Give Mom the Gift of HEALTH for Mother’s Day
Mother's Day often involves the pressure of finding the "perfect" gift, but material presents are fleeting. Instead of focusing on gifts that quickly disappear, consider creating a lasting memory with your mother or introducing her to a new health and fitness activity she might enjoy.
As we age, we become more at risk for certain diseases and health care problems.
One in two women over the age of 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis. If your Mom is sedentary and she’s past menopause, she needs to start moving. Plain and simple.
In fact, her future health depends on it.
Why not take the opportunity to use this corny hallmark holiday as a chance to help our parents form healthier habits they can sustain in the long run?
You, being her child and obviously someone who loves her, should consider taking action now to prevent health risks down the line.
Below are ten great healthy gift ideas you can splurge on mom this weekend.
1. Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy is very effective for muscle repair, reduction of chronic pain, inflammation, and an overall enhancement of health and wellness. The process involves exposing individuals to extremely cold dry air (below −100 °C) for two to four minutes. To achieve the subzero temperatures, two methods are typically used: liquid nitrogen and refrigerated cold air. It can be intense but people come out feeling energized. Mom can visit and always buy more after her first initial experience. The benefits of chryotherapy include:
Pain relief and muscle healing
Weight Loss
Reduced inflammation
Preventing dementia.
Preventing and treating cancer
Reducing anxiety and depression
Improving symptoms of eczema
Treating Migraine Headaches
Check out Cryotherapy in NYC here and ask about their Mother’s Day specials.
2. HigherDOSE
HigherDOSE is infrared sauna therapy treatment. Infrared therapy is known to assist with detoxification, relaxation, burning calories, pain relief, anti-aging, skin purification, cell health, and improved circulation. HigherDOSE saunas provide full-spectrum infrared rays, for full-spectrum benefits. Right now, they are offering 20% off on Mother’s Day gift cards. Jump on this!
3. Buy her a class to her favorite studio!
Mom may be intimidated or overwhelmed at the thought of taking a class but if the choice is made for her, she may be much more opt to go. Before you buy a class for Mom, think about what she likes, what her limitations are and what the likelihood would be if she were to continue on her own. Try to fill these requirements for Mom while also taking into consideration the type of class and if it matches her fitness level. Lastly, is the studio close in proximity to where she lives? If you are looking for long lasting habits for her to stick to, you should definitely consider checking out studios and classes close to where she lives with a wide array of class offerings.
One of my favorite studios is The PE Club where they offer yoga, TRX classes and boot camp style classes. There is something for everyone and the small group setting makes it the least bit of intimidating. Perfect for first-timers.
4. Yoga membership
We know yoga is super beneficial and can be a great gift for Mom. Just because it isn’t strength training doesn’t mean she won’t benefit from it. Yoga has huge health benefits and if you know lifting weights is not Mom’s jam, look into buying her a yoga class. Health benefits of yoga include:
Increased flexibility.
Increased muscle strength and tone.
Improved respiration, energy and vitality.
Maintaining a balanced metabolism.
Weight reduction.
Cardio and circulatory health.
Protection from injury.
One of my personal favorite yoga studios in the city is New York Yoga where they offer both regular classes as well as classes in a heated studio.
5. The Playbook App
Mom may be a homebody and the gym may not be her scene. In today's day and age, you can still get fit without a gym membership.
If Mom has a smartphone, she’s halfway there. You can stream workouts directly to your phone from various fitness professionals, interact with them and post your progress in the community for encouragement.
The best part? It’s cheap AF! When you purchase a month on the Fitner app for $10, you get a week free.
There are dozens of personal trainers and nutritionists to choose from to assist Mom with her goals so I would suggest shopping around first on the app and taking a good look at all your options.
All Mom needs in order to get started is a smartphone and some space for her to get sweaty in. Download the Playbook app - HERE.
6. Online Band Workout
Similar to the Playbook app, this Band workout is great because it requires no gym membership and very little to get started. If Mom has the motivation, just give her the right tools so she can get started with a regimented program.
The banded bae program I made is excellent for beginners or anyone who needs a routine to follow that may not necessarily want to join a gym.
The program comes with:
4 weeks of two (2) suggested total body workouts to follow
Specific instruction on how to approach the program.
Specific weight, reps, and sets for each exercise
Detailed links to videos of exercises.
You can check it out HERE.
7. Let her try out a food service!
We know nutrition is key to seeing results and if Mom is trying to get into some kind to shape, her food choices need to be on point.
If nutrition is a weak spot for her, help take the stress off her shoulders by ordering her a month supplies of a food service that will ship healthy meals right to her doorstep.
Ordering one of these services even for a month can be a nice way to take stress off mom's shoulders and expose her to a new way of eating entirely.
Services I have tried and like include:
8. A One-Time Macro Consult
One sure way to get Mom to pay attention to her diet is to buy her a macronutrient consult session with a nutritionist.
My one-time macro consult is designed to help those who would like to have their eyes on numbers in working towards their specific nutrition goals. If Mom is good at math and likes specific instructions, this would be an awesome gift for her.
My macro consult includes an initial 30-minute phone call and then a follow up after she tracks her macros/calories for me for seven whole days.
This purchase also comes with a lifetime membership to an exclusive Facebook group with a community of peers for support and follow-up questions. So if mom thrives in a group environment, this only helps the cause.
*Please note, Mom will have to track food in My Fitness Pal for one week prior to getting personal macro recommendations. If interested, contact me here.
9. Massage
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Even if Mom isn’t a big workout person, even if getting her to eat right is a challenge, she can still physically reap the benefits of a nice full body massage. Benefits of massage include:
Relief of anxiety.
Relief of digestive disorders.
Relief of pain from fibromyalgia.
Decrease headaches.
Can help decrease insomnia related to stress.
Relief from myofascial pain syndrome
Loosening of soft tissue strains or injuries.
If Mom is not someone who likes to venture out, there are massages on call who have a team of therapists that now come to you- everything (including tip) is included in the price. Apps like Soothe massage and Zeel are on-demand massage services who make it convenient and easy for people to relax in the comfort of their own home.
The massage therapists bring their own table and you pick a time that works for you. If that's not relaxing, I don’t know what is!
They offer discounts for first-time clients so I highly recommend you check them out if not for mom, definitely for yourself.
10. Cooking class
When you want to share an experience with mom and make a fun memory, take a cooking class with her!
A sneaky way to hint to her that you want her to start making healthier choices is by you picking a class to take with her that encourages healthier cooking in the kitchen. Nowadays, big culinary institutes offer tons of classes that are centered around healthy cooking.
Check out The Culinary Institute of Education and browse their class list to get an idea of what classes you can take that may have a positive effect on Mom and how she prepares her food in the kitchen.
Our mothers take care of us and raise us from children into the adults we are today. Giving the gift of health and fitness is always one of the best ways to show true appreciation for Mom and all the years she put up with our shit. (Literally).
It doesn’t matter what age group your Mom falls into, she will reap the benefits of any of these gifts. Who knows- maybe with the gifting of one of these ideas she’ll discover a new hobby or interest she would have otherwise never known had it been for her thoughtful, caring and loving child.
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