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Wouldn't it be nice to know you're choosing a holiday gift that will be used and appreciated all year long? Give a gift that helps a friend or family member get and stay in shape, and your gift will keep on giving. Whether you're shopping for a fitness fanatic who never misses a workout or a friend who keeps pledging to get in shape "after the holidays," these motivating gifts will solve your gift-giving problems and get your giftee moving and enjoying it.

My favorite fitness find of the year is the Body Bar Flex , a flexible, resistance rod designed for stretching, stretch training, and balance exercises. The bar is lightweight, and gives resistance when squeezed, making it perfect for a beginner yet challenging for an experienced exerciser, depending on the exercise and amount of resistance. The Body Bar Flex Basics video workout surprised me with the variety of exercises, how well they work, and how toned and stretched I felt afterwards. Order by December 17 for Christmas delivery. ($59.95 for a 3-foot and a 4-foot Body Bar Flex with DVD workout, or you can buy the components separately from www.bodybars.com)

I've used the BOSU in health clubs, and was excited to see the arrival of the BOSU Home Balance Trainer for home exercisers and athletes. The BOSU, if you haven't seen one, looks like the top third of a big, inflated ball atop a flat platform. Stand, jump, or jog on the inflated part (the "bubble") to do athletic drills, move on and off it in patterns like a step class, or balance on it in yoga poses. Your core muscles will scream for the entire workout. Then put the ball-side down and use the flat top for pushups and other exercises, still challenging the core muscles becauase you have to do your own stabilizing. The home model comes with a workout video, pump and exercise manual. ($99.95 plus shipping $12.95, additional videos $14.95 each, www.bosu.com)

I was impressed when the BOSU representative requested that after reviewing the BOSU, I donate it to a school or program for autistic and special needs children, who greatly benefit from the BOSU's rehabilitative capabilities. If you know of an exemplary program in Marin or Sonoma County that would make good use of my BOSU, please email me at joan@joanprice.com.

Any serious cardio exerciser would use a Polar heart rate monitor, and the high tech models now do everything from designing your optimal program and keeping track of your workouts and calories burned to training you for a specific sport. Polar makes an amazing variety, aimed at different sports and needs. I sampled The F11 model ($159.95) for fitness enthusiasts, which not only keeps track of my heart rate and calories burned, but even suggests my daily workout for each day after I programmed it with my personal information. What a cool tool! I must, however, wag my index finger at whoever decided to publish the manual in such small print that I had to buy new reading glasses to decipher it. Check out the models that match your giftee's activities and goals. ($59 to $430, depending on features, www.polarusa.com, also available at many sporting goods and exercise specialty stores)

I never thought I'd suggest that a scale would be a good gift, but the Tanita Ironman InnerScan body composition monitor is special. Here's the skinny on scales, as I explain to my fitness clients: How much you weigh doesn't matter as much as how much of that weight is fat and how much is muscle. When a beginning exerciser starts working out, she often complains of gaining weight, because she's losing fat but gaining muscle. This is a good thing--but all she sees on the scale is weight gain. Not so with these new models from Tanita that are actually body fat monitors. My model BC-553, for example, tells weight; amount of fat (using bioelectric impedance analysis), muscle, water, and bone; basal metabolic rate; and metabolic age. Very motivating! Maybe I like this monitor so much because it tells me that my 62-year-old body has the metabolic age of a 25-year-old! Who wouldn't love a scale that delivers such news? Tanita has other models with more and fewer features at a range of prices. ($40 to $100, www.tanita.com, or phone 1-800-9-TANITA to find the nearest store)

A workout video from Collage Video is a fabulous, low-cost gift for the indoor exerciser. Collage carries 743 workout videos--aerobics, strength training, step, Pilates, yoga, stretch, dance, and more, including specialty videos for pregnancy, seniors, and kids. If you're not sure what your giftee would like, the folks who answer the phones at Collage actually work out with the videos and can advise you intelligently. (800-433-6769, www.collagevideo.com)

Speaking of Pilates, which is hugely popular in Marin, Stott Pilates has released several gift packs guaranteed to please. A Pilates enthusiast myself, I eagerly sampled two: the Fitness Circle® Lite Gift Pack, containing the Fitness Circle--a resistance ring with two padded areas for pushing and pulling--and a workout video ($34.99), and the Stability Ball Gift Pack , which comes with a stability ball, pump, and workout video ($30.99). Both workouts made me feel my muscles the next day! Stott sells many more Pilates items, large and small. (www.stottpilates.com)

A trip to The Walking Company (The Village, Corte Madera, 924-5421) yielded some super ideas for stocking stuffers for active adults and youngsters:

