Christmas 2007 Gift ideas to motivate the plus-size woman to exercise

As a plus size woman I can tell you the only person who can motivate a plus-size woman to exercise is the plus size woman. If you are thinking about getting a gift to motivate a plus-size woman to exercise you better make sure it is her idea to exercise. Otherwise you are wasting your money and going to be in the doghouse with her. Now if a plus-size woman is all for exercising but just needs a little extra motivation there are some great gifts available. Here is a list created by a plus-size woman of the best Christmas 2007 gift ideas to motivate the plus-size woman to exercise.

1) The best gift you could ever give a plus-size, or any, woman is to become their workout partner. This means to do the same work out as she does when she does, even it you are at a higher fitness level. It is much easer to be motivated to do a work out if you have a scheduled time to do the work out and a partner who expects you to do it with them. Be supportive and participate. Find ways to unexpectedly reward her when she consistently does her work out. It can be a card to say you are impressed by her dedication or a manicure to say that she has been working so hard she deserves some pampering. You do this every once in a while just to help her keep motivated. This is not a one-shot gift deal here. This requires some dedication on your part to.

2) Pay for an exercise or workout class. It will be much easer for her to stay motivated when she is doing something that is fun. It also helps that it is at a scheduled time and people expect her to show up. There are some great “exercise” classes that do not seem to be exercise. There is bellydancing, Latin dancing, yoga, Tai Chi, aqua aerobics, and more. Take a look at what is in your local area. The YWCA will often have a nice selection of fun and low impact exercise classes.

3) Membership to a gym, like Curves, that is designed for women or is women only. I know that not every town or city has a gym that caters to women. If you don’t have one in your area a membership to a regular gym will do. Here is the link to Curves, http://www.curves.com. Please include with the membership babysitting, and transportation if either of these two could hold a woman back from going to exercise.

4) Provide childcare and transportation or space to workout if any of these things hold her back from working out.

5) Home exercise programs. This could be a personal trainer that comes to her home. It can be the exercise kits with equipment (like weights) and an instructional video of what ever is in today. Here are some popular DVD’s;
Bellydance Slimdown is $17.95 at www.collagevideo.com.
Urban Belly Dance Workout DVD is $9.15 at www.cduniverse.com.
Daily Quickies: 10 Minute Workouts is $14.95 at www.collagevideo.com.
Shiva Rea's Yoga Trance Dance Begin/Inter DVD is $19.95 at www.collagevideo.com.
Walk Away the Pounds with Leslie Sansone: 3-Pack is $18.45 at www.cduniverse.com.

6) Personal fitness program on her computer. “Yourself! Fitness” software gives unlimited access to a virtual personal trainer, meal planning and nutritional guidance, and dynamic workouts to keep you motivated. "Yourself! Fitness" combines a customizable video with a (virtual) personal trainer. Varied workouts, scenery and music keep you motivated. www.yourselffitness.com has a PlayStation2 version for$34.99, PC version for $29.99 and an Xbox version for $34.99.

7) Home exercise equipment. This is going to depend on your budget and the space available. There are a lot of places to buy equipment and a huge variety of equipment options. Find something that she likes and get the equipment she needs.

8) Some workout clothing, including shoes. Try to find comfortable, fashionable clothing that she will enjoy wearing.

There are a few gifts you must stay away from no matter how good your intentions are. Do not by a scale, clothing that is to small, or a full-length mirror. These are not going to help, but will make her feel bad about herself or angry with you. Exercise books just end up on a shelf more often then not. You want to make sure that what gift you give her is easy to use, and comfortable for her.