A Six-Pack By Summer

The Payoff:

• Faster fat loss: The Traveling Deadlift and Turkish Getup, featured below, force your body to engage more muscles than typical bodybuilding exercises do. And that means you'll burn more calories than ever before.
• Greater stamina: The fast pace of this workout plan not only melts fat, but also improves your overall endurance. So, as you progress, you'll be able to go harder and longer in each subsequent workout. The end result: You'll get leaner, faster.
• Extra muscle: Because this workout plan incorporates power exercises—such as the Hang Clean and Jump Squat—it targets your fast-twitch muscle fibers. And since these fibers have the greatest potential for size and strength, that leads to bigger, stronger muscles.

Your goal: A chiseled body

Your time: 24 minutes

Some beliefs are painfully slow to perish, like the one that declares intense aerobic exercise is the best method for burning fat. "This misconception could be what's keeping you from a lean physique," says Michael Mejia, M.S., C.S.C.S., a Men's Healthexercise advisor. The reason is simple: "Most men invest their energy in exercise that boosts their caloric expenditure only while they're working out," says Mejia, for example, a 45-minute spin on a stationary bike or a moderate jog through a park.

Resistance training, on the other hand, elevates your metabolism for up to 48 hours afterward, so it pays fat-loss dividends long after your workout ends. And, turns out, lifting weights is highly underrated for burning calories during your session, too. A recent study from the University of Southern Maine found that an intense weight-training session burns as many as 71 percent more calories than previously thought—putting it on par with aerobic exercise.

Mejia's workout plan creates an enormous metabolic demand on your body by blending explosive exercises and combination lifts in a fast-paced circuit. Alternate between Workout A and Workout B, performing three workouts a week and resting a day between sessions. In the first two weeks, do three sets of each exercise, resting 60 seconds between sets. In weeks three and four, perform each routine as a circuit. That is, do one set of each exercise without resting between moves, then rest 90 seconds between circuits. Complete a total of three circuits.

Benchmark of success: How do you measure up?

Most men judge weight-loss success by their waistlines. And that's fine, but it doesn't measure your ability to burn fat. In this test, you'll sprint as fast and as far as you can. The farther you can run at your fastest pace, the better prepared your body is to last through high-intensity fat-burning workouts like this one.

Lace up your running shoes and head to an open stretch of road or track. After a 2- to 3-minute warmup jog, sprint at your top speed for as long as possible. Stop as soon as you feel yourself slowing down and record either your time or your distance—whichever is more convenient.

Hang Clean to Front Squat to Push Press

Grab a barbell with a shoulder-width grip and dip your knees, as if you were about to jump. Quickly reverse the motion and shrug your shoulders as you pull the bar straight up and rise onto your toes. As the bar approaches chest height, bend your knees and swing your elbows forward to "catch" the bar in the crooks of your fingers. Now lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor.

Push back up to a standing position, then press the bar overhead. Lower the bar to the starting position. That's one repetition.

The plan: Do six repetitions with a weight you would typically use to push-press six times. Perform three sets in weeks one and two; do the move as part of a circuit in weeks three and four.

Dumbbell Double Wood Chop

Hold a light dumbbell with a hand-over-hand grip, your arms extended above your right shoulder. Keeping your arms straight but not locked, bend at the knees and forcefully rotate your torso to the left as you draw your arms down and across your body. When your hands reach the outside of your left ankle, pause, then quickly reverse the movement with the same intensity, pausing at the top. That's one repetition. Do eight, then hold the weight over your left shoulder and repeat the move, this time chopping to your right.

The plan: Complete eight repetitions on each side. Perform three sets in weeks one and two; do the move as part of a circuit in weeks three and four.

Piston Bent-Over Row

Holding dumbbells, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend forward until your torso is almost parallel to the floor and your arms hang straight down, palms facing each other. Pull the weights to the sides of your chest. This is the starting position. Keeping your right arm as still as possible, lower the weight in your left hand until your arm is straight. Lift the dumbbell back up to the side of your chest, then lower your right hand. Continue alternating.

The plan: Complete eight repetitions with each arm. Perform three sets in weeks one and two; do the move as part of a circuit in weeks three and four.

Turkish Getup

Lie on your back with your legs straight. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand with your arm straight above you. Keeping your elbow locked and the weight above you at all times, stand up. (Move your legs and left arm underneath you to push yourself up.) Still keeping your right arm straight and the weight above you, reverse the motion to return to the starting position.

The plan: Complete eight repetitions on each side. Perform three sets in weeks one and two; do the move as part of a circuit in weeks three and four.

Pushup/Pullup Ladder

Stand next to a pullup bar and get into pushup position. Do two pushups, then stand up and grasp the bar with your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart. Pull yourself up until the bar is at shoulder height, then lower yourself.

The plan: Add two pushups and one pullup each time you repeat the pair. So you'll start by doing two pushups and one pullup. Next, you'll do four and two, then six and three, and so on. Stop when you can do 10 pushups and five pullups or when you reach technical failure—that is, when your form falters or you can no longer control the speed of your repetitions. Perform three ladders in weeks one and two; do the ladder as part of a circuit in weeks three and four.

Dumbbell Jump Squat to Squat Thrust

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides. Lower your body about 6 inches, then jump as high as you can. Land softly on the balls of your feet and immediately sink into a squat, lowering your body until you touch the dumbbells to the floor. Kick your legs out behind you so you're in pushup position, with your hands on top of the dumbbells.

Reverse the motion, bringing your legs forward so your feet are under your shoulders, then pushing back up to a standing position. That's one repetition.

The plan: Do eight repetitions. Perform three sets in weeks one and two; do the move as part of a circuit in weeks three and four.

Traveling Deadlift

Stand with a light barbell on the floor in front of you, your feet shoulder-width apart and the bar directly over your toes. Bend your knees and grasp the bar with an overhand grip with your hands just outside your knees. Keeping your head and back straight and the bar close to your body, stand up. Next, step forward with your left foot and then with your right so your feet come together. Lower the bar to the floor and repeat the move, this time stepping forward with your right foot.

The plan: Do eight to 10 repetitions. Perform three sets in weeks one and two; do the move as part of a circuit in weeks three and four.

Medicine-Ball Bicycle Maneuver

Lie on your back holding a medicine ball in front of your chest, elbows flared out to the sides. Bend your knees 90 degrees and raise your legs so your thighs are perpendicular to the floor. Next, curl your torso up so your upper body is at a 45-degree angle. This is the starting position. Bring your left knee toward your chest as you straighten your right leg, and simultaneously twist your upper body to the left until your right elbow meets your left knee. Reverse the move, drawing your right knee to your left elbow.

The plan: Do 10 repetitions on each side. Perform three sets in weeks one and two; do the move as part of a circuit in weeks three and four.