9 Heart-Healthy Gift Ideas

I realize that some of you are going to look at this and laugh, knowing that you finished your holiday shopping two months ago.  But those of you who are more like me (wait–you mean it’s December?  Guess I’d better finish off the Halloween candy) haven’t even started yet.  I, for one, haven’t even thought about it yet; that’s why I had the brilliant idea of writing a blog post about possible gifts.  If I put all my suggestions here, then I won’t be rummaging around in the bottom of my purse on December 23rd, wondering where I put that scrap of paper that had all my ideas on it.  Blogging as personal organization tool–this is good.

Without further ado, these are the intriguing things I’ve come up with so far.  Note:  these are in the realm of fitness things.  I’m thinking I’ll save kitchen tools for another post (those are, after all, things I’d like, greedily, to receive, rather than give).

1–Fitbit.  Okay, here’s where I label myself as a total geek:  this is my idea of massively cool.  It’s a glorified (very glorified) pedometer.  But it puts all your information onto your computer or iPhone, which gives it a level of functionality that a regular old pedometer doesn’t have.   There’s a really good review here.  I can see using it for general fitness, or for weight loss, or to teach a child about what is a reasonable amount of daily movement, or, as an athlete, to make sure my nutrition is in balance with my calorie expenditure.  Plus it’s just cool.

2–A Zumba class.  Maybe I’m late to the party, but I only just found out about Zumba.  It sounds like aerobics, but more dance-y, with excellent music.  Fun.  Actually, I should amend this one, to say any kind of class for something new and active is a great gift idea.  Try kayaking lessons, ice-skating classes, or an introduction to rock-climbing; you never know when something totally new and unexpected will strike a chord in the person you’re giving it to.  Lee once gave me a week-long triathlon camp, led by some the world’s top pro triathletes.  Before that camp, I thought triathlons were insane.  After that camp, I went out and did an Ironman (eventually).

3–A local trail guide, along with a book of coupons promising to walk (or run, or bike, or just explore) all of those trails.  Then follow through.  Schedule an outing every weekend, working your way through the book.  If it snows where you live, a pair of snowshoes might complete the package.

4–A hand-held GPS, or better yet, a geocaching app for your iPhone.  Geocaching is a fun way to get outside, get moving, and learn some navigational skills at the same time.  It’s like a 21st century treasure hunt.  You log into an online database of “caches,” download the geographical coordinates of the caches you’re interested in, then you use your GPS to find the cache, which usually consists of a very small box or vessel containing a slip of paper (the “log”) and a stash of treats (things like pencils or tiny plastic toys).  Sign the log, take a treat, leave a treat, and go find another.  There are very urban caches (on city streets), deep-woods caches, easy, challenging–it’s a huge activity that you can become obsessed with and do all the time, or you can just go for a tromp in the woods when you need a way to entertain the kids for a little while.  Geocaching apps are reviewed here and here.

5–If your budget is limited, you can give someone a new piece of clothing for an already-loved activity–a hat or gloves or socks.  It’s possible that not everyone is as motivated by cute clothes as I am, but for me, at least, a new pair of pink socks that say “Hottie” in bright purple is all it takes to get me out the door.  If you want to splurge, buy a cyclist a new jersey–bonus points if it matches his or her bike.

6–An iPod.  Okay, everyone already has an iPod; I realize that.  Solution:  if the person you need to buy for already has the device, buy an accessory that makes the device workout-ready–better earphones, a protective case, or maybe an Audible.com gift card (you’d be surprised how interesting a 10 mile run can be if you have an action-packed murder mystery piped right into your head).  Actually, Delaney is begging for a waterproof player; she swears that it’s only the lack of tunes that’s keeping her from swimming laps every single day.

7–A scale.  I know that people have strong feelings about scales (if you do, you know what I mean; if you don’t, take my word for it–people do), but I think weight, and more particularly, body-fat index, are important indicators of overall health.  I don’t want to turn the holidays into some kind of self-flagellating guilt-fest, but for someone who is committed to getting (or staying) healthy, there are some new scales on the market that might make a good gift.  For instance, the gearhead exhibitionist in your life might enjoy the Withings scale, available at Amazon which can, among other things, automatically tweet your weight and body fat.  The more sociable types might prefer the BodyTrace, which links to an online community whenever you weigh yourself.

8–A Wii.  Okay, confession.  Not only do we not have one of these, I’ve never even seen one.  BUT–I hear the WiiFit is a lot of fun, and I’m all for anything that makes exercise more fun.  If it’s hip and cool enough to get kids interested in moving, so much the better.  And for those of us who can’t bear the humiliation of public exertion, the WiiFit enables us to work out IN PRIVATE.

9–Finally, if inspiration fails you entirely, you can always buy that lucky someone a book.  There are enough motivational/fitness titles out there to stock an entire library.  A few of my favorites (but you should choose books to suit the interests of the person you’re buying for, obviously–these are just examples of books that make me want to go DO something):

–UltraMarathon Man, by Dean Karnazes–the memoir of a middle-aged guy who decided to get fit, and became one of the world’s top endurance athletes.

–A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson–the story of a writer’s hike on the Appalachian Trail (one of the best Go Do Something books I’ve ever read).

–Grayson, by Lynne Cox–the story of a teen-aged distance swimmer who rescues a baby whale.

–Comeback 2.0: Up Close and Personal, by Lance Armstrong:  this one just hit the shelves last week, but as a die-hard Lance fan, I’m looking forward to reading it.

–The looniness of the long distance runner:  An Undit Londoner’s Attempt to Run the New York City Marathon from Scratch: this is one of my all time favorite books, on any subject.  It’s just hysterically funny.