Every year, you set the same goal: this time, I'm going to start exercising. And every year, it doesn't happen. Maybe you get a gym membership, but your schedule is too full to actually go. Or, maybe you're too tired to walk there during your lunch breaks, or you hate that sore feeling after a workout. Now, you have a three-year membership draining $40 out of your savings per month, taunting you with the idea that you could cancel at any time.

What is your activity level like? Are you one of those couch potatoes watching television for hours on end? It is not really all your fault. Some of the blame belongs to the exercise field. Like other businesses, gymnasiums are working to earn dollars. If you have a very high degree of motivation, health fitness clubs are wonderful, full of helpful (and not necessarily helpful) gym equipment. But the majority of us find that these places only want to get large enrollment fees and don't really encourage us to come there often. Both commercial space and gym equipment are costly.

You are probably wondering how these super motivated people get to this level? The more success you see the more you will be motivated and the more confident you will become. You can begin this in your home; a gym can be set up in most any room of your house. It is important not to go overboard when just beginning and only get what you need and do a little each day.

But, you say, I've already tried a home gym. I bought gym equipment: a cable and pulley thing that looks like a medieval torture device (with peck deck attachment, whatever that is) and it just turned into a clothes rack, same thing with the exercise bike with the moving handlebars, the great whacking fan for the front wheel, and no rear wheel. Towels do dry really well on it after a shower though.

Forget buying the expensive and unnecessary fitness equipment, however. Just get what you need to start. Start with simple strength-building exercises, but use good form so you don't injure yourself. You might want to get a strong duffle bag and 50 pounds of sand from the store. Divide it into 5 pound bags, and secure the bags strongly. Use these as weights, either for repetitions or a set amount of time. It's cheap, depending on how much money you fork over for your duffel bag.

Once you believe you've made some advances, buy an inexpensive set of weights and a stand for them so that you can perform knee bends with the dumbbells and also standing presses. Forget the equipment for bench presses, since it's not truly worth the cost. But in any event, be certain to see a physician before beginning (and don't let that step be just another reason for not doing your exercises!).