Getting into shape can be tough. For one thing, it takes money. For another, it's always easier to do with a workout trainer and those don't come cheap. That is, unless you have

Workout Trainer, the free Android application

that lets you set physical goals for yourself and makes suggestions based on thousands of different workout exercises.

The

Sit Ups application for Android

does exactly what you'd expect a mobile app of such a title might: it prepares you to do sit ups and get better at them. By giving you realistic goals and taking your feedback, the app sets out a plan to reach your targets by incrementally increasing your number of exercises per set.

Ben and Heather take a look at a neo shredder; the Black & Decker iShred, the first ever vertical shredder to discover it's not just a gimmick. They also check out the smaller and inexplicably much louder Black & Decker Studio shredder. Following that paper pushing, the pair shapes up with the BodyMedia Fit system.

In this last episode we show you how to

find workout DVDs online

using

Collage Video

. This site makes it easy to find a video with a

workout routine

that suits your needs. You can also

see customer reviews

and compare videos so you get the workout DVD that you want.

If you're a Twitter user and want to

monitor your food intake

then you should check out TweetWhatYouEat.com. TweetWhatYouEat allows you to enter items into a

food diary

straight through Twitter while keeping your entries safe from your followers. You'll also be able to get suggestions for

food alternatives

and

monitor your calories

.

Your

body mass index, or BMI

, is a common indicator of whether you are currently at a

healthy weight

or not. While there are many sites online that you can use to

calculate your BMI

, the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute has one that explains not only

what BMI means

, but also some of the limitations of BMI calculations.

You can use

Google Maps

to

plot routes

that you take when you are

walking, running or cycling

. These routes can be saved for later use and you can plot several

jogging routes

so that you can have variety in your runs.

Google Docs

can be used for a variety of reasons and in this episode, we'll be using it to

find a workout template

. You can

personalize a template

that you find on Google Docs to make it more useful to

track your workout routine

so you can

monitor your progress

.

We show you how you can use the

Menu Planner

offered on MyPyramid to

track your diet

and

get dietary recommendations

. This is a free online service offered by the

US Department of Agriculture

and is quite handy for

monitoring your diet

and

changing your dietary plans

.

In this episode, we show you another feature of LiveStrong.com:

online fitness plans

. These plans can help you

get fit

by following

exercise plans

involving

cardio exercises, weight training, yoga

and more.

RunKeeper is another

free fitness tool

that you can use to

monitor your workouts

and

keep track of your exercises

. Despite the name, RunKeeper allows you to log exercises including

cycling, jogging, swimming

and more. Just sign up for a free account to get started.

In this episode, we show you a

free online fitness tool

that will help you log foods that you eat. MyPlate makes it easy to

track your meals

so that you know what you ate and when. It can also help you

keep track of exercises

so you not only know

how many calories

you ate, but how many you burned as well.

We introduce you to a handy

Recipe Calculator

in this episode so that you can

track nutritional information

in your meals and recipes. This makes it easy for you to

count calories

and

manage your diet

.

The Phubby is a unique product from an independent company. The basic idea is that the Phubby keeps your phone always at hand (or more accurately, at wrist). You can jog, mow the lawn, work out or just work and if you put your phone on vibrate, you never have to worry about disturbing others or missing a call. Check out our interview with the inventor of the Phubby from CTIA 2010.

If you're training for a marathon, like our own Miss Download, you'll probably want to track your running pace in addition to your run times and distance travelled. Pace Calculator 2 is free software that, with a little data from you, gives an accurate measurement of your running pace.

If you're suffering under the weight (pun fully intended) of a Body By Cupcakes, the

Lab Rats

have some tech tips that can help you to get active while catering to tech lust. Using the

Wii, Wii Fit and EA Sports Active

, an iPhone apps and even the

Nike+

a pair of high-tech shoes that link up with Apple's iconic player, the guys show talk about how to get in shape and stay that way with tech.

In addition to subscribing to RSS feeds on the sites you like to visit and read every day, you can also find new sites that might be of interest to you within Google Reader. After all, it wouldn't really be a Google product without some kind of search function, right?

As the calendar turns over to a new year, the standard resolutions come to the front of our minds. Get fit, save more money, get organized, wake up earlier and so on. Not ones to set ourselves up for failure by trying to effect too much change at once, we're focusing on the first part of the equation. Enter Open Fitness, a great way to track workouts, meals and, more importantly, progress toward a goal.

If you're looking to get fit, develop an exercise routine, or even just monitor your diet and your caloric intake then this series is perfect for you. We'll walk you through all sorts of free online resources that can help you live healthier and find a workout routine that works for you.