Give gifts that promote fitness.
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
If your gift list includes people who are working on their fitness, consider these options suggested by area fitness experts:
Ben Rayland, certified strength and conditioning specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association and owner of Rampage Strength and Conditioning in East Syracuse, likes giving a “good reusable water bottle that’s sturdy,” he said.
Look for one with a double wall and stainless steel inside. The double wall feature prevents the bottle from gathering condensation and stainless steel doesn’t get the unpleasant plastic smell and flavor. Bottles with vacuum seal help prevent leaks.
Rayland recommended earbuds.
“A lot of people now at the gym are watching videos or podcasts while doing cardio on a treadmill,” he said. “It can aid someone.”
For those wanting stronger arms and backs, a pull-up bar can be a welcomed gift.
“A lot of people have a great deal of success with those,” Rayland said. “You can set it up in the doorway and people tend to remember to use it because it’s right in the doorway. The caveat is a lot of times, it’s self-limiting as not a lot of people lack the ability to do chin-ups right away.”
People who enjoy technology may welcome a smartwatch to track caloric intake, count steps and monitor health indicators like sleeping time.
“It makes people aware of what they’re doing and that they need to get more exercise in,” Rayland added.
For people lifting barbells, wrist straps may help.
“They’re cloth straps that go around your wrist and hang down,” Rayland explained. “It helps you grip the bar better. If your struggle while lifting is your grip, this will help you grip the bar better. You can also use it for rowing or chin-ups.”
Adjustable dumbbells sets allow users to change the weight easily on just one piece of equipment rather than toggling among numerous free weights.
“You can find a decent set on Facebook, Overstock or Amazon,” Rayland said. “If you have adjustable dumbbells, you just need a rudimentary bench. You can do many of the more advanced lifts you’d see at a gym.”
Kimberly Whitcomb, one-one-one fitness professional in Fairport and Wolcott, likes giving small dumbbell sets.
“A lot of times, you can buy 3-lb. 5-lb., and 8-lb. weights,” she said. “An alternative to that is wrist and ankle weights, that start at 1 lb. You can walk and carry extra weight.”
Versatile and affordable, exercise bands are another favorite for Whitcomb.
“Exercise bands or resistance bands that are 2-3 inches wide and 8-10 inches long that can be used on wrists, ankles and across your thighs,” she said. “You can do a lot with those at home with the shorter bands.”
Exercise gliders — also called exercise sliders — can help people workout at home or while traveling.
“They’re little disks that slide on certain surfaces like a rug,” Whitcomb said. “There’s unlimited amount of exercises you can do with those, like lunges. You can keep one foot on the ground and the other on the disk and instead of stepping into the lunge, you glide. You can do mountain climbers with disks under your feet so you can run.”
Whether used in yoga or for calisthenics, a 7-8-inch yoga ball can offer plenty of uses. Whitcomb mentioned compression/squeezing motions, use against a wall for exercises for the arms or shoulders and as a prop between the thighs while performing air squats or wall sits. She also suggested a yoga strap can help achieve poses and deeper stretches.
Whitcomb views a muscle roller as a great gift to help promote recovery.
“It’s cylindrical with two handles and overtop there’s a handle,” Whitcomb explained. “You open it up, wrap it around the thigh and massage all of your leg muscles to get every single muscle. You can incorporate a lot more with it. It’s easier and effective.”
As another recovery tool, give a portable foot bath. Whitcomb said it works well for both feet and hands for hot water soaks or an ice bath “which is therapeutic and good for inflammation with arthritis and recovery for muscles.”