Add the Web to Your Fitness Regimen

Fitness and wellness advice creeps like kudzu on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's not always welcome. Pop-up ads scream about losing 10 pounds in 10 days. A cursory Google search of "exercise" yields a vast webscape of sites specific and broad, reputable and shady. It's a jungle out there, but some hidden gems offer practical advice. So before you pay a mint to download a paint-by-numbers booklet on abdominal crunches or detox diets, consider these helpful sites:

American Council on Exercise

Based in San Diego, the council has an extensive Web site that blends analysis of the latest fitness headlines with an archive of facts and how-tos. You can basically do whatever the heck you want: browse the exercise library's photos and instructions (which are divided by area of the body), print PDFs of fitness facts, find health clubs and professionals by Zip code or dive into discussion boards frequented by the helpless and the helpful.

There's also a recipe finder that searches a database for healthy meals based on what you want to eat. The site's Youth Fitness area offers a free downloadable youth fitness curriculum for teachers.

Most inspiring and/or entertaining is the Personal Fitness Achievements section, which features testimonials from people who have overcome obstacles both unavoidable (the double leg amputee whose rehabilitation allowed him to enjoy tennis and skiing again) and personal (the overweight woman who cut her clothing size in half, won a bodybuilding competition at age 48 and is now an aerobics instructor).

http://www.acefitness.org/getfit. Free. Registration not required.

GetFit

You know your goals. You know your skill level. You know how much time each week you're willing to devote to exercise. Plug all these variables into GetFit's comprehensive fitness profile, and the site generates an interactive lifestyle calendar tailored to you. It spits out a monthly workout schedule accompanied by pictures and videos that demonstrate proper technique.

Also, you can build your own program, print it out and take it to the gym. Results can be recorded online and are automatically compiled into a snapshot of your progress. If artificial intelligence isn't your thing, the site can hook you up with a certified personal trainer with whom you can e-mail and chat online to build a regimen.

http://www.getfit.com. $10 per month for the GetFit Fitness System, $49 per month for online coaching.

Kidnetic.com

There's not much fun about eating right, especially when you're a kid (or kidlike) and "fun" means a pint of Ben & Jerry's Half Baked ice cream and four hours in front of the television. But if there's a Web site that might hold a child's attention, it's probably Kidnetic.com, a flashy, color-soaked romper room of tips for healthy eating and active living.

The site is designed to transform children's restless energy into focused efforts to eat well and exercise. There are quizzes, games and recipes ("Grilled Veggies on Sticks" promises to make any kid a vegetable lover), as well as articles on body image ("Am I Too Fat or Too Thin?") and regulating intake of fast food (order the chicken instead of the burger, and don't super-size anything).

Instructions for indoor and outdoor fitness games include activities that are charming in their simple ingenuity: Time yourself as you run up the stairs, then try to beat that time. It may be a recipe for skinned knees and rattled parents, but at least everyone's moving around instead of atrophying on the sofa.

http://www.kidnetic.com. Free. Registration not required.