Tone up faster, better

Who has time to hit the gym hard for more than an hour, three times a week, especially if you have a nine-to-five gig and a family? Even as a singleton, I never achieved more than slight, temporary fitness success before giving up because the new lifestyle took too much time away from my... lifestyle!

Well time's a-changing, folks. Gruelling hour-long sessions that alternate between upper- and lower-body exercises every other day are not the only -- nor the best -- way to tone up and trim down for the long term. "It's about moderation," says celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak, author of the best-selling books 5-Factor Fitness (Putnam, 2005) and 5-Factor Diet (Meredith Books, 2006). "It's a synergy between fitness and diet that means you don't have to work so hard to get the results you want."

Syner-what? "If you add 500 extra calories per day to your diet, you have to work that much harder just to maintain status quo," explains Pasternak. "Fitness is 50 per cent what you eat and 50 per cent exercise. A moderate diet means a moderate workout plan."

We've heard about moderate diets, but what's a moderate workout? Aren't workouts supposed to be work? Well, there's work, and then there's efficiency.

Efficiency = sustainable results
Pasternak's theory is that shorter, more frequent, intense workouts produce quick results, steady improvement, and a manageable lifestyle change. Here's how:

1. Pasternak's 5-Factor program calls for five 25-minute workouts per week. Yes, five times per week, but finding 25 minutes in a day is easier than finding 60. Plus, the metabolism kick from each session helps you burn fat more efficiently, at a consistently elevated level throughout the week.

2. That 25 minutes breaks down into five five-minute phases:
-1. cardio warm up
-2. upper-body training
-3. lower-body training
-4. core training and;
-5. cardio cool down

Each exercise is straightforward and simple to master and the short, varied segments are easy to take -- before you know it, it's time to move on to the next phase.

3. Two of the segments are dedicated to supersets of just two strength-training moves. Supersets are back-to-back weight exercises that keep your heart rate up longer to burn more fat as you build lean muscle. Efficient, yes?

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4. Working large muscle groups burns more fat. Pasternak's program targets large muscle groups in four of the five workouts (the other is for smaller muscles, triceps and biceps). In a week, you'll work the front and back of your body equally for balanced results.

5. With a traditional program, your muscles adjust to the same routine week after week. 5-Factor has different exercises for each of the five days of the week, and for each week of the five-week cycle, Pasternak changes the number of sets, the level of resistance and the rest periods so your body never gets comfortable enough to stop improving.

Want to save even more time? Cut out your commute and create a home gym. All you need is an incline bench, a set of weights ranging from 5 to 20 pounds (to start -- you'll get stronger so at some point, you'll expand your set), a skipping rope and a balance ball.

Quit weighing yourself
Aside from time, there are other trip-ups to getting fit, especially for women. "Throw away the bathroom scale," insists Pasternak. "Weight fluctuations can really de-motivate women, but often have nothing to do with actual weight gain." As well, he notes that women tend to overtrain whichever area of their bodies they're most unhappy with, and that delivers minimal results. In fact, it creates muscle imbalances, irregular proportions and can lead to injury.

"The best thing you can do to overcome fitness challenges is stick to the plan," says Pasternak. "You'll see steady results, you'll know when you've achieved your goals. That's empowering."

If you're wondering how effective this short, frequent, intense-workout program is, take a look at Pasternak's celebrity clients, musicians Alicia Keys and John Mayer or actress Halle Berry. Or flip through his books: One success story in 5-Factor Fitness is about a 74-year-old woman who went from being arthritic and inactive to climbing Kilimanjaro. Or check out www.5factordiet.com. Or ask me.

I started 5-Factor three years ago and despite frequent fitness breaks, I've lost more than 50 pounds and significantly re-shaped my body, my lifestyle and my thinking. If I can do it, you can do it. Probably better.

You don't have to go broke to get fit. Try some of our 10 budget fitness tips for easy-on-the-wallet workouts.

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Janine Falcon is a Toronto-based writer who credits 5-Factor Fitness with giving her arms that would make Madonna jealous. She's also the founder and editor-in-chief of Beauty Geeks, the "you, but better" blog about the best beauty products out there and how to use them.