Your goal: Lose postpregnancy pounds.

The game plan: Circuit training—a series of exercises with little to no rest in between—three days a week. Cycle through three sets of push-ups, squats, and side lunges, doing as many as you can without stopping. Take a one-minute break between circuits.

The proof: Research from Shippensburg and California State Polytechnic Universities found that circuit training boosts your metabolism better than a similar-intensity treadmill workout. In fact, you burn 30 percent more calories doing circuits than you would with strength training alone, says exercise scientist and physical trainer Brad Schoenfeld.


Your goal: Prevent high blood pressure.

The game plan: Walking. Lace up your sneakers and power walk for 24 minutes.

The proof: Doing this short walk daily could slash your chances of developing high blood pressure by 42 percent, according to a recent study in the journal Hypertension. Study author Robin Shook says the regular exercise may help regulate your body's "fight or flight" stress response and, as a result, keep blood pressure down.


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