“I feel it in my fingers
I feel it in my toes
Christmas is all around me
and so the feeling grows”
“It’s written in the wind
It’s everywhere I go
So if you really love Christmas
C’mon and let it snow”
That is some lyrics from a great song from one of my favorite Christmas movies. Can you name it? I would be impressed minus a google search if you know it (prove it with a comment below).
Ok let’s get to the good stuff, CHRISTMAS PRESENTS!
So if you’ve got that special someone, or that not so special someone (probably the latter cause I like to think you have the perfect gift in mind for that special someone, and hey maybe its one of these ideas too…) then here are some great Christmas gift ideas to help them in their fitness endeavors.
And without further hesitation, here are my top 8 Fitness Present Ideas (all under $200).
1. Trx suspension trainer – Great bodyweight trainer using principles such as vectors, stability, and pendulums. Putting it simply, the more horizontal you are in exercises, the harder it is. You can work out the entire body using this tool, and have the versatility of a home workout or an outside workout. The Bootcamp Effect utilizes these bands and hopefully I will be getting a few more for Christmas ; (that wink is at you Santa!) Check out the link on the left to the TRX website for their xmas special.
2. Skipping Rope – Boxers have amazing bodies. Would you agree with that? Of course you would! So what are boxers famous for? Punching er…and skipping! We’ll we do both at bootcamp, but that’s besides the point. If you have a cardio enthusiast, then get them to change it up a little and skip around. Here’s a fitness fact in your face: Skipping on average burns 11 calories/minute or 660 calories per hour. Skipping for an hour, now that is a serious commitment, or a good bootcamp workout idea…..just kidding guys!
3. Massage therapy session – Nothing says I love you like go get a massage, now although this might seem a little cliche, I was thinking along the lines of trigger point massage/myofascial release to help you get through your challenging fitness workouts. If you have been a swimmer or an overhead thrower in sports, one of your rotator cuff muscles (subscapularis), is most likely loaded with trigger points.
4. Foam Roller – The first thing I do anytime I work out is foam roll. And I would suggest the same to all of you. All the most highly sought after fitness professionals push foam rolling on their clients and with good reason. Foam rolling is applying pressure to sensitive areas in muscles-sometimes called trigger points, knots, or areas of increased muscle density. The idea is to self massage your injury-prone areas without going to a professional. The roller is applied to the long muscle groups like the calves, adductors, and quadriceps, and small directed force to areas like the TFL, IT Band, hip rotators, and gluteus medius. After doing foam roller, you should always feel better rather than worse (and it warms up your muscles).
5. Heart rate monitor – An amazing way for anyone to get the most out of their workouts. How cool is it to be able to count how many calories you burn? Some people are obsessed with counting calories, I say we jump on this band wagon as well (in a different sense though). But remember, resistance training, while it may not burn the most calories in an hour is much more beneficial to raising that metabolism and burning calories hours after your workouts. So try not to skip too much ; I wouldn’t begin to suggest a brand for you as there are so many out there and at many different price ranges. You can get a quality onewithout taking out a second mortgage from any of the box stores. When buying one speak to people who get asked the questions, like the running room or fitness town.
6. Lebert stretch straps – These are just cool and make stretching even easier, now you can lie on the ground and hold a quad stretch comfortably while watching your favorite christmas dvds such as the A-Team or Inception.
7. Healthy gift cards – Pita Pit, Jugo Juice, Booster Juice. Get them loving these healthy foods and maybe they will make them from home and begin the real transformation. You can buy these at any of your local franchise outlets. FYI, pitas run about $8 at pita pit and Smoothies can be as high as $6 in some cases, so plan accordingly.
8. Free 2 weeks to bootcamp – If you have one of my $50 gift cards, then for a limited time only (till January 30th) these cards will be good for a free 2 week trial to my Langley bootcamp. If you are interested in adding these to a stocking stuffer then feel free to contact me, and hey if you read this blog, grab 2 and come with your friend 😉 So if you have a friend, neighbour, co worker and you havent got them their christmas gift or have no idea what you are going to get them, give them the gift of fitness!
P.s. It costs you nothing (can’t beat that!) Come to think of it, I actually should have made this #1, cause within this gift you will learn all the ways to use a trx suspension gym and you’ll get to skip.
Well that’s it hopefully, this has helped you a little or even got your creative juices flowing. Remember, “health is the thing that makes you feel that now is the best time of the year.”
Hohoho Merry Christmas,
Josh Saunders
Your Langley Bootcamp Trainer
