FITNESS: Finding a workout without fancy machinery

Fitness advocate Jhannie Tolbert doesn't own an expensive elliptical trainer, fancy treadmill or other big home gym equipment. Tolbert, who sports the physique of a bodybuilder, says he's never worked out in a gym.

He uses his toolbox as a stepper, hefts soup cans to tone his shoulders and wraps a bungee cord around a bench for stretching exercises.

He has always tried to be like Jack LaLanne--the pioneering TV fitness guru who directed America's housewives from 1951-85 in the proper form for sit-ups and push-ups.

``There's no gimmicks. I really do believe in being able to stay fit at home without spending tons of money,'' said Tolbert, a videographer and musician who has produced his own fitness show for cable television.

Tolbert's utilitarian vision of fitness is one that the American Council on Exercise, a not-for-profit organization that promotes physical activity, expects more Americans to adopt as obesity rates rise.

``Trainers will provide simple programs using readily available tools (chairs, steps, even walls) that overcome the common barriers of time and access,'' the council predicted in its 2004 fitness forecast.

Cedric Bryant, its chief exercise physiologist, said it's simple: Muscles don't really know what's working them.

``They don't have little brains that tell them I'm using a $2,000 piece of equipment versus bungee cords or soup cans,'' he said. ``They just respond to the level of resistance they're exposed to.''

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