30 minute total body workout

If you could put one improved body part atop your winter wish list, what would it be? A better butt? Tighter abs? Leaner legs? Amazing arms? Well, look no further, because we've got just the present you want: all of the above.

Earlier this year, Shape teamed up with kinesiologists Stuart Rugg, Ph.D., and Bill Whiting, Ph.D., to find the best exercises you could possibly do to shape specific body parts. Using an electromyograph (EMG) machine, our science gurus recorded activity in different muscles as our fearless test subject performed an assortment of popular moves. Over a period of several months, we analyzed more than 125 exercises to come up with a master list of all-time "Best Tested Moves." And now, for a special end-of-the-year finale, we've selected eight of those moves for this quick, easy and supereffective total-body workout.

Since the 30-minute program is designed as a circuit (i.e., you go from one exercise to the next without resting), you'll blow through it faster. You'll also get your heart rate up for an increased calorie burn, notes Rugg, chair of the department of kinesiology at Occidental College in Los Angeles.

Better still: If you've already got dumbbells, you can do the program at home. If you prefer using gym equipment, we've listed an alternative machine-based move for each exercise. You can also up the calorie-burning quotient of your workout by intermittently adding spurts of cardio (see "The Plan" at left for details). So, give yourself the gift that keeps on giving this season -- a more fit, fabulous, sleek and sexy body... in next to no time.