That's Fit: What are some toning exercises you think people don't capitalize on nearly enough?

Venuto: It's a misconception that weight training is only for body builders -- it's actually the most important type of training while you're restricting calories for fat loss. The weight training helps you maintain the lean muscle you already have, while stripping off the fat, burning calories and keeping your metabolism elevated.

Some of the best free weight exercises include squats with dumbbells or barbells, lunges or split squats, deadlifts, bench presses, shoulder presses and rows. There are also body weight exercises that can work as the equivalents of the free weight exercises such as chin ups and push ups, but I'd encourage everyone who wants to get leaner to get more serious about weight training.

You can join a gym if you choose, but all it takes to get started is a set of dumbbells and some space in your home. The training program in my book "The Body Fat Solution" can be done without any fancy or expensive equipment at all.

If you've been blasting through rep after rep of crunches, yet your abs are still M.I.A., it may be time to get off the floor and onto a treadmill.

In order for your six-pack to start popping, you have to reduce the amount of subcutaneous fat it's hiding behind. To do that, adding even more crunches to your ab workout really isn't the answer; while cutting back a bit on your caloric intake and ramping up your cardio workout should make all the difference. The first step in this process is to determine your body fat percentage. Then, use that information to tailor your proper ab-unveiling cardio workout. The following tips from Men's Health should help you along.

• If you have less than 15 percent body fat, do cardio 3 times a week. Results should show in one to two weeks.
• If you have 15-20 percent body fat, do cardio 3-4 times a week. Results should show in 2-3 weeks.

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We hear about body fat percentage all the time, yet we rarely give much thought to what percentage we should be shooting for. Granted, we know that the higher the number, the worse off we'll be. And, conversely, having too low of a body fat percentage can also be unhealthy, as it can compromise essential fat stores that surround and protect our organs.

But that knowledge doesn't do much in the way of determining what body fat percentage is ideal. Well, for one thing, that could be because an ideal is very difficult to determine. Everyone's body is different, just as everyone's fitness goals vary across the board. So, what may be "ideal" for one person may be too big, too small, too heavy, too light, etc. for someone else. Were not much closer to finding an answer, are we?

The best we can do is to make an assumption. Not the best of starts, I know, but it has to be done (or else I'll end up dancing around this question forever). My assumption is as follows: If most people could pick a physique they would like to have, it would be similar to those of the men and women who appear on the cover of magazines like Men's Health and Women's Health. Am I wrong in this assumption? That's very possible. But I sense that most people would prefer to be lean and healthy looking over extremely muscular or noticeably paunchy. So, with that all said and grossly overdone, the "ideal" body fat percentage (that is, the body fat percentage of most fitness models) is around nine percent. At that percentage, your abs will become very visible, as will the definition in most of your muscles. Again, is this what you are shooting for? Maybe, maybe not. But if it is, know that this is what it will take to achieve your fitness goals.

Being someone that's arithmetically challenged, I'm surprising even myself right now by saying that I'm a fan of numbers. Words have always been more my thing. So, in a reversal of one of my own personal, lifelong maxims, I've come to realize that my focus on health and fitness is primarily a numbers game.

This is probably why my attention is easily stolen by the bold-fonted numbers that appear sporadically in issues of Men's Health magazine. True, there is always a collection of words that appear underneath, explaining what the numbers above represent. But still, without those numbers, those statements remain unquantified and, frankly, far less interesting.

In the most recent edition of the British version of the magazine (which is more or less the same as the U.S. version, only with the more frequent use of the letter "U"), the following numbers appear at the bottom of a random page: 10, 1, 20, 79. I bet you want to know what these numbers represent, don't you? So did I.

Here's how the numbers break down ...

10 = Percentage harder your lats work for lat pull-downs with a wider-than-shoulders grip, versus a close grip

1 = Number of pull-ups the average man can do

20 = Percentage of your body fat you need to lose so you can double the number of pull-ups you can do now

79 = Percentage of the oft-neglected middle trapezius muscles (on your back) that is recruited while doing the single-arm row

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The more time you spend in a gym, the more ridiculous things you hear people say. I'm not sure where they get their information, but let it be known that it's not from this website.

