|
|
| Fitness Gift Guide 2001 --by Joan Price ©Joan Price. May not be reprinted without permission. The holiday season might not seem like a time to think about fitness, but a gift that helps a loved one get or stay in shape will be welcome long after cookies and fruitcake are a dim memory (except on the scale). Here are some ideas for both fitness fanatics (those people who hate that the gym is closed on Christmas Day) and those just trying to work off holiday abundance or stay fit. Exercise and Dance-Instruction Videos Whether your favorite fitness enthusiast loves step, any style of dance, weight training, Pilates, yoga, or straight cardio, you can find a variety of excellent choices Don't buy your exercise videos in a video store or a chain store--you'll get a small selection, and only from celebrity fitness leaders. Some are good, some are awful, but the point is that you'll miss out on some extraordinarily good workout videos that way. I review workout videos and dance-instruction for Amazon.com, and even though sales may depend on my review, I have absolute freedom to praise or pan a video, depending on quality, instruction, safety, and motivation. I've written some scathing reviews (Cindy Crawford comes to mind first, but there have been many others, unfortunately), so when I recommend a video, you know that I think it's really good. See www.joanprice.com/products/videos.htm for some exercise video recommendations and www.joanprice.com/products/dance.htm for dance-instruction videos. Books A book can be a dandy gift for information and motivation, whether you're looking for exercise instruction, nutritional information, or motivation. Please see www.joanprice.com/books/reviews.htm for links to reviews of new books I recommend. Of course, ahem, my own books are great holiday gifts, especially with the special discounts I'm offering when you order directly from me at www.joanprice.com/contact.htm! Let me know if you want them autographed. Reebok Core Board
($189.99). Gizmos to Go Taking a workout habit traveling or to the office is easy with some new portable gadgets. I've long endorsed DynaBands (www.joanprice.com/products/dynabands.htm)--exercise-weight latex strips for strength training and stretching. Here are some additional great traveling companions: Sport Bands (www.sportbands.com). I'm wild about the Maxx Bands Combination Kit ($25) for home and travel--ideal for a hotel room workout. It's a set of Sport Bands (made of tubing), handles, flexible bar, and door attachments. With quick and simple adjustments, you can turn it into a variety of fitness tools that let you strengthen every muscle group--and jump rope! This well-designed and comfortable-to-use kit comes in several different intensities. Or you can get a Shadow Boxing kit ($16) or the Sport Bands without a kit for $15-20, depending on intensity. AquaBells Travel Weights (www.aquabells.com). This is a very cool idea: inflatable dumbbells and ankle weights that you fill with water. Collapsed for travel, they fit in a briefcase and weigh just ounces. Fill them under a faucet when you're ready to work out, and the two dumbbells ($49.95) can weigh up to 16 pounds each, the ankle weights ($24.95) up to 4 pounds each. Or, you can fill them with air and wear them in the water. The dumbbells have several separate water chambers, so you can fill as few or as many as you want. More Tools and Gadgets Looking for something to inspire or satisfy your fitness friend, but nothing I mentioned was exactly right? Try these resources: Fitness Wholesale (www.fwonline.com). Stability balls, mats, dumbbells, aqua props, weighted bars, balance trainers--any prop or tool having to do with fitness is here. I like the comfort and versatility of the push up bars ($12.50, www.fwonline.com/pushbar.htm): curved, foam-cushioned, raised bars that let you do push ups with your wrists in a neutral position--no painfully flexed wrists supporting your body weight. SPRI products (www.spriproducts.com). SPRI offers all sorts of props and tools for fitness, sports, and weight training, including specialty items for kickboxing and yoga. For more fitness gift ideas, see reviews of Readers: What fitness tools, props, equipment, and gizmos do you love? E-mail Joan with your favorites.
NOTE:
All of the content on this web site is copyrighted, original work by ©
Joan Price. Unauthorized reproduction of any content presented here through
any medium is in violation of federal and international copyright laws.
None of this content may be copied, distributed, or published through
any medium without permission from Joan Price. Joan's
Books | Fitness | Line
Dancing | For Meeting Planners
| No part of this site may be reprinted without permission.
|
Home