treadmill at a 2-degree incline.
2:00: Look at your watch and change incline by the second hand:

Every time your watch hits :00, raise incline 4 to 7 degrees

Every time your watch hits :20, lower to 2 degrees

18:00: Cool-down, easy pace, at 1-degree incline
20:00: Finish

Outdoor Interval
Start: Warm-up, walk at an easy pace
2:00: Look at your watch and change your pace by the second hand:

Every time your watch hits :00, power walk with arms bent.

Every time your watch hits :20, walk at a moderate pace.
18:00: Cool-down, walk at an easy pace
20:00: Finish

How fast should you go?
Warm-Up/Cool-Down: Easy enough that you can sing
Moderate: Comfortable enough that you can talk freely
Power Walk: Brisk enough that you can talk but you'd rather not

(Lose up to 22 pounds in 8 weeks with the interval walking plan inWalk Off Weight!)

4. If you...Need an energy boost
Try: Build Strength And Stamina With Tai Chi
"This simple practice has been used for thousands of years to strengthen the body as it eases the mind," says David-Dorian Ross. Tai chi has also been shown to increase immunity, lower blood pressure, and improve heart health. In a recent UCLA study, subjects who did it twice a week for 15 weeks boosted their energy and emotional health and even suffered less pain from chronic tension headaches. The workout takes just minutes, but its relaxing yet energizing effects last for hours.

Your workout at a glance
Perform this gentle routine every day.

Do postures in order, as slowly as possible, flowing from one step and posture to the next.

Focus on an object at the start—that's 12:00 on an imaginary clock—to visualize where your body should be.

Complete all postures, then repeat routine, working opposite arms and legs (substitute left for right and right for left in descriptions).

Keep it up: If just 5 moves can give you an energy boost, imagine what more can do. Find a nearby class or teacher at americantaichi.org.

Open the door

John Dolan

Stand tall, knees soft and feet together, arms at sides. Slowly step left foot to side so feet are shoulder-width apart. Gently raise both arms in front of you to chest height (A), palms facing down, then slightly bend elbows and slowly lower arms to waist level as you bend knees (B)—you should sink 3 to 4 inches. (You'll still face 12:00.)

Parting the horse's mane

John Dolan

Wrap arms around an imaginary beach ball in front of chest; right hand on top, palm down, and left hand on bottom, palm up (A). Turn to your left (toward 9:00) and step forward with left foot into lunge, right foot still facing 12:00. As you lunge, extend left arm forward from hip to shoulder level, palm up, as you bring right arm back and lower to waist level, palm down (B).

Rooster stands on one leg

John Dolan

With left arm still extended and right arm bent, straighten left leg, keeping knee soft (A). Slowly raise right knee in front of you to waist level, dropping left arm down to hip level, turning palm facedown, as you simultaneously raise right arm in front of you, palm cupped and facing left. Right elbow is bent and above right knee (B). You'll still be facing 9:00.

Step up and kick with heel

John Dolan

Put right foot down as you cross hands over each other in front of your chest (A). Shift weight to right foot and lift left knee until left thigh is parallel to ground, raising arms in front of you to about chest level. Open hips and rotate bent knee slightly out to side (B). Slowly spread arms and extend out to sides, elbows slightly bent, palms open. Slowly straighten left leg and press heel forward as if you were kicking something; you'll be kicking toward 7:00 (C).

Close the door

John Dolan

Drop left foot, and shift weight onto it (A). Step right foot back so it's pointing toward 12:00 and pivot your body so it also faces 12:00 as you circle hands together, crossing wrists at waist, palms up (B). Raise them in front of face, separate them, then let hands float back down to sides—palms down—as you straighten legs. Bring feet back together, and finish with a little bow.

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The experts
Juan Carlos Santana, director of the Institute of Human Performance in Boca Raton, FL, designed the circuit-training workout. Nicholas DiNubile, MD, orthopedic consultant for the Pennsylvania Ballet and author of FrameWork: Your 7-Step Program for Healthy Muscles, Bones, and Joints, designed the walking and water workouts. David-Dorian Ross, a seven-time medalist in national and international tai chi competition, designed the tai chi workout.

Myatt Murphy Myatt Murphy is the author of the best-selling book The Body You Want in the Time You Have (Rodale, 2005), the upcoming book Men's Health's Ultimate Dumbbell Exercises (Rodale, July 2007) and coauthor of The Men's Health Gym Bible (Rodale, 2006).

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