It seems like the minute fall temperatures set in and the days shorten, workouts lose their appeal. All we want to do is eat pie and stay cozy on the couch. Then along comes the holiday season and, well, you know. Holiday weight gain is no illusion. The National Institute of Health reports that adults typically gain one pound between Thanksgiving and New Year, and though that seems less than what you'd imagine, the institute found that we rarely lose that weight and just keep accumulating it every year. Sounds depressing, but Crunch gym's mad geniuses think they've found a solution: a preemptive strike called Holiday Combat, an intense 12-week cardio-sculpt class.

Beginning in October nationwide, Holiday Combat isn't the painful military butt-whipping you might expect from a "boot camp" class. Well, there is some pain, but there's a lot of holiday cheer, too. The emphasis is on positive reinforcement, including the incentive of a prize drawing for a $1,000 shopping spree at Puma at the end of the program (December 14).

It's deceptively simple. Armed with a step, a thick mat and two sets of hand weights (say, three and eight pounds), you're led through exercises in rapid succession. Most of them focus on women's typical trouble spots, the lower body and upper arms. There are lunges and dips off the step, standing leg lifts and squats, all paired with biceps and triceps curls. Sometimes the strength training is interrupted for half a minute of rapid running in place. On the floor, you'll do push-ups, some Pilates-inspired core work and butt exercises in bridge position. Meanwhile, motivational speeches are hilariously (and helpfully) thematic, suggesting that cornbread stuffing with gravy won't harm you so much if you can lift your knee just one more time.