Exercise equipment you should invest in (and it's cheap!)

First of all, I want to apologize for my lack of blogging lately. I was out of town last week on vacation with my family and well, this month has been crazy for me. When I initially started this blog, my goal was to have at least 2 posts/week, but that really hasn't happened so far, and so now I'm just hoping to have 1 post/week for now. When I get more readers/comments, I plan to add more to this blog. For now, it's a lot of work on top of everything else I do (plus I have a family blog which takes precendence). Sorry again!

For those of you out there that hate going to a gym and would prefer to do exercises at home, I have some great suggestions of exercise equipment you can buy for a minimal price. Keep in mind that I also have selected equipment that you can do A LOT with, and will also last a long time. They are even better than machines because you can work multiple muscles in one exercise, you use your core/trunk muscles better, and you work on balance/coordination. If you have any questions on it, let me know! Stay tuned for some exercise ideas with these tools...

Stability Ball-you can buy these at sporting goods stores, Walmart, Target, etc (only cost about $15-20)

Dumbbells-preferably the rubber ones. You can also buy these anywhere and I would suggest having set of each: 5 lbs, 8 lbs, and 10 lbs at least. A wise investment ($7-10/set?)

Exercise mat-any kind will do, although I prefer one with a little "padding". Found at any of the above stores listed. (Cost: $10-20)

Resistance bands-find a couple with different levels of resistance. I prefer a medium-level and a difficult-level for most people. A TON of exercises can be done with these and they can also be found at any of the above stores listed. (Cost: $7-15/band)

Dyna-disc-a must-have for core and balance training! This will work you abdonimals better than anything! You can find this at: http://www.amazon.com/Dyna-Disc-14-95-Price-24-95/dp/B00077E32C (the cheapest I have found: $15)

Jump rope-easy to use, and great for interval training. Can be found anywhere as well. (Cost: $5-10)

BOSU ball-one my all-time favs and so much you can do with these. Cheapest I have found is located at: http://shopping.discovery.com/product-59700.html?jzid=40602653-0-0&seqStr=BOSU+ball (the link wouldn't work) (Cost: $100)

Medicine ball: I prefer one with no handle, and ideally 6-10 lbs. You can find these anywhere as well. (Cost: $20?)

Thera-bands-Physical Therapists use these a lot, but they're great for doing all kinds of exercises. It's good to buy a couple different resistance levels too. The pre-cut ones can be bought at: http://www.yogaaccessories.com/TheraBandsIndividual.asp (the link wouldn't work) (Cost: $5-10/band)