Wednesday, November 20, 2013

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

Ah, the Christmas shopping season is upon us. Buy Buy Buy! It's the American way! Let's show our love through stuff! My family are rolling their eyes because I go on this anti-stuff tirade every year, so I had to just get it out of the way before I started in on my....

...first annual best fitness gifts post!

Now before I reveal my list, I need to make a very clear disclaimer: unless the gift recipient really likes exercise and/or has expressed a strong, sincere desire to exercise, please do not buy him or her a fitness-related gift. This is one of those things that could majorly backfire. Yes, husbands/boyfriends, I'm talking to you. You could come off as a massive jerk and your Christmas could turn into a flood of tears and 'are you trying to tell me something?'-type awkward conversations. You really don't want this to be the Christmas everyone remembers as the one during which Suzie locked herself in the bathroom crying because you bought her a Fitbit. I'm making this very clear because if I hear you were banging on the door saying, 'but Honey, I read about it on this chick's blog! She LOVES it and I thought you would, too!' I'm proving that I'm not responsible for whatever comes next.

Know your people. Okay?

Moving on.

1.  A Fitbit!
You knew I was going to say that. I love my Fitbit, as you may recall. Pros: awesome, fun gadget that really motivates you to get up off your duff. Variety of options/price ranges. Cons: can be very addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you.

2. A heartrate monitor.
Pros: They are seriously fun gadgets. There are a variety of types/models. I've typically used the Polar brand and it's really fun to track how hard you're working (or not, as the case my be.) Cons: you can start assessing your workouts based solely on heartrate/caloric burn and that's not always the best indicator of good workoutness. Just saying. Also highly addictive, like the Fitbit, but not quite as bad.

3. Grippy socks.
Darling Son #1 modeling my Physique 57 socks
These are a total must-have for barre-istas. Trust me, you don't want to wear normal socks to a barre class. You will slip-slide all over the place and let's face it--plank is a hard place to be, no reason to make it any harder. Pros: you won't slip and slide all over the place. That, and you'll fit in with the cool kids at the barre. Also relatively cheap. Good stocking stuffers. Kinda cute to stuff stockings with stockings, no? Cons: there aren't any cons. People need grippy socks.

I have quite a collection of grippy socks. Behold:

From left: Physique 57, Pure Barre, exhale Core Fusion, and random traction socks from Amazon. I must say, my Pure Barre socks are my faves. They're the cushiest of the bunch.

4. Camelbak bottle.
The Darling Husband turned me on to this and now I'm a convert. Camelbaks are great. Pros: They don't get that nasty bottle stink. They're easy to clean and you can just grab it and take a quick sip during a workout--there isn't any unscrewing of lids resulting in potential spillage. Cons: none.

5. Lucy Vital workout pants.
These are my all-time fave workout pants. They're vital. Pros: stylish, made from non-compression fabric. This means they don't fit super snug-ly and that's nice when you're wearing them to preschool dropoff and don't want your workout pants to cling to every.single.part.of.you. Know what I mean? I wear them with a normal, non-workout top and clogs and they just look like regular clothes, but they are super comfortable and totally suitable for exercise. They're the perfect life-to-workout transition garment. I'm a total Lucy girl, so I can't say I have a whole lot of experience with other brands, so bear that in mind. I don't do Lululemon. I'd rather buy a car than a pair of workout pants, thank you very much. Swearing off Lulu was a decision I came to even before the whole sheer pants/CEO with foot-in-mouth disease issues, Cons: full-price Lucy is still expensive, but they run decent sales and always have a sale rack at the back of the store, and I love them for it.

6. Buy your fitness person some classes or a personal training session.
This is a Pure Barre class. I love the look on the second one's face. That's one focused chick.
I love, love, love live classes, but they're usually not cheap, and since I have small people, I have to hire a sitter on top of the class cost. Consequently, I don't take live classes very often. This is why it's such an awesome gift--totally something I wouldn't typically get for myself. Pros: live instruction takes your workout to whole new level. It's the gift that keeps on giving. It's also a great gift for mothers of small people who never get a distraction-free moment. A live class is bliss simply because no one is crawling on you or needing you to change the channel, provide a snack, or referee the latest brouhaha over which of Thomas the Tank Engine's friends gets to shunt the Troublesome Trucks. Also, this is a clutter-free gift! And you're supporting a local business. What's not to love? Cons: clearly, none that I can think of.

7. A massage.
Try to find a place that will put a flower in your hair. That's a nice touch.
Those nails have to go, though.
Who doesn't love a massage?! Pros: This is the one exception to the above disclaimer. No one will lock herself in the bathroom sobbing over a massage. There is no potential hidden agenda in a massage. This gift is risk-free, clutter-free, and it's awesome. Cons: Seriously? No cons.

8. A subscription to Clean Eating magazine.
I'm obsessed with CE. Pros: It's a great magazine chock full o' delicious recipes. I do a little happy dance whenever the latest issues flies through the mail slot. Cons: some recipes call for hard-to-find ingredients, so I make subsitutions. A lot. Also, they went out of business earlier this year, but they've found a new publisher and I just got my first issue. Hopefully, they've worked out the kinks.


So there you go, along with raindrops on roses, etc., these are my favorite things. Go forth and stimulate the economy!

3 comments:

  1. What a great list!! I'm going to "let it slip" that I want "slip-free" socks from Pure Barre! :-D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Grippy socks will change your life, Anon! Mark my words. (You're very punny, btw.)

      Delete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete