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Top Five Home Workout Must-Haves

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I fantasize about having a state of the art home gym the way other people fantasize about Brangelina. Lust is fleeting, quadriceps are forever.

The truth is that I am one of the lucky ones, a city dweller with an extra room.  I fork over wee fistfuls of cash every month to ensure I have space to lunge, grapevine, and standing bow with room and privacy. But, I can't really afford actual gym equipment, so I make to do with some at home essentials, that everyone should have on hand for workout emergencies...extra room or no.

• Cardio: While I am slightly partial to DVDs for my at-home cardio sessions, sometimes I just don't want the hassle of choreography. A jump rope is a cardio must have if you ask me. Ten minutes of getting your 5-year-old on can equal more than a 100 calorie burn.
• Stretch: A good yoga mat is good for more than just stretchy-time fun. You can do abs, pilates, or just chill on one in lieu of living room furniture.  Yoga mats can be super cheap, but I consider them an investment.  I recommend a durable one that's at least 1/4-inch thick to avoid that painful "Oww, hip bone meets hardwood floor" feeling.
• Weights: I'm a firm believer that everyone should have three sets of dumbells: small, medium, and large, and that'll suffice for pretty much the majority of strength training activities. If you get a set with flat sides they can also sub in as Push-Up Bars.
• Step/Bench: I may in fact be the only person under forty who wishes step aerobics would make a comeback. That shiznat is hard! While I wait, leg warmers intact, I still use my step for a variety of things. It serves as a bench for when I'm lifting weights, I do standing lunges, and weighted climbs for tush toning on it, and it's good for tricep dips. I say it's an all around awesome utility piece.
• Stability: Swiss balls are by far the best invention by the Swiss since that blonde girl on the hot cocoa packet. Everything is harder on a stability ball: crunches, push ups, bench pressing, even sitting down. Everyone should have one.

Okay, maybe it's not a treadmill and a Bowflex, but these suckers are affordable and effective for pretty much all my at home fitness needs...and easily hide-able when I need to not look like a crazy fitness freak.