Core Exercises for Strength

Core Curriculum

Fire up your metabolism with this do-anywhere workout
By Jill Yaworski menshealth

Get Schooled in Six Packs

Forget about the “fat-burning zone,” that low-effort no-man's-land where your body supposedly uses flab for fuel. It's bunk, says Robert dos Remedios, C.S.C.S., head strength and conditioning coach at California's College of the Canyons. "The key to shedding pounds is increasing workout intensity," says Coach Dos, who created the two complexes in this workout. "Doing exercises back-to-back at maximum effort revs your metabolism for up to 36 hours." Fitness experts call it the afterburn effect; you can just call it smart training. (Search: What is the afterburn effect?) (And for 4 super-fast, fat-blasting workouts that you can do at home, check out the Men’s Health 15-Minute Workout DVD.)

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You’ll need: A stopwatch and a pair of Valslides ($35, performbetter.com) or, in a pinch, two paper plates. (Learn about more household objects that can improve your fitness)

Do this: Start with exercises 1-3, performing 10 reps of each move as quickly as you can without pausing between exercises. Rest for the same length of time it took you to do the complex. Repeat two more times, rest 3 minutes, and follow the same process for exercises 4-6.

Running out of exercise ideas? Consult the MH Big Book of Exercises for thousands of suggestions


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