Just two days ago, I overheard some dude talking to some other dude. We'll call them Dude #1 and Dude #2, mainly because my creativity pool is a bit shallow at the moment. Anyway, Dude #1 was telling Dude #2 that he just started getting back into the gym after a fairly long hiatus (author's note: he didn't use the word hiatus. If my memory serves me, he said that he was just being F-ing lazy for a few months. But I digress ...). Dude #2 then told him that he also took a "hiatus" a few months back, and that all his muscle turned to fat. Dude #1 could relate, so at least it seemed. He, too, claimed that his hard earned muscle had also turned to fat during his ... ahem, hiatus.

If I write a post that has the word "Abs" in the title, it invariably becomes one of my most well-read entries for the day. This comes as no surprise, really, since it is this part of the body that people seem most interested in shaping. Obviously, other exercise magazines are aware of this, too, which is why almost every issue of every health publication has the word "Abs" splashed across its cover. Well, I know you don't read those magazines or visit this website to be given the inside scoop on marketing tactics, so I'll turn the attention to why you do: Because you want to learn how to shape your abs!!

As I've said dozens of times before, the real trick to whittling down your waist has less to do with ab exercises and more to do with diet and cardio. You could work your abs to exhaustion several times a week, but if you don't reduce your overall body fat, you'll never see them. We'll call that Lesson No. 1.

This, of course, is not to say that you shouldn't do any ab exercises until you've reduced your body fat percentage. Go ahead with your bad self, do those hanging leg raises, bicycle crunches, and so on. This way, your abs will be properly built and ready to shine once you strip away those extra layers of fat. This brings me to Lesson No. 2.

We are what we eat. That's what we've always been told, isn't it? For good reason, because it is so very true. Just as important is what we do with that food. Burning it as fuel through exercise is clearly the healthiest option, for this will aid in lowering cholesterol levels, improving circulation, and reducing the risk of heart disease. When it comes to food, there are usually three or four things that people pay closest attention to on labels: Carbs, Proteins, Fats and Calories.

While it's near impossible for non-scientists to determine how proteins, fats, and carbs are being broken down during exercise, there is a way for the lay person to figure out how much exercise would be required to burn a specific number of calories. Among the several methods of doing so, I recently came across a website that may be the easiest way of all. It's called the Diet Detective (www.dietdetective.com ), and it's a website that is certainly worth looking at.

For one, you can find out how long it will take you to burn off the calories of your favorite food. Plus, you can also find out how many calories are burned while performing some of your favorite exercises -- all in great detail in terms of time, effort level, etc. In addition, you can also roughly calculate your BMI and your Body Fat, and also learn your target heart rate. Here's just a quick thing I put together based on info. on the Diet Detective website: 9 Hershey's Kisses contain 230 calories. This means that you'd have to either run for 24 minutes, or bike for 33 minutes, or walk for 59 minutes, or do Yoga for 129 minutes to burn off the calories consumed from those little chocolate treats. The good news about exercise, though, is that once you are following a regular, consistent program, you will burn a great deal of calories even when you are not working out. Hope you enjoy the site -- but not for too long. Best I can tell, sitting in front of a computer hardly burns any calories!!!

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One of the best ways to stay motivated in your workout is to know that you are getting results. In some cases, change is not always readily apparent in the first month or so. The scale may show a slight improvement, and you may feel more vigor in your daily routine, but your body unfortunately still looks the same. But looks may be deceiving, especially when it comes to body fat.

Many gyms and trainers may have special devices (called bioelectrical impedance analysis scales) that are able to quickly compute your body fat content. But, for those of us who generally don't carry around bioelectrical devices with us, results can be uncovered with the use of a simple measuring tape.

Measure the circumference of your waist at the belly button. If your staring at a measurement of, say, 34 inches, and last month it measured 36 inches, that means that you've already changed pants size by lowering your amount of body fat Check your arms, chest, legs, and back, and you'll likely find similar results. Because you lose fat from all over (rather than in individual areas of the body), it can sometimes be difficult to observe change with your eyes, which is why the tape measure can be an invaluable tool in your fitness progress.

