Martin Rooney's 12-week diet and exercise program, Warrior Cardio, uses the language of combat -- and models who look like ultimate fighters -- to show you how to get that fierce, toned-up look, or at least a trimmer you.

According to Rooney, the most effective way to burn fat and build muscle is interval training: sprints, free-weight circuits and exercises using your body weight, such as push-ups interspersed with claps. His program also includes a nutritional plan focused on a healthful balance of protein, vegetables, fruit and whole grains, complete with recipes.

For those more interested in just working out, there are lots of pictures. Each exercise -- from the mini plyo hop (small, quick hops performed in a pattern similar to hopscotch) to the Zercher lunge (performed with barbells in the crooks of your elbows) -- is broken down and demonstrated by buff guys.

The program is geared toward men, but that doesn't mean women can't unearth their inner warriors just as well.

WASHINGTON POST

Study: Z-pak poses riskThe antibiotic azithromycin, better known as the five-day "Z-pak," typically does a great, and fast, job of combating such bacterial illnesses as sinus infections and bronchitis. But research published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that the drug is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular death.

The study compared records for nearly 348,000 people who took azithromycin with records for people who took other antibiotics and those who took no antibiotics at all. Researchers found that those taking azithromycin were at 2.5 times greater risk of cardiovascular death as those taking amoxicillin or those taking no antibiotic. That risk was elevated only during the five-day treatment period.

WASHINGTON POST