Having a gym buddy gives you more than just an opportunity to catch up on the latest gossip—it’s a chance to improve your fitness and make your workouts a lot more fun. “Having a partner makes every workout more motivating—you have someone to lean on and who can give you feedback,” notes Biggest Loser trainer Jen Widerstrom, author of Diet for Your Personality Type.

Workout partners Ida Lundgren and Bianca Van Damme have names you might recognize—their fathers Dolph and Jean Claude paired up in the action classic Universal Soldier, and each has his own storied film career. (Bianca’s mother, Gladys Portugues, is a former competitive bodybuilder.) Both women have kept their action-star lineage intact with regular workouts and martial arts training. 

The workouts here are designed in two parts: Do them separately or on the same day, depending on your schedule. “You’ll have four mini full-body workouts strung together, which has a layering effect,” explains Widerstrom.

Do the exercises in the order given to prefatigue muscles so you’ll work harder with each round. Intensity is also key: “Go all out for 35 seconds, then use the next 25 seconds to recover,” says Widerstrom. “Your heart rate will spike, which will boost the burn.” 

On days when you want to add more cardio or have time for only a quick workout, do the martial arts drills. They’ll help you get lean and improve your stamina so you—and your buddy—can have plenty of energy to hit the gym together again tomorrow