When it comes to working out and exercise, men love their toys. And we love to tease men that they are more interested in playing with the toys of exercise than in the workouts themselves. But there is a secret that women keep pretty quiet if we can get away with it. We like our exercise toys too.

Women’s exercise equipment can become just as much of a toy to you as a man who may get obsessed with his golf clubs or scuba gear. But for women especially, exercise equipment has to be functional and fit a busy lifestyle. That is why it’s a good idea to put some thought into the kind of women’s exercise equipment you buy for the home so we get the right thing that you know you will use.

We all have had it happen and it’s a pretty sad event when you get hooked by some slick exercise pitch on TV and end up spending an embarrassingly large amount of money on some trendy exercise machine for the home. And then for some reason, you get it home, fool around with it four or five times and it goes into a back room or under the bed never to be seen again.

So what can we do to make sure the women’s exercise equipment you buy is the right fit for how you really will work out at home. One big rule that you should embroider on a pillow is this….

Spending money on it won’t make you use it!

This is a little fib we tell ourselves. We see that expensive workout machine with those stunning and phenomenally happy and sexy people using them on TV and we say to ourselves, “Well if I just buy this thing, then having it here will make me use it and then I will get in shape.” Congratulations because you just became an example of successful marketing but not successful thinking.

Its time you became the boss of what kind of exercise toys you are going to buy. And to take charge of these decisions, evaluate what you need by these criteria…

• Do you already do that exercise?
• Where will this machine live?
• Do you understand the equipment?
• Will the new machine be easy to use and fun to use so you come back to it often?
• Can you afford it?

The rule of thumb is, don’t buy anything unless you really need it. If you are already working out each day and addressing the basic goals of your workout program, why waste money on some toy that may not get used at all.

The best exercise toys you can buy are those you already use. Perhaps you use certain machines or tools at the gym frequently so you know they will get plenty of use at home. That is a good purchase. If you have never seen this device you want to buy before it shows up at your house, odds are you may not even take it out of the box.

Use this kind of critical thinking and sales resistance when deciding what kind of exercise toys you will buy to work out at home. Then when you do make a purchase, you will work that device every day not only getting your moneys worth out of it but letting it do its job of making you a healthier and stronger woman.