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Let's face it, fiber isn't exactly the most interesting part of your diet. Rarely do we talk about it, and even more rarely do we take it into account when planning our meals. Generally speaking, the only people who tend to pay attention to fiber are the people who are in greater need of a diet rich in it. And, again, those people don't exactly like to talk about that, either. As a result, fiber sort of remains the unspoken and oft-misunderstood part of our diet. But, make no mistake, it is an extremely important part. Here's why.

More or less, fiber is the mostly carbohydrate constituent of plants that the human body can't digest. There are two primary types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. The latter passes from one end of the digestive tract to the other virtually unchanged. Cereals, vegetables, grains, and seeds are usually comprised of more insoluble fiber than soluble fiber. As for the former, soluble fiber differs from its counterpart by encouraging the growth of healthy bacteria in the body, ultimately assisting with the digestive process. More commonly found in fruits, oats, barley, beans and peas, soluble fiber dissolves in water and consists of pectin, gums and mucilage (hmm...that word seems somewhat familiar).

There are many health benefits to be gained from eating an adequate amount of fiber in your diet. Some of them include:

Cholesterol Reduction. By trapping bile acids that would otherwise be absorbed and converted into cholesterol, fiber can help reduce cholesterol and triglycerides.

Improved Protein Absorption. Eating foods high in fiber while eating foods high in protein will slow down the breakdown of that protein, thereby allowing for greater absorption.

Better Colon Function. This one you are likely aware of already. I'll leave it at that.

Prevents Body-Fat Storage. Soluble fiber helps the body use carbs for glycogen synthesis and energy production, rather than storing them as fats. Also, just as fiber slows down the body's processing of proteins, fiber can slow down how fast your body metabolizes carbs. For you, this means that your insulin levels will not spike as a result of eating a high-carb food, which is yet another way to help prevent body fat storage.

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The ultimate in lazy health devices: a machine that doesn't even require you to stand or sit up in order to measure your body fat. Tanita Corporation has invented what it's calling "a world first" (I have no idea if that's true) in the form of a machine that can measure a person's body fat from a completely reclined position. It's designed for the morbidly obese and people with disabilities or limitations that make it difficult to reposition -- and in those cases it really is a good thing. Plus for the rest of us it's a nice option to have instead of, say, the water tank method of calculating body fat.

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Obesity isn't just a health issue for ourselves, but for our pets also. As our society gets larger and larger our dogs are getting fat right along with us. So it makes sense that as you work for a healthier lifestyle and pounds lost you can take your dog along for that trend too. Whether you're putting Spot on a diet or taking him out with you walking (or both), now you can easily monitor how much progress he's making. There's a new handy body fat checker for dogs that will give you a reading just by touching it to the dog's back. So far it's only available in Japan, but I wonder if there's really a market for something like this over here? How often would you use it, honestly?

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I'm a pretty simple person. As far as fitness equipment goes, the only things I really use on a regular basis are my running shoes and water bottle. But as someone who's making a bigger commitment to fitness every day, I find myself researching and wanting exercise-related gadgets that the old me wouldn't have dreamed of wasting money on. For example? I find myself buying Lululemon workout gear, despite it being super expensive (Think $100 for a pair of capris. That you wear to the gym.) Once upon a time, I wore a pair of $12 shorts, a t-shirt I borrowed from a friend and my sneakers to the gym. But I figure it's worth it if the motivation to get my money's worth on my workout gear drives me to go to the gym when I'd much rather nap. You can't put a price on healthy living, right?

Anyway, this week, I thought I'd put together a list of gadgets that have caught my eye and might catch yours too.

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Tired of having that flab jiggling around under your arms? If you're tired of feeling and watching that annoying flab, have you ever considered exercising that specific area of your body to try and rid your arms of that stuff?

The under-arm area is where many people store excess body fat. With the right combination of directed exercise and determination, that under-arm fat can go away -- permanently.

In most cases, I see more females with this excess under-arm body fat than with males. If you're really wanting to look your best on that date or for your significant other, there are some great ideas over at eDiets on getting rid of that flabby weight for good.

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