Home Exercise Equipment:

There are many pieces of home exercise equipment available, both on TV and at the local sporting goods store. While some pieces are better than others, most of them will get the job done, if used regularly.

For versatility, cost, and performance, it's hard to beat a set of dumbbells, an exercise or stability ball, and some resistance bands. Dumbbells allow you to do a number of different exercises and require you to use more muscles to help stabilize them. This increased stability demand will carry over to most of your work and sport or recreation demands very well.

By using a stability ball for an exercise bench, you also work your "core" very effectively, as well. So efficiently that you won't need to spend a lot of extra time working your abs with crunches, which aren't that effective anyway.

Of course, you want to make sure that your stability ball is made of anti-burst material, which is stronger and less likely to pop if you are using extremely heavy dumbbells, which most of you won't.

Add in some pushing and pulling exercises using the resistance bands and a dowel rod, and you train your abs and low back to stabilize while in a standing position. They allow you to strengthen your upper body and midsection at the same time, saving some time in the process. The bands can also be used while doing lunges in various directions, assisting with your balance, if needed.

In fact, the combination of dumbbells, stability ball, and resistance bands give you more exercise options, while being cheaper than popular machines advertised in TV commercials. They also give you great core training, as well as overall body strength. Something we all could use.

I will have a two-part DVD series out in the near future, which will give you a combination of mobility, dynamic flexibility, and core stability that can be done in the convenience of your own home, or on the road, if you prefer. Tomorrow I will share my thoughts on a piece of home equipment that I recently received.