For exercising at home,I would say that your best bet with limited space and money is The Firm Wave. This is fairly new on the market, and is produced by The Firm, a U.S. based company with a good reputation for innovative weight loss products and inspirational DVDs.

The Firm Wave Personal Gym is a curved piece of equipment that can be picked up with one hand and is made of a strong plastic. It is shaped like a hump-backed bridge and has holes along the edges that resistance bands can be fitted into. What makes it so innovative is that it can be used either side up, and can be stood on, sat on or laid on to get a full-body, calorie-burning, muscle toning workout in a small space and at a fraction of the cost of other home exercise kits!

Any exercise professional will tell you that, for the most weight loss and the best body shaping, every workout that you do has to include the following:-

Cardiovascular exercise

Sounds complicated, but means only that you move your body in a way that makes you warm and slightly breathless - think brisk walking, jogging, swimming and cycling. This activity burns calories and strengthens your heart and lungs. Doing cardio exercise indoors can be a challenge, especially in a small space - a treadmill is good, but probably won't fit in your understairs closet!

The Firm Wave allows you to do your cardio exercise in 2 ways; curved side down, you stand on the sides and push through your legs to rock the board - a bit like a seesaw. It also challenges your balance, making you use more muscles and burning more calories. "Surfing" on the Wave will burn as many calories as jogging - and it's fun! Not only that, turn the Wave curve side up and you have a stable platform for "Step" exercises - any gym will tell you how good Step is for weight loss, and it's safer than running up and down stairs.

Resistance Exercises

An essential part of any weight-loss program, resistance exercise means just that - working your muscles against a resistance to make them stronger. Every time you get up out of a chair or lift shopping out of the car, you are building and strengthening your muscles. And the more toned and strong your muscles become, the more calories you burn - even when you are not exercising. Muscles need calories 24/7, so stored fat is used up to maintain them. Which means you lose weight even while you are asleep or watching TV!

This is where the holes built into The Firm Wave come in useful - they are designed so that you can fit elastic resistance bands through, enabling you to perform all sorts of muscle-toning exercises. Resistance bands cost only a few dollars, and most big stores sell them.

Carol J Bartram is a qualified Personal Trainer and Pilates Instructor. She has evaluated many different pieces of exercise equipment and has the following to say about the Wave.



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