Stow your yoga mat and buy those 6-inch stilettos you've been eyeing - they're a pre-req for one of the growing fitness trends of the year.

Pole dancing, which has been showing up for several years in studios as a means of developingis finding its way into homes.

Equipment such as the Lil Mynx Dance Pole Petite ($299), the Peekaboo Pole Dancing Stripper Pole ($105) and the Mighty Grip Dance Pole ($215) are available on Amazon.com for customers to pole dance their way to fitness in the privacy of their own homes.

In 2008, the more innovative, the better when it comes to fitness apparatus and classes, say industry experts.

"There are even classes that feature movements replicating construction moves such as swinging a sledgehammer, said Mark Missioreck, director of sales and sponsorship for National Fitness Productions, a producer of fitness trade shows.

Bob Girandola, a longtime professor of kinesiology at USC, said the popularity of various fitness apparatus depends on marketing.

"If it's on a commercial and hits the right spot, people love it - there's no rhyme or reason," he said. Products that purport to help lose weight or contour thighs, the glutes and the abdominal area will "never go out of style."

That said, muscular strength and endurance, low body fat, flexibility and aerobic capacity - all keys to fitness - can be gained without the use of an apparatus or gym, Girandola said.

He recommends using small dumbbells at home repetitively for muscular endurance, push-ups, pull-ups, basic crunches or sit-ups and heading outdoors.