The TV is a low hum in the background, just loud enough to wake you up. A glance at the clock shows that you have four more hours of well earned sleep--ye gods, Woe betide the thing that arrested you from your slumber! You can't remember leaving the TV on, but you don't recall turning it off, specifically, so you can't blame anyone. A homely but muscle-bound figure is squirming back and forth in some metallic demon they're calling an exercise machine while a voice over proclaims that thirty minutes a day in their contraption is all you need to stay fit and lean. Your eyes wander askance to your belly, and for a moment, however brief, that 1-866 number flashing across the bottom of the screen seems attractive.

But how do you really know that this exercise equipment is going to do you any good? Sure, the gear looks nifty, but what elevates it above regular working out? The grim truth? Not much. Those testimonials aren't lying, usually. The exercise equipment works, and in the case of well established brands (like Bowflex), it even works well. But the first, prime ingredient to getting in shape is motivation. For a lot of people, seeing a giant piece of exercise equipment two feet from the bed is all it really takes. For the rest of us... well...

As exercise equipment goes, those giant machines aren't always the best choice. Sometimes, all you really need are some free weights and a good thick, firm mat to jump around on. Mirrors help too. Aside from letting you check yourself for good posture and warning you if you're doing something wrong, they'll also scare you into doing just five more minutes of your regime. Unless you're already in shape, in which case... grr. I and the rest of the overweight world dislike you intensely. Don't let that keep you from a healthy regime, though.

Still, if you're determined to use one of those gargantuan exercise machines, it's a better idea to go to a gym that sports that sort of gear. Then you can get a feel for what sort of workout suits you best, and you'll also have access to the gym-nutters floating around, who'll offer up their opinions on everything from the optimum weight load for someone in your "size bracket" to the best workout to help thin down your problem areas.

They key to losing weight, however, doesn't actually lie in exercise equipment. It lies in keeping your body active during the entire allotment of time for your workout. Five minute breaks kill a workout. Thirty second breaks to quaff a bottle of water are fine. So when you finish your arm curls, move immediately into your squat-thrusts, or whatever else you have planned, instead of loafing around for a few minutes to get your wind back.

Otherwise, your body just won't get the idea. And the next time you wake up to one of those horrible exercise equipment commercials, you'll still be tempted to call that flashing yellow phone number.