Photo: anyeetx, Flickr

School's back, and though many will weather this season of change by developing a protective layer of fat called the Freshman 15, you don't have to be one of them -- make fitness a priority this semester, after studying of course.

And while I'm willing to bet your school has a decent gym, you don't even need one -- there are plenty of great workouts you can do in your dorm room, no matter how big or small. Amie Hoff, master trainer for New York Sports Club, recommends a few simple -- and free -- exercises you can do in the comfort of your own space, like:

• Push-ups -- from your desk, but make sure your desk is against the wall for these. If it's not, take them to the floor.
• Bicep curls -- using your text books as weights.
• Tricep dips -- off the bed.
• Squats and lunges -- using your chair for stability.
• Crunches -- with your text books adding extra weight.
• Cardio blasts -- a couple quick sets of jumping jacks and stadium runs will help burn off that cafeteria food.

A perfect L-sit Photo: CrossFit Oakland

Think parallel bars are only for extra-lean Olympians and teeny-tiny gymnasts? Think again! Amping up your workout routine with exercises on "parallettes" -- miniature parallel bars that are light, portable and inexpensive -- can dramatically increase your strength and balance.

Some of your favorite old-school exercises, like push-ups and triceps dips, can be made more effective and more fun by moving them from the floor to parallettes.

"A push-up becomes an entirely new movement when your hand is positioned on top of the parallette," says Melissa Byers, owner and trainer at CrossFit 603. "The parallettes demand greater wrist and forearm strength and stability, and your potential range of motion is greatly increased."

Triceps have a special function and if you understand what it is, you'll always be able to work them. Fitness expert, Fitz, also shows you what counts as a very stupid way to work your triceps. Ignore the stupid one, and get busy with the really effective choices, shown here in this video.

Discover innovative training tools, yummy low fat recipes and celebrity-laden interviews by visiting Fitzness.com

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There are many ways to train each muscle. I'm a girl who likes challenging and efficient exercises. This three-part routine, shown here and featuring me and Anthony Field of The Wiggles, not only made my arms shake ... it exhausted my chest and abs and left me breathless in a very short period of time. Looking for something new, challenging and fun? This is your answer.

If you're interested in getting the rings like the one's shown here in this video, visit RingTraining.com and look for Elite Rings. And for more star-studded training videos, fitness tips and recipes, visit Fitzness.com.

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The treadmill is a great tool for walking and jogging, but have you ever tried to use it for anything else? (Besides drying clothes on it.) You might be surprised to learn about all of the things you can do on a treadmill to get a tremendous upper body and abdominal workout. Check out this video of my wicked workout partner Anthony Field of The Wiggles and me as we take your training to the next level.

This type of innovative training is so fun and effective, it may just get you past working out because you "have to" and take you to working out because you "want to." Those are two completely different things. For more cool videos, recipes and other fun fit tips ...

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Not only is it easy to make healthy appetizers, but with little effort, you can impress your guests and enjoy taste and nutrition.

Dips

• Trade those chips for some whole wheat pita, or better yet, fresh veggies, and serve up some hummus. Traditional is universally appealing, or try some black bean hummus -- one of our favorites!
• If you've got to have that onion dip, try this healthy version, made with tofu and fresh garlic and onions and parsley.
• Substitute plain yogurt for the sour cream in the creamy pesto dip, and you've got a simple dip with some basil-y pizazz.

When it comes to dips and dressings, we pretty much know which ones are the bad guys: Things that are cream-based, made with cheese, high in fat or all of the above. So when snacking, we healthy eaters tend to lean towards nutritious things with nutrients and fiber. Vegetable-based snacks like salsa and guacamole fit the bill, right?

Salsa, yes. But guacamole? Is it healthy? What do you think?

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Sometimes, we're our own worst enemies. We can come up with hundreds of excuses to not exercise. "It's raining outside." "Gyms are too expensive." "I don't want to buy/don't have room for fitness equipment." The list of excuses can go on and on. But there is one reason to exercise that totally trumps any excuse you can come up with: your well-being. Exercise will improve your health, boost your energy, help achieve/maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk of many chronic conditions, and manage your stress level.

Lauren from laurensfitness.com gives us a list of 20 exercises you can do -- without equipment, without a gym membership, and without weights. She walks you through different varieties of squats, lunges, push ups, and dips. Though Lauren admits it's not the ideal workout, it will do in a pinch. So even if you're busy or whatever other I-can't-exercise reasons you can come up with, this is a workout you can do... no excuses.

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Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hey Fitz. I blew it! I am going on vacation with a bunch of my college buddies and some hot girls in four weeks. I've totally slacked off on my workouts since school ended and now I'd like to get ripped again before we head to Mexico. What can I do at my gym to shred a bit of fat and get buff quick before the trip? I know I'm a dork for slacking, but I also know you can help me improve. I'm willing to do the work! Jason

A. Familiar story Jason! You're not the only one who's taken some time off from their fitness training only to have it blow up in your face. You're also not the first person to try and undo the damage quickly. Four weeks is a pretty decent amount of time, so if you are really clean with your eating habits and start training intensely ... I think it would be safe to take off at least 10 pounds before you see Mexico, and all of those hot girls see you!

