Girl Get Strong’s Holiday Gift Guide

Giving the Gifts of Health and Fitness

Fit Family Edition

It can be a challenge keeping ourselves fit, let alone thinking about the rest of the family. But who needs family fitness when you can play together?

Here are a few gift ideas – both low tech and high tech  – that will keep your family moving…and best of all, having FUN!

The patent-pending Whiplash™

What kid would not love this?

It’s a self-propelling, revolutionary new ride is part scooter, part Wave® (caster board) and totally fun.

Centered around the award-winning design of The Wave’s® unique caster design and  Torsion technology, Whiplash’s™ flexing deck and handlebar fuse together to provide riders with a cool, side to side, whip-like ride. This product is great for girls and boys because it provides core strength training, balance and constant movement

Swinxs

Swinxs, the hottest innovation in family-friendly games consoles has hit U.S. shores.

The portable screen-free entertainment console engages kids in physical, creative and educational play (including musical chairs, tag and relay) by using its voice in combination with sounds and colors.

Designed for ages four and above, Swinxs talks and explains games, recognizes players and even referees.  Each player wears their own colorful wristband that communicates with Swinxs allowing it to recognize, interact and monitor players.

Swinxs is available nationwide on Amazon.com, priced at $150.  For more information, please visit: www.swinxs.com

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Grandpa’s Stilts

Have fun and develop balance and coordination with Grandpa’s patented adjustable stilts.

Grandpa’s Stilts are made of quality straight grained hardwood and will last for years. Battery free, made with real, natural wood, right here in the USA, real adventure, real fun!

These rubber-tipped stilts have easy to grip handles for all ages six and up, and come in heights from 9to 24 inches to challenge everyone’s sense of daring!

Kids and teens will have a blast, and the adults will too!

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BSkinz

www.bskinz.com has a line of  spandex/compression shorts and leggings aimed at young girls, teens, and adult female fitness lovers.

The nylon/spandex blend stays put during your fitness routine or game (like volleyball, soccer), not riding up or falling off.  They keep you nice and warm during winter workouts and yet let air in and out.

They are also a great alternative to the boring plain black spandex worn during workouts, with patterns from tie-dye to animal print, to preppy polka dots and solids, there is a pair of BSkinz for every woman, no matter what their style.

BSkinz are available as shorts starting at only $20, capris style for only $24, and ankle-length for $28, so it is a very budget conscious and versatile gift.

Most importantly, BSkinz are fun and the funky patterns can help motivate young girls and women to stay active, healthy, and fit.

Need more ideas? Check out our other gift ideas here.

We recently learned of Canadian fitness retailer Fitness Town‘s new 21 Day Family Fitness Challenge, which is a program designed to encourage families to embrace lifelong health through nutrition and fitness.

Child obesity is reaching alarming proportions

With more and more children creeping into the obese category, Sian and I are excited by the effort made by Fitness Town to give back to the community by  supporting lifelong health from a young age.

Dai Manual, Fitness Town COO, successfully conquered childhood obesity and is helping others to do the same.

We caught up with Dai Manual, COO of Fitness Town’s eight Canadian locations, who says that for him, the obesity issue hits close to heart:

“Childhood obesity to me is something that I have personally dealt with many years ago and have made it my life’s ambition to help all people, especially children, become more active….I know how it feels to have people stare at you; I know what its like having to say no to the summer social and pool parties; I know what its like to be out of breath after walking up the stairs or to tie your shoes – it’s the little things that seem the hardest to do…”

(Here’s a link to Manual’s full blog post about being an obese teenager).

How the challenge works:

Once families register for the challenge (you must do this in-store, but you can find out more details here), members receive a kit that supports the family in their challenge, including tips, a nutrition guide, an interactive log book and more.  Each $30 registration fee also guarantees a $5 donation to one of 5 charities.

GGS challenges all North American fitness companies to encourage and support children in creating lifelong healthy habits.

Let us know what your company is doing to help families be healthy and active!

What does it take to get the GGS girls out to a grand opening of a fitness club?

Free food? Champagne? Hot sports stars?

The newest Steve Nash Sports Club offered all that and more at their VIP reception yesterday during their official Grand Opening of the new Morgan Crossing location, but that’s not what brought us girls out.  Nope, it was the fact that the fitness centre is a true shrine to all that is fit and healthy (That’s our story and we’re sticking with it.)

Yes, I’m a convert…and now a paying member, too.

Sparkly new equipment gleams among the vast and still fresh-smelling facility (thank goodness, ’cause who wants to drink champagne and OJ in a stinky room?).

The last time I was in that room I saw my life flash before my eyes as I hyperventilated and my lungs threatened to explode (yup, it was their “Maxed Out” Class and I’d wandered into it thinking it was a credit card support group…boy was I wrong).

No strangers to fitness, Vancouver Canucks’ Hockey stars Mason Raymond and Darcy Hordichuk got in another type of workout – with their pens poised and grins flashing, they obliged the throngs of young and not-so-young fans that asked for autographs and photos. It was all Sian and I could do to restrain ourselves from body-checking the children hockey-style in our eagerness to get photos with the NHL stars.  Instead, while we waited we stuffed our faces with the lovely catered nibblies supplied – tons of fresh fruit and a smattering of cheese and crackers. YUM!

…and soon it was our turn for a photo op… Double YUM!

Steve Nash Sports Club is a full service fitness facility offering tons of machines, free weights and classes, massage therapy, childminding, personal training and much, much more. If you’re lucky enough to live by one, go check it out.

See you there!

Elle.com contacted us to post this fantastic article about the celebrities Pre-Award Weight Loss plans, which the GGS crew thought our readers would enjoy.

Oscars 2010: Oz Garcia, nutritionist to the stars, reveals Hollywood’s slimming secrets By Emily Hebert 

 Hollywood’s leading ladies never fail to dazzle the night of the Academy Awards—but don’t be fooled: Their svelte silhouettes are the result of highly regimented exercise and eating habits. “Everybody thinks there’s a shortcut but there isn’t,” says Oz Garcia, PhD, the nutrition specialist behind Heidi Klum’s post-baby body and Hilary Swank’s famously lean muscle in Million Dollar Baby. “You should alwayshave a healthy lifestyle, but there are temporary fixes that will help.” Here, Garcia reveals the pre-Oscar guidelines he sets forth for clients like Swank and Klum.

ONE MONTH BEFORE
Detox Responsibly Though Garcia doesn’t recommend doing the Master Cleanse—the decades-old detox that’s based on a pepper, water, and lemonade concoction—he does suggest doing more nutrient-rich alternatives and intermittent fasting prior to a red carpet event. “I think a two- or three-day juice fast through a program like Blueprint Cleanse or Organic Avenue is a safe and healthy way to detox,” says Garcia, adding that, “There’s a lot of information that indicates intermittent fasting and cleansing is also great for preventing heart disease and diabetes.”

 Garcia himself fasts once a week, eating only nutrient-dense, low calorie fruits and veggies—a practice that makes the body more sensitive to insulin and, as a result, can normalize blood sugar levels and raise the rate of metabolism. If you lack the discipline of Garcia, however, a day of fasting could cause you to overeat the next day (or make a beeline for your favorite fast-food chain).

Given the inability to determine a celebrity’s reaction to a cleanse Garcia says he always recommends doing one at least a few weeks prior to a red carpet event: “Are you going to feel better or are you going to have withdrawal? You just don’t know what can happen when on a cleanse.”

Read more for the days coming into the main event and to find out what the celebrities are exactly eating….