• Pedometer, AKA step counter: a motivating tool that makes even the most reluctant exerciser take a few more steps. ($25 to $40, depending on features)
• Earwarmers: these fuzzy, adjustable earwarmers aren't your childhood earmuffs. These Polartec ear cuffs fit snugly and contract into a tiny package that fits in a pocket when not in use. ($25)
• Baglett: a mini-purse big enough for money, glasses, keys, and cell phone, in a variety of colors. The hands-free, ergonomic Baglett from AmeriBag is great for hiking or jogging and has a removable strap so it can either be clipped onto a belt or hung around hips or shoulder ($15)

Any Mountain (71 Tamal Vista Boulevard, Corte Madera, 927-1462, www.anymountaingear.com) has new owners and a whole lot of new stock. Eric Betz, store manager, recommends polarized sunglasses for kids and adults who enjoy winter sports. The store has several brands of lightweight, nylon frame sunglasses with polarized lenses, crucial for snow, water, or cycling ($70 to $200). For the outdoor exerciser, Betz also recommends Petzel headlamps for hiking or camping (about $30) or fitness watches ($50 to $90).

Read and Get Fit
A book is always a welcome gift. I visited Book Passage (51 Tamal Vista Blvd., 927-0960, www.bookpassage.com) and found these motivating health and fitness books:

• The Practical Encyclopedia of Yoga & Pilates (Lorenz Books, 2005, $39.99). Any devotee of yoga or Pilates will appreicate this beautiful, hefty book--9-1/2 by 12 inches, 500 pages, with 1800 color illustrations, mostly of yoga poses, including children.
• Yoga for Regular Guys: The Best Damn Workout on the Planet by three-time world champion wrestler Diamond Dallas Page (Quirk, 2005, $19.95). I picture women giving this book to their men, hoping it will inspire them to try yoga classes.
• Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Healthiness by Dean Edell, M.D. (Perennial Currents, 2004, $15.95). Marin's own, nationally syndicated media doctor answers questions frankly in this lively, smart book. Questions vary from the expected "I hate my cellulite" to contemporary conundrums like "Should we keep our 17-year-old son's medicine cabinet stocked with condoms?" and "Will I get sick from drinking from the communal wine at church?" A good read for anyone interested in health.

Fit Kids
With all the news reports about childhood obesity, I asked Dr. Toy--Stevanne Auerbach, PhD, author of Smart Play/ Smart Toys: How to Raise a Child with a High P.Q--to recommend toys that promote an active lifestyle. Here are some of her recommendations--read others at www.drtoy.com. Most are available in Marin toy stores.

• Alex Hopscotch, ages 3 to 6. Your little ones will enjoy lots of active play as they hop and jump on this hopscotch board made of foam. It is colorful, durable and can be played indoors and out. The board snaps together like a puzzle and features different patterns. It comes complete with little bags to throw and it all comes in a carry-along. ($24.99, 800-666-2539, www.alextoys.com)
• KikaFlik, ages 3 to 7. Children will have fun while learning balance, timing, eye/hand/foot co-ordination, ball skills and target skills. The child places the ball on the hole at the end of the KikaFlik board, stands at the other end, and stomps on the board to flick the ball into the air ready for catching. It comes with three different sized soft foam balls. Kikaflik also offers other coordination games for older children. ($29.95, 888-229-9045, www.kikaflik.com)
• Radio Flyer Twist Trike, ages 2 to 7. This two-in-one vehicle twists from a tricycle (ages 2 to 4) into a chopper-style three wheeler (ages 4 to 7) in just seconds. It features a quick release twist n' lock mechanism for easy transformation. The seat back is adjustable and it features a controlled turning radius for stability. ($60, 800-621-7613, www.radioflyer.com)
• Zang Healthy Habits Game, ages 3 to 5. Players will have a blast moving around the game as they are the game pieces. The set comes with thirty game cards about topics of nutrition, exercise, sleep and personal hygiene. For example, "You rode your bike, move ahead three spaces." Set the cards up in any pattern, winding around the room, under tables, in and out of doors. The children move forward by rolling the large foam dice. ($25, 512-771-5246, www.zanggames.com)
• Wai Lana Little Yogi's Fun Exercise Book, ages 2 to 8. The 64-page hardbound book is filled with illustrations that encourage children to practice yoga poses by pretending they're camels, beetles, cobras, roly-poly bears, and other animals and insects. Colorful, imaginative and richly detailed. ($19.95, 800-228-5145, www.wailana.com)
• Flying Turtle® Scooter, ages 3 to 12. This "sit-skate" toy will keep your child safe, entertained, and active for hours. The Flying Turtle zips along any hard, smooth surface when your child sits in the tractor seat and swings the handlebars from side to side. Your child can ride indoors on linoleum or hardwood, as the polyurethane wheels will not mark floors, or outdoors on the sidewalk or driveway. ($69.95, 800-821-4141, www.masoncorporation.com)

Merry fitness and a healthy new year!

This article first appeared in The Pacific Sun, Marin County, December 9, 2005.

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.

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