I live too far from the nearest gym to keep up with a membership. I simply don’t have the time to include a twenty-five minute commute into my daily workout plan. Because of this, I’ve assembled a home gym. I started out with the most basic exercise equipment. I bought a yoga mat, a set of free weights, a resistance band and a jump rope. Despite the limited inventory of equipment, I managed to get decent workouts. There are all sorts of exercises that don’t require any extra gear. I could go for a run or go through ab crunches, pushups, lunges or squats. I could do mountain climbers, burpees, squat thrusts or jumping jacks. I eventually added an incline bench and a mini trampoline. I was very excited to have something new to work with. The incline bench makes my ab crunches a lot more strenuous and beneficial. I’ve been able to include more variation in the type of exercises I do. The mini trampoline is a lot of fun. There is less impact on my knees, ankles and feet and a lot of opportunity for different styles of movement. I am now saving for a larger piece of machinery. I have been researching treadmills, ellipticals and stationary bikes. They are expensive and take up quite a bit of space, so I want to choose wisely. I want to make sure I get the most benefits out of the investment and am totally happy with the machine. After considering all of the pros and cons of each one, I am probably going to purchase a stationary bike. I like that I could burn a lot of calories and take advantage of high intensity cardio without stress on my joints.