Let’s Help Get Santa Healthy, Shall We?

Credit: LadyDragonflyCC - Tinsel Time!!!!

Today’s post is written by Carole Carson—dubbed “An Apostle for Fitness” by the Wall Street Journal and author of From Fat to Fit: Turn Yourself into a Weapon of Mass Reduction.

If their pictures are to be believed, Santa and Mrs. Claus need to drop a few pounds to bring down their cholesterol and reduce their risk of diabetes. So instead of leaving milk and cookies out for Santa this year, leave him a fitness gift that he and Mrs. Claus can use to shed surplus pounds in 2011. Here are some ideas that will fit any holiday budget!

Gift Ideas for Santa and Mrs. Clause

Free:

• Coupon for 10-minute back, neck, head, hand or foot massages
• Gift certificate good for a specified number of hours of being the recipient’s walking partner

Less Than $15:

• Resistance band
• Dumbbells
• Jump rope
• Exercise mat
• Sweatbands
• Water bottle
• Food and fitness journal
• Shoelaces
• Shoe insoles
• Health-oriented cookbook or subscription to a health-oriented magazine

$15 to $35:

• Fitness ball
• Online personal training program
• Exercise DVDs
• Heart-rate monitor
• Pedometer
• Gym bag
• Sport towel
• Fitness watch
• Chin-up bar
• Fitness gloves
• Body-fat tester
• Bathroom scale
• Hand weights
• Fresh-fruit basket

$35 to $100:

• Full dumbbell and barbell set
• Yoga kit
• Gift certificate for a massage
• Sports clothes
• Netflix one-year membership (for workout DVDs)
• Pilates or yoga class
• Mini-stepper with resistance bands

More than $100:

• Wii Fit video game
• Bodybugg calorie management system
• Treadmill
• Bicycle
• Inversion table
• Elliptical trainer
• Free-weight bench
• Recumbent bench
• Mini-trampoline rebounder
• Fitness gym membership

What better way for Santa and Mrs. Claus to start the New Year than to commit to reach their fitness goals, whether it’s weight-loss, increased stamina, reduced risk of illness or more healthful eating! Why not make a similar commitment so that you can join the Clauses in looking a little trimmer this time next year? —Carole Carson