So it’s the new year, and that means one thing: hundreds of students running back to Ramsey to exercise, or rather, to wait in line to exercise. Let’s be honest (and I think I said this last year), few of you will be this motivated in three weeks. Even if you are this consistent, you may not see any results. Here’s an attack plan for some of the most common fitness goals for 2008.

Lose weight: Running or performing cardiovascular exercise without lifting weights may help you lose weight, but it won’t help you keep the weight off. When you lose weight simply by running and not lifting weights, you lose muscle. Less muscle means a lower metabolism, which means food won’t be burned as quickly.

This year, try lifting weights for 30 to 40 minutes before running, since running after you lift burns more body fat than running before you lift. Keep the magazine at home.

Gain muscle: To gain big muscle, you need to develop a foundation of strength. Devote three to four weeks on compound lifts (like squats and bench press), performing about six to 10 sets per body part. Keep your repetition ranges in the four to six range.

Next, devote a week to low-intensity, lightweight workouts, where you perform about 15 repetitions per set. Follow that with another set of three weeks, but of six to eight reps, and then another week of lightweight workouts.

Then, in the final three weeks, perform about 20 to 25 sets for your larger muscle groups per week and 10 to 15 sets for your smaller muscle groups. Keep your repetition ranges in the eight to 10 range.

Get ripped: If you want to get shredded, you need to increase your cardio to about four to five times per week. Also, don’t forget about strength training – training with six to eight repetitions per set increases your metabolism and helps you burn extra calories.

Try alternating one week of strength training with one week of circuit training, where you go from one exercise to the next without rest and perform about 12 to 15 repetitions per set.

As much as I love lifting weights in an empty gym, I wish you luck on keeping your resolutions. Maybe I’ll see you in a few weeks. But then again, maybe I won’t.

- Daniel Hanna is a certified personal trainer and a stringer for The Red & Black.