15-minute fat blaster circuit

I thought I was on a fitness roll yesterday morning. Went to the health club with both kids in tow at 8:00 am, only to discover the child care room didn't open until 9:00 am on Saturdays. Buzzkill. I was crestfallen. So I returned home and devised Plan B.

It was time to try this Fat-Blasting Routine in the December/January issue of Fitness Magazine I came across a few weeks ago. It's a circuit of five exercises requiring little to no gear and a small space -- perfect for home. Fat-Blasting is one of three circuits in a comprehensive program which also includes a Tone Up and a De-Stress circuit, too.

Here's the Fat-Blasting Routine -- do each exercise for one minute, repeat the series three times through for a total of 15 minutes. If you want to go longer, keep repeating the series to reach 30 minutes. Use your watch or glance at a digital clock nearby to stick to one minute for each exercise.

• Step 1: Jump Rope -- Do single jumps with knees slightly bent and feet low to floor. If you don't have a rope, pretend.
• Step 2: Squat Jump -- Stand with legs hip-width apart and arms extended straight overhead. Sit back into a squat, keep body weight over heels, and then pulse down for three counts and jump up explosively, reaching arms toward the ceiling. About 20 will get you through a minute -- my upper hamstrings are sore this morning.
• Step 3: Lateral Dash -- Place 2 dumbells or any small items around 6 feet apart on the floor. Stand between targets, then run to the left and lean down to tap the target with right hand. Return to center and repeat on other side. Keep head up. Dash back and forth as fast as possible. Actually, maybe it's these that burned my upper hamstrings.
• Step 4: Run in Place -- Self-explanatory, but make sure to challenge yourself by running as fast as possible, pump arms and bring those knees up to hip height.
• Step 5: Jabs and Jacks -- With legs shoulder-width apart and fists in front of chin, punch right hand across body toward left corner, repeat on opposite side with left hand. Do 8 jabs. Bring fists back in front of chin and do 8 jumping jacks with legs. Repeat jabs/jacks series over the minute.

I was feeling great after a 15-minute circuit series and followed it up with a host of floor abdominal crunches, 50 girlie push-ups and relaxing lower body stretches. Aaahh -- who needs the gym?