Get your New Year's resolutions off to a good start. If you've set a goal of better health through fitness walking and weight loss, these items are a great investment. If you got a holiday bonus or gift cash to spend, these are great ways to spend them on yourself.
1. Smooth 5.65 Folding Treadmill
Photo Courtesy of Smooth Fitness
With a home treadmill, you eliminate the excuse that it's too cold or dark to walk outdoors in the winter. Experts say that a treadmill is the most effective home exercise tool because it is the easiest to use. The Smooth 5.65 is a high quality budget-priced treadmill, and it folds for convenient storage. It has a powerful 2.5 HP motor with a lifetime warranty. The treadmill stores nine user profiles and has five programmed workouts in addition to manual operation. Smooth treadmills are all sold direct, delivered to you. You can pay a little extra and they will even carry it upstairs and get it fully set-up and running.
2. FitBit Personal Fitness Tracker
Wendy Bumgardner © 2010
The Fitbit has been my favorite walking gadget since 2010. I replaced the original with the new Ultra model that also counts the flights of stairs you climb each day. It is a full-featured pedometer (steps, distance, calories) and wellness monitor. It uploads wirelessly to a web site so you can enjoy graphs and charts of steps, active steps, distance, sleep quality and to track your diet, heart rate, blood pressure, glucose. You can track what you eat to keep better tabs on your diet, as well as any other health indices. The Fitbit is small and stylish and works on your waistband or in your pocket. It works with both PC and Mac and had no additional subscription fee to track your activity online.
3. A Properly Fit Pair of Walking/Running Shoes
Wendy Bumgardner ©
Walking fitness starts with your feet. Take a trip to the most-serious running shoe store in your area to get fit for shoes by people who are experts and want to make lifetime customers. Don't go to that mall chain store or discount shoe mart and get served by seasonal staff who don't know shoes from shinola. At the serious-running-shoe store, they will very likely put you into a running shoe that works well for walking, and it will cost between $50 and $110. These shoes will be worth the price. Most of these stores have a generous return policy, and will keep working with you until you get the shoes that serve you best. You can use the Roadrunner Sports Shoe Dog tool to get a better idea of what kind of shoes you need.
4. Omron HJ-720 Pedometer
Wendy Bumgardner ©
Pedometers are big-time motivators to be more active throughout the day. A pocket pedometer eliminates the need to wear it on your waistband. The Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer not only displays your steps, distance and calories, but you can upload your data to your computer and enjoy graphs and charts of your data. It is completely silent and very accurate.
5. Apple iPod nano 5th or 6th Generation with FM Radio and Pedometer
Wendy Bumgardner © 2009
These iPods not only keep you entertained and motivated as you walk and workout, they include a nifty pedometer that works great for tracking workouts or total daily steps and uploads your steps to the web. It works with the Nike+ sensor kit if you want speed and other features. I have the 16GB version, which has plenty of memory for video and movies in addition to music and audiobooks. The smaller 6th generation nano iPod may be more convenient to take along on walks, but lacks the built-in video camera that the 5th generation has.
6. 14-Week Walking Journal
Wendy Bumgardner (c) 2005
Putting pen to paper to track you walking workouts, nutrition, achievements and ideas can help keep your motivation up towards your New Years resolutions. My 14-Week Walking Journal has daily pages for journaling walking steps, minutes, miles, and more.
7. Walking-Themed SIGG or Stainless Water Bottles
Wendy Bumgardner CafePress.com
A good water bottle is an inexpensive indulgence. Many walkers are switching to metal bottles out of concern over plastics (although most plastic bottles have removed BPA). We have walking designs for aluminum SIGG water bottles and stainless steel water bottles.
8. SockGuy Socks
Courtesy of Pricegrabber
Socks can be as important as shoes. Walkers need socks that will wick away moisture to help prevent blisters as you increase your mileage. If your New Years resolution included training for a 10K, half marathon or marathon walk, then you need to invest in good socks. Sockguy socks are fun socks in colorful designs - but also serious socks made of core-spun CoolMax to prevent blisters.
9. Walking Outfit
Wendy Bumgardner ©
What you wear walking can greatly help keep you comfortable and moving smoothly. Changing into your walking clothes can motivate you to actually get out the door or on the treadmill. The basics are sweat-wicking layers from sports bra to base-layer shirt and pants or shorts. If you are going to walk in cooler weather, you may also need a windbreaker jacket, insulating layer, or shell jacket. Take a trip to the best running store in your area and get tricked out like the athlete you are. If you are a plus-size person, you may need to look further afield to find great gear that fits. I have links to online vendors for plus-size walking clothing.
10. Walking Training Group
Wendy Bumgardner ©
Joining a walking group can keep you on track for your goals and provide the extra motivation and accountability that will lead to success. The group can be an informal walking group, a local walking club, or a group coached to train for a half marathon or marathon. For those who can afford it, a personal trainer can get you going in the right direction for your fitness goals. But if you are having difficulty connecting with human walkers, then one of the best ways to make yourself walk every day is to have a dog that must be walked. Sloppy doggy kisses are an extra bonus.
