Training days

WELCOME TO THE CLUB Hungry Girl.com serves up advice, sandwiches

Oh, the charm of a New Year’s resolution: a chance to wipe the slate clean and to start all over. Nothing is more seductive than the promise of a foxier, better, you.

That is, of course, until you’re told that the road to “foxy” is paved with awful food combinations, repetitive laps around a drab track and public humiliation in the form of a class aptly dubbed “Hip-Hop Ass Attack.” Staring down at weeks of eating rabbit food while bohunky trainers bark at you to squat out one more rep is just demoralizing enough to chuck your fitness dreams for another year and head back to the couch.

For those times when you need an extra push, we’ve got the skinny on Web-based diet and health sites that allow you to create motivational, personalized fitness plans on your own terms without spending a penny or wearing spandex in public.

For community support... 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet (www.3fatchicks.com) has it in spades. Whether you’re curious about the most ridiculous of dieting myths, or looking for South Beach Diet recipes that won’t make you wretch, the members of the 3 Fat Chicks forums give daily feedback on All Things Diet. Watch out for the incessant pop-ups, though. What is this, ladies? 2001?

While we have a hard time endorsing any site that says National Tempura Day is not a day worth celebrating, we would be remiss if we didn’t include HungryGirl.com (www.hungry-girl.com) in our list. A lovely, albeit cheeky, Web site run by Lisa, who describes herself as an “average female,” HungryGirl.com provides nutritional information on your favorite foods, not to mention healthier, more calorie-friendly alternatives to them.

If you’re looking to get running … Most runners will tell you that in order to start a running program, you don’t need much more than a good pair of shoes and a plan. After you’ve got your shoes, head on over to Hal Higdon (www.halhigdon.com). The definitive source when it comes to running, anyone who’s anyone is planning his or her week using Hal Higon’s handy dandy training schedules. Whether you’re just starting out or are looking to work on speed or distance, Hal’s training schedules tell you how to do it.

Once you’ve got your training schedule ready, you’ll need to figure out exactly where you need to run. Luckily Gmaps Pedometer (www.gmap-pedometer.com) is out there to make this happen. A hack into Google’s map application, Gmap Pedometer allows you to map out a course starting from your front door—or any address for that matter—as well as figure out how many calories you burned while running the course, plus the ability to save the course you’ve designed to be used later.

If you want learn kickboxing (or Pilates or ab exercises, etc.) … Expert Village (www.expertvillage.com) touts itself as a “world-class repository” containing video instruction from experts in their respective fields. We can’t speak for those videos containing automotive advice, but if you’re looking to learn some kickboxing moves, this site has some good ones. In addition to kickboxing, the site also provides weight-lifting instructionals, Pilates instructionals and some dance videos if you really and truly find yourself wanting aa hip-hop ass attack after all.