Health and Fitness Gifts

I have put together a list of ideas for good health and fitness gifts. Some of these I have given as gifts and some I have gotten as gifts. Let me know if you have a favorite health and fitness gift!

1. HR MONITOR

I love the Polar F4 to give as a gift. You can find it for about $75 and it does everything you need.

• COUNTS CALORIES DURING WORKOUT
• CALCULATES YOUR HEART RATE RANGE
  
• MONITORS YOUR HEART RATE DURING YOUR WORKOUT
  
• TIMER
• AFTER A WORKOUT IT GIVES YOU TOTAL TIME, INZONE TIME, AVERAGE HEART RATE, MAXIMUM HEART RATE, AND TOTAL CALORIES BURNED

Visit the Polar website to see more options.

2. HEALTH AND FITNESS GIFT BASKET/ BAG
I love to give this for birthdays and Christmas. It is super easy and always fun to give. Plus you can put whatever you want in it and spend whatever amount you want depending on how extravagant you go. Here are just a few ideas:

• Workout socks
• Exercise and health magazines or magazine subscription (also good by itself). Some of my favorites are Women's Health, Fitness, Oxygen
  
• Protein bars - Luna, Greens Plus, and Larabar are all really good and healthy
• Emergen-C Packets
• Water bottle
• Fruit
• Raw Nuts
• Gift certificate to Whole Foods or other health food store
  
• Cute gym bag to put everything in

3. HEALTH AND FITNESS BOOKS

• New Rules of Lifting and New Rules of Lifting for Women
• Tom Venuto's new book: The Body Fat Solution: Five Principles for Burning Fat, Building Lean Muscles, Ending Emotional Eating, and Maintaining Your Perfect Weight
• The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution
• The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
• Ultrametabolism: The Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss
• The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why
• You: Staying Young
  

4. FIT BIT

This is a small device that you wear around and it keeps track of calories burned, how far you walked or ran during the day, how much and how good your sleep was, and it syncs with Macs and PC's. I'm a bit skeptical but I already pre ordered mine. I think it'll be a hot gift to pre order for Christmas. It costs $100.

5. TRAINING SESSIONS - Find a trainer or purchase training sessions with their existing trainer.

6. WATER BOTTLE

Klean Kanteen and Sigg are both great choices. They come in all shapes and sizes. Amazon.com a great selection.

7. TEA OF THE MONTH CLUB

Who wouldn't want a new tea every month?

8. WRIST WALLET

This is especially brilliant for runners. Very convenient. Only $15.

9. YOGA MAT

I have the middle one! Isn't it cute?!

10. GARMIN GPS WATCH

GPS, heart rate monitor, personal trainer. This thing does it all. It is best for the outdoor athlete.

11. ORGANIC FRUIT OF THE MONTH CLUB

This is a bit pricey but a fantastic gift that keeps on giving all year long.

12. CROCKPOT

There are so many things you can do with a crockpot. It's perfect for someone that wants to eat healthy but doesn't have much time to cook. They are very affordable. This one is Rival Smart Pot - on clearance at Bed Bath and Beyond for $24.99.

13. STROLLER COMPUTER

This is perfect for a mother trying to get in shape but doesn't have time to go to the gym. Functions include speed, maximum speed, average speed, trip distance, trip time, daily mileage, temperature and time of day

14. EAR WARMER HEADPHONES
I'm getting these for my dad. They are ear muffs with built in headphones for $34.95.