Deciding What Equipment Will Best Suit Your Needs
	Now that you have your repetitions recorded in your notebook, you can use them to evaluate what equipment you'll need, plus you'll have them as a reference to track your future progress. Check with your health care provider before starting any exercise program.

Use Half Your Maximum.

Next, take the figures you have and divide them in half. If your figure is thirty, start with fifteen and do three sets of fifteen. Do one set and rest for thirty seconds, do the second set, rest and do the third set of fifteen. If this is too much, drop the repetitions to three sets of ten. All with no weights or resistance. Our objective is to stay happy with what we're accomplishing, not to be stiff, sore and quit.

Keep Your Workouts Interesting.
	Start with the exercises outlined in the evaluation article. If you can do all the exercises and aren't stiff or sore during the next few days, sometimes it takes a few days for the changes to catch up, add small weights to your routine. I alternate between free weights and using surgical tubing in my workouts for a change of pace.

Surgical Tubing Works Best For Me.

I've found surgical tubing gives a better workout than the more expensive color coded stretch bands found in the exercise equipment section of stores. I've used the same surgical tubing for years and in the classes I've taught. The difficult part can be finding it if you live in a small town or away from large bodies of water. Large bodies of water because you can usually find it at sporting goods stores since it's used as shock cord by fishermen, especially on the ocean.

Start With Smaller Diameter Tubing.
	You may have to get the surgical tubing from a medical supply house, but check other sources first. I've found medical supply prices to be double or more than sporting goods stores. If you have access to surgical tubing, get multiple lengths of the smallest size and progress up from there.

I Couldn't Get Small Diameter Tubing Where We Live.

Smaller diameter tubing gives you many more options. If you're strong in the biceps and weaker in the triceps, you can use two or three bands for the biceps exercises and one or two for the triceps. You can also add more bands to your routine as your strength increases. If you start out with large diameter tubing, you've limited your options. Using light weights or smaller tubing in your resistance training is no different than adding repetitions or sets to your routine. Starting out light and increasing over time will prove more effective than going too far, using to much resistance or expecting too much too soon and burning out.

Working Together To Meet Your Needs
	In a couple of exercise classes, it wasn't possible to get surgical tubing where I was teaching. One of the students commuted to a city that had a medical supply house. She bought a roll and we split it up amongst the students. The color coded stretch bands may be your only choice.

Variety Will Help Keep You Working Out.
	I also recommend some light hand weights. Start out light and work up. Having a set of hand weights and tubing gives you options, I like to change off to break the routine of using the same equipment every time.

Tubing and hand weights will be all you'll ever need. Go light, you'll see why as we progress.