A few years ago I bought a large exercise ball with a cd teaching different ways to use it. You can sit on it and do stomach crunches, you can lay on the floor and lift the ball with your ankles, etc. I travel a lot for business and never leave home without my stretch bands. I bought them at sears- they are like giant rubber bands, really light weight, and can be used many different ways. And then there are always videos- yoga, pilates etc

My experience with home exercise equipment was not that great. We bought a fairly expensive treadmill several years ago and after about three years it developed all sorts of problems. I called the company and was told it would cost $130 for someone to come look at it and that because that model was no longer made, it was unlikely they'd even have the right parts to fix it. Since then, I was talking to an equipment repairman at the gym I've since joined and he said this is pretty typical of what happens with home equipment. Gym memberships have become very reasonably priced in the last few years. There you have a variety of equipment to use, classes you can choose, and personal trainers available if needed. Most gyms in my area are $30 per month. When I first considered joining, I was afraid it would be filled with young, fit people and I'd be intimidated. That didn't turn out to be the case at all. There are all ages at my gym, including lots of elderly people who only recently began to exercise. I've made new friends there and can constantly change my routine to avoid boredom and focus on specific results I want. To me, the gym is a much better value than buying equipment and dealing with repairs. My treadmill, due to its short lifespan, cost me $500 per year compared to $360 per year for the gym and I have many more exercise options than just walking. It's also nice to not have to deal with bulky equipment taking up space in my home. I realize there may be some areas where there is no gym available within a reasonable drive, but if you have one I would recommend looking into that rather than buying your own machine.

I don't have an exercise room but I have dreams! (Right now our guest bedroom doubles as my gym.) My room would have one wall of mirrors. Maybe mirror tiles or 2-3 really large beveled edge mirrors. Walls would most likely be a warm gray color or possibly a soft blue-gray. A tv is a must have for me - wall mounted with an adjustable angle/swivel would be ideal. I'm not sure what I'd like on the walls. Either black and whites or possibly jazz it up with color artwork. The main focus, though, would be that it's an exercise room and it would look like it. Mats, weights, etc, could just be set aside or put in a cubby instead of trying to hide them in a closet. And my treadmill would look 'at home' instead of being an eyesore in our guest bedroom! :) Oh, and for space, the only tip I have is to make sure that there is clearance behind the treadmill for safety reasons. Good luck with your project! Please show pics of what you do!

I'm taking a new approach. I had a weightlifting set with a weight bench, but it was taking up half of a room and in my tiny house that was just too much room. So it is gone and in its place I have 3 sets of dumbbells in a large basket (light, medium, heavy) and an exercise program called Stack 52, a set of cards that illustrate and give info on a total body workout using only dumbbell weights. Less space, and the card method is kind of fun, keeps it interesting, you can shuffle the cards and deal yourself a new set of exercises every day. The weights, along with dog walking and bicycling, make the road to fitness fun. I think the reason many people start and then stop exercise is that it gets boring, but if you have several things you like to do, you have the opportunity to choose what you feel like doing that day, and adjusting for bad weather/extreme heat or other reasons you may not want to do outdoor exercise.