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Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hi Fitz, I have a small kidney-shaped pool in my back yard. My preteen kids will be in it all summer and I'd like to kill two birds with one stone by spending time with them and getting in some exercise. What things do you recommend I do for a workout in a small pool? Andrea

A. Hello Miss Andrea. Thanks for the fantastic question. I love questions that pertain to a lot of people, and this one certainly does. I imagine there will be tons of moms and dads in pools over the next few months, trying to make the most out of their outdoor time. Here's the best news. Playing with your children and doing all of the things they do will prove to be a tremendous workout in itself. Kids are cuckoo in the water, and that requires lots of energy. So, at minimum, you could just play copycat.

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Looking for a great way to firm and tone your upper body? If so, try a move known as the Dip. No, not Fun Dip -- though that stuff was delicious (and basically just a bunch of flavored sugar, so forget about it) -- but, if done properly, the results will certainly make you happy.

For starters, it's important to know what muscles you'll be working. Primarily, the dip works the triceps (the muscles that appear on the backside of your arms), the chest (pectorals) and your shoulders. Clearly, the dip is a pretty solid upper-body exercise, calling upon multiple muscle groups to get the job done. Next, it's even more important to know how to properly perform Dips. Well, without already going ahead and making things all confusing, it's still important for me to point out that there are two different ways of doing Dips. The first requires parallel-grip bars, which shouldn't be hard to find in most any fitness gym. In this version of the Dip, you will hoist your body up in the air by fully extending your arms. Then, slowly lower yourself down about a foot, completing the motion by then slowly raising yourself to full extension of your arms (which was your starting position). Be careful not to overextend yourself by lowering your body too far, as you increase your risk of shoulder injury.

It's easy to step into a gym for the first time and feel somewhat intimidated. There are a bunch of people you don't know (many of which may be more fit than you), countless machines that look like torture devices, and a language being spoken that is oftentimes difficult to follow.

With regard to the last of those factors, I've started offering a virtual classroom here on that's fit that I call "Gym Lingo." Although much of what is covered may be old hat to some of you, others will benefit from this crash course on gym speak and will have you fitting in with the locals in no time.

(tri-sets, drop-sets, straight sets, etc.). This week, we'll learn about a few major muscle groups, including where they are located on the body, how to exercise them, and even their nicknames.

The bell has rung. Please find a seat ...

Pectorals. More commonly referred to as "pecs," these are the muscles that make up your chest (note: sometimes they are also simply referred to as chest). There are a variety of ways to work the various portions of your chest -- including the upper, lower, mid-region, inner, and outer areas. The most popular of chest exercises is the bench press, though you can also incorporate dumbell flyes, incline press, dumbell press, dips, pullovers, and decline press.

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It's two days before Thanksgiving, and the mass exodus has already begun. Who was stuck in traffic for two hours tonight, raise your hand? And who wished they had the foresight to take the back roads instead? Yup, got me on both of those. Fortunately, the holiday commute does eventually end, the stress does subside, and what will remain will be a delicious Thanksgiving spread.

But, as many writers here on That's Fit have pointed out, you do have to be a bit careful to not unintentionally go overboard with your eating this holiday. For this reason, I thought it would be most apropos to pay specific attention to the oft-forgotten fat and calorie culprit: The Dip.

The following list, sourced from the most recent issue of Fitness Magazine, points out which popular holiday dips you should and shouldn't be dippin' into. Still, I can't say I agree with all of them, which is why I offer up my own commentary as well.

SPINACH DIP

• They Say: Skip. Too many calories (78g) and too much fat (7.6g) per serving
• I Say: Dip. Spinach is extremely rich in several vitamins and minerals. And, but substituting a low or no fat cream cheese, you get rid of most of those unwanted calories and some or all of that fat.

SMOKED SALMON & CREAM CHEESE DIP

• They Say: Skip. Again, too many calories (70g) and too much fat (6g) per serving
• I Say: Dip. Salmon is extremely rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, so the fat you are getting is actually a healthy fat. what isn't, however, is the fat found in the cream cheese. The same remedy for the spinach dip also applies here - use low or no fat cream cheese.

HUMMUS

• They Say: Dip. Hummus is mostly made of chick peas, which are a great source of fiber. It also contains a healthy amount of olive oil, a source of a good fat.
• I Say: Dip. For all the same reasons.

SALSA

• They Say: Dip. Tomatoes are rich in lycopene and vitamin A and C. Plus there are very few calories in salsa.
• I Say: Dip. Same deal - salsa, especially homemade salsa, is a rather healthy treat. Just be a bit more careful with the store bought kind, though. It sometimes can contain more sugar and much more sodium.

It seems as though the folks over at Fitness Magazine and I don't quite see things the same way on this. I suppose we can agree to disagree.

I'll have to try to keep that mentality as I'm driving home tomorrow night.

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A reader commented on my post The Core: All it's cracked up to be with a question about the specific exercises I mentioned -- push-ups, pull-ups, dips, squats, lunges, touch-downs, and planks. He wanted to know how to do some of these since the names themselves are not so self-explanatory. Since I neglected to include the how-to details, I'm back, this time to clue you in on how exactly to strengthen that core of yours. Here goes.

Most of you probably know how to do push-ups, but click here for a refresher. As for the rest, you can find them by clicking on the name of each exercise. The only one I've omitted is the touch down. When I find a good tutorial link, I'll pass it on. For now, though, the following line-up will keep you plenty busy -- and plenty fit too.

Pull-ups
Dips
Squats
Lunges
Planks

For more how-to tips for almost every exercise imaginable, visit this site.

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