There are a wide variety of fitness workouts to pick from to use to achieve the level of fitness you desire. There are routines that require no equipment, are easy to learn, and can be done at a very low intensity (e.g. walking). There are also exercise routines that require expensive gear, are very difficult to master, and require high-intensity input (e.g. rock climbing). And there is everything in-between.

 

You should pick activities that are right for you based on your current level of fitness, interests, available time, and financial resources. While personally, I am comfortable doing a wide range of activities, using many different kinds of equipment, some of my favorite fitness activities are simple - yet effective - and require little or no equipment.

 

When making a purchase, my focus is generally on value (what you get for what you give). That is especially true when it comes to fitness. I like activities/gear that give me a huge return on my investment of time, expense, and energy. Another way of saying this would be "high-value fitness." So when picking an activity, match it up with the corresponding gear from the Fitness Equipment section, and keep the high-value principle in mind.

 

If you are new to fitness routines,  "body-weight exercises" (e.g. pushups, crunches) might be a great place to start. As you might have guessed, all you need is your own body to do them. Of course there are also body-weight exercises that require basic equipment, such as pullups, which of course require a pullup bar (actually, you can use anything that you can wrap your hands around and will get you off the ground and support your weight).

 

The bottom line is to find, ideally, several exercises that you enjoy and can do properly, with the proper gear, so that you can keep your fitness program on-track and exciting. As your fitness program expands, strive to do activities in each of the three main areas of fitness: cardio, strength, and flexibility. Take a look at some of your possibilities below.

 

 

Core Body Focus: Strength	Push-ups Focus: Strength	Pull-ups Focus: Strength	Step Focus: Cardio	Stretching Focus: Flexibility
Weight Training Focus: Strength