In 2007, Fitness magazine asked 35 of the best personal trainers for their advice on how to make your fitness goals come true.

The following are some of their best tips:

Easy exercise shortcuts

• Use heavier weights and do fewer reps.

• Work multiple muscle groups together, such as perform biceps curls with lunges, or shoulder presses with squats.

• Add 60-second cardio bursts (jumping rope, running in place) between weightlifting sets.

• For six-pack abs, do all of your standing exercises on a Bosu ball.

• Mix several two-minute high-speed intervals into your standard cardio routine.

• Alternate three to five minutes of cardio with 30 to 60 seconds of squats, lunges, sidekicks, or push-ups.

• Perform an upper-body, lower-body and core exercise with no rest in between, then jump rope for one minute; repeat circuit.

Ways to reach a goal

• Assess where you are at the beginning. How many push-ups can you do? Sit-ups? How long can you run?

• Recruit a friend to go through the process with you.

• Schedule your workouts for certain times and days—just like everything else that’s essential in your week.

• Lose the all-or-nothing attitude.

• Write your goal in a daily planner.

• Put money in a jar every time you train. After every 10 to 20 workouts, buy something you want.

Ways to measure progress

• Start an exercise journal. Write down what you did after each workout.

• Take a “before” picture and post it on your refrigerator, then take an “after” shot every month or so and compare.

• Do push-ups twice weekly then, once weekly, write down your number of reps.

• If your energy level has increased and you are sleeping better, something is working.

• Make note of how much less winded you get walking up stairs.

Signs your workout is too tame

• You feel mentally stressed afterward.

• Your heart rate doesn’t go up.

• You have not increased your speed or the amount of weight you are lifting in more than three months.

• You are bored.