Spring ahead in 30 minutes: want sharper abs, a tighter butt and a healthy chest? Improve your total-body image with this easy-to-perform 30-minute workout

The number-one excuse for not getting into shape is "There's not enough time in the day." I hear this excuse with frightening regularity from my clients at Gold's Gym in downtown Los Angeles, where I'm enjoying a new career as a personal trainer and motivational counselor. I spend a good chunk of my day convincing busy working women that it is possible to have it all: a great job, a killer social life and a to-die-for body that looks as good as it feels.

The key to success--both in business and in private life--is honing time-management skills. I train a busy attorney who complained she couldn't possibly whip her butt into shape because of a full slate of meetings, appointments and business commitments. I took her by the hand and chided her to use this rabbit-of-habit lifestyle in a positive way: To wit, make a plan to set aside 30 minutes a day, four days per week, for a total-body routine that's easy, effective and fun.

One of the biggest problems women face is that they store fat in the cellulite-attracting trouble spots of the abs, thighs and hips. Focusing almost complete attention on these zones of misery is seemingly encrypted in our DNA. Women must realize that it is better to develop the total package in one streamlined session, rather than trying to put out a fat fire with a can of gasoline. In other words, ditch the misguided notion that you can spot reduce any out-of-shape bodypart without the aid of a low-fat diet and a total-body strategy.

MOTIVATION + PERSPIRATION = INSPIRATION

Most women spend far too much time thinking about certain things--money, sex and fitness--than actually doing anything about them. I'll take a pass on helping you with money and sex, but I'm going to put you through the same 30-minute workout I give my busy female clients who are searching for a firm butt, pretty abs and a toned upper and lower body.

THE 30-MINUTE TICKER

0-7 Minutes (8 Minutes Total): Cardio and Stretching

Hop on a bike or treadmill for five to seven minutes at a high-intensity clip (somewhere between levels three and seven, depending on your conditioning) to get your heart pumping and raise your core body temperature. Then do a few stretches for the upper and lower body. I like pelvic lifts to warm up the glutes and hamstrings: Lie on your back with feet flat on the floor and knees bent. Place your arms at your sides and keep your shoulders down. Place your left ankle across the top of your right thigh. Now raise your pelvis while pressing your right foot against the floor and contracting your glutes.

Remember to keep your abs contracted to support your lower back. Perform eight to 10 reps, then repeat with the other leg.

Another option is seated hamstring stretches. With your right leg extended out in front of you on the floor and your left ieg bent and left foot tucked into the side of your right thigh, touch your right hand to the toes of your right foot, hold for three counts, release, and then switch legs.

8-11 Minutes (4 Minutes Total): One-Arm Dumbbell Rows

Begin with the largest muscle group of the upper body (back) and target it with a unilateral exercise that develops the upper back and isolates the latissimus muscles on each side of the body. With dumbbell rows, I let the weight hang down at arm's length, turn my hand so the palm faces my torso, and lift the dumbbell up to my side while contracting my lats. I always urge my clients to focus on letting the lats, not the arms, handle the bulk of the work.

Do three sets of 12-15 reps, with no more than 30 seconds of rest between sets. I like to keep the workout ticking along, and that brisk pace dictates minimal rest intervals.

12-15 Minutes Minutes Total): Pullovers

I love doing pullovers; they work the lower lats and serratus in one clean and pure movement from top to bottom. I keep my elbows tucked in at all times and lower the dumbbell behind my head as far as my range of motion will allow, feeling my lats stretch as far as possible, before retracing the arc back up to the top and repeating.

Perform three sets of 12-15 reps with 15-30 seconds of rest between sets.

16-19 Minutes (4 Minutes Total): Incline Dumbbell Bench Presses

A woman needs to develop an upper chest to look sexy, and without going to the extremes of heavy poundages. I favor lighter weights and dumbbells to develop balance, control and coordination.

Incline dumbbell presses develop the contours of the middle and upper pectorals. I clean the dumbbells to shoulder height, palms facing forward, and then press them straight up overhead. Or, just to vary the angle of resistance, I may start with the dumbbells acing each other and twist my wrists so that the dumbbells are in the palms-facing-forward position at the top.

Just to keep it nice and easy, continue to follow the three sets for 12-15 reps formula that works so well for my clients.

20-23 Minutes (4 Minutes Total): Standing Lateral Raises

Ideally, I'd want you to train biceps and triceps in this workout -- and you are going to have to find time for arms at some point during the week -- but shoulders take precedence in this total-body session because you are working the magic of the V taper. Quite simply, if you want to make your waist look slimmer, you need to make your back and shoulders look wider. We're creating illusions and that's why side delts -- targeted by standing lateral raises -- are such a gilt-edged priority.