“Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope.” – Bill Cosby

If you’re reading this article, chances are you’re no longer at the stage where you plan to wrap soap-on-a-rope for dad’s special day. Yet, even teenagers and adult children struggle with finding the perfect gift for dad. Most dads appreciate gifts that show love, thoughtfulness, frugality, and a maybe even a touch of gadgetry. Fortunately, fitness gifts have all these qualities and more!

Fab Fitness Gifts

Fitness gifts range from inexpensive to pricey. Here are some examples of great fitness gifts suitable for a variety of budgets:

Personalized T-Shirts and Water Bottles

For less than $30.00 you can personalize a t-shirt for dad to wear during sports or exercise. When I was in college, I ordered a Father’s Day t-shirt that said “#1 DAD.” My dad loved it! He wore his special shirt whenever he went fishing, or hunting. To be even more practical, you can create a customized sports water bottle to help dad stay well-hydrated for less than $15.00.

You can create your own unique Father’s Day t-shirt or water bottle design at cafepress.com. For an additional fee, you can ship via overnight delivery.

Culinary Herb Garden Growing Kit

If your dad loves to garden, or simply has a appreciation for healthy seasonings, consider the Culinary Herb Garden Growing Kit, (price $34.95; available on amazon.com). Recommended by the Wall Street Journal, the kit comes complete with seeds, peat pellets, tray and dome. It is conveniently designed to grow 12 different fresh herbs with minimal space requirements.

Fitbit Flex Fitness Monitor

Recommended by Men’s Health, Fitbit Flex is a slim wrist band that functions as a fitness monitor. It wirelessly tracks distance walked, steps taken, calories burned, and even how well dad sleeps at night. It also functions as an alarm clock to wake him up in the morning. Data is logged over time, and tracked on a mobile app for real time monitoring. The device can be synced via any computer interface to connect with online dashboard and support. Fitbit Flex is water resistant, so dad can wear it while swimming or fishing.

For high-maintenance dads, Tory Burch designer options are available. You can pick from 10 different color choices. Purchase includes all support devices, a year’s membership, and free shipping. (Price $99.95)

Why Fitness Gifts Are Gifts of Love

According to CDC’s Men’s Health web page, 46.4% of men over the age of 18 do not meet federal criteria for leisurely physical activity. 34.6% of men over the age of 20 are obese, and 31.6% of men in the same age group have high blood pressure.

Chances are, if you’re over the age of 20, your dad could use some inspiration to stay fit. Being fit improves the quality of your dad’s life. Whether he’s a fitness buff or needs a little help to become more fit, the right Father’s Day gift might be just what the doctor ordered to keep your dad smiling, healthy, and feeling loved.

Still need more Father’s Day gift inspirations?

For the Office-Working Dad: Flameless Fragrance

For the Traveling-Dad

For the Not-So-Active Dad

Photo by: James McGoon

A native of the Carolina Low Country, Verneda Lights is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (MD), and Strayer University (MBA). An award-winning writer and graphic designer, Verneda is CEO of E-graphX Omnimedia. She delights in being a “Renaissance Woman” who is an scientist, visual artist, poet, and entrepreneur. A prolific researcher and writer, Verneda has authored over 500 articles within the past 3 years. Her business blog, aptly titled “E-graphX Renaissance Blog,” regularly publishes articles about health, business, photography, religion, history, poetry, and other topics, is listed among the best blogs on the Internet on alltop.com. Verneda is also a Sverve influencer – connect with her here.