You can tell Christmas is literally around the corner when everyone is flurrying at the local shopping centre to buy up all their gifts in time. Instead of being run-of-the-mill and grabbing chocolate or T-shirts for your loved ones, why don’t you them with fitness-themed presents? There’s plenty of them out there and health enthusiasts will appreciate it!

New trainer shoes – Buying a pair of shoes is a great present, given that you get the person’s size right. Everyone loves to have the latest fashion, so the person you’re buying for will look good and can sport a new pair of comfortable trainers that are both stylish and functional. They’ll want to wear them more and therefore increase their daily exercise.

A football – A humble football is ideal for young boys or teens who love a good game. They will have fun passing it around at Christmas lunch and it will encourage them to get off the couch, stop playing Xbox and actually get moving.

A swimsuit – Swimsuits are perfect presents for girls, since the swim suit fashion is forever changing each summer. New styles and colours are in, while the old are out. So Christmas is a great time to buy a young girl or teen a swimwear update.

Pedometer – If you know a person is an avid walker, why not buy them a small device to monitor their calories and number of steps taken during a training session?

Healthy Cook Book – More people than just your mother like to cook in the kitchen. So instead of promoting fatty desert books and cakes, buy a healthier cook book instead. It might be low-carbs, low-fat or cooking raw. Their heart will thank you for it and they’ll enjoy the challenge.

MP3 Player – A simple iPod can make a workout out or weight session so much more enjoyable and less strenuous. Music relaxes the mind and can inspire fitness fanatics to run harder and workout longer.

Gym membership – The reality is some people just cannot afford to sign up for the gym or fear it. So why not give them a positive push with a gym membership? It doesn’t have to be an annual pass; many gyms offer 10 visit cards or three month passes which can be cheap and effective.

Sunglasses – A cool pair of high-performance sunglasses can really enhance a workout. Many provide UV protection, are polarised, lightweight, anti-fog and anti-slip, protecting any fitness enthusiast during an outdoor workout such as cycling or running.

Fitness book – In our fast-paced world, many Australians need to kill time while commuting to work. And a fitness book can inspire them with new tips to improve their health.

The ab blaster, ab rocker, ab pro and all those other fancy television abdominal gadgets being sold on daytime talk shows and during the wee hours of the morning may be dangerous. They’re a bought by people looking for a quick fix and the result is a bad posture and lower back pain; not to mention a misaligned spine.

So if you have ever been sucked into buying a useless infomercial ab gadget, then you ought to listen up. There are safer, healthier, more effective ways to lose belly fat and develop a six pack. The only ripping off you will experience is a ripped torso; with hard work of course.

In a nutshell, ab gadgets, machines, belts and rockers do virtually nothing to burn fat off the abdominal area which is absolutely essential for abs. You could have the strongest ab muscles underneath a small layer of fat and the sad thing is they will not be seen if you’ve even got an inch of fat on top. Abs truly require a disciplined approached and ab gadgets and expensive pills are pure marketing gimmicks.

In order to achieve washboard abs, or even visible abs, it’s essential to lose the body fat that is covering up your abs. This means a well-balanced diet combined with regular cardiovascular training. And you’re going to get optimum results when you focus on engaging an array of muscles to build lean muscle faster and develop strength.

If your goal is to lose weight, look more toned and improve your health, then weight lifting should be incorporated into your exercise regime. The funny thing is people, mainly women, fear doing weights because they have an assumption that they are going to bulk up and look bigger than they are. They couldn’t be any more wrong!

Weight training is an essential for cutting down on body fat and keeping it off. By doing weights, your body’s metabolism increases throughout the day, so you’re actually continuing to burn off more calories and unwanted fat. It’s also one of the best exercise methods to strengthen ligaments, joints, muscles, tendons and also increase bone density.

Not only will you have a body with low fat composition, but your heart will work efficiently for many years. You will feel healthier, look better and be in a better mood because weights release endorphins. You will even experience stronger sleeping patterns and develop more confidence.

Sure, many of us spend hours a day in front of our computers, driving to work or doing other activities which promote a sedentary lifestyle. We’re feeling overworked, underpaid and ultimately too tired by the time clock off arrives. The thing is, doing weights will give you more energy and prevent you from feeling like this.

If you refrain from moving around, you’re only increasing the risk of heart defects, sexual problems, getting exerted after a little bit of physical activity like walking and you will also exhibit muscle development that is anything but proportioned.

You don’t have to be a professional athlete, bodybuilder or gym junkie to reap the benefits of a weight workout because the average person can do it. It’s important that you are educated, have great form and technique so you don’t do damage to your body with an injury.

Lifting weights incorrectly can lead to fractures, sprains, strains, tears and other painful injuries that can hinder your exercising endeavours. So if you’re not sure about how to get started or what you should be doing, then seek the advice of a personal trainer or fitness specialist who can demonstrate the correct technique and make any adjustments to your work out.

At the end of the day, the most effective way to lose weight is to combine cardio exercise and a balanced diet with weight training. The three disciplines when implemented will work together to achieve optimal results. And unless you eat a certain diet and take a different weight training approach, than you won’t bulk up! Muscle building is an intense process that’s slow for men and even slower for women.