If you or your youngsters need to practice kicking, but it’s hard to find folks to hold the ball for you, then why not grab a football kicking tee to make things easy?
The Wilson Pro Kick
Made from durable metal, the kicking tee collapses so it’s easy to take on the road or store when you’re done using it. The simple football gadget is supposed to work on any surface or on a kicking block.
$25 at Amazon:
Want to bring your tunes to the pool or lake and let everyone listen while you swim? Then check into the Ego Ice.
“The EGO ICE™ Waterproof iPod® Sound Case by Atlantic is a waterproof, spill-proof, shatter-proof iPod speaker case that floats.” The accompanying 3 Watt waterproof speakers ensure you’ll be able to hear your tunes all around the pool.
The materials are designed to withstand chlorine and salt, so you can listen at the beach or the pool. A thin membrane keeps the iPod click wheel accessible through the protective barrier. The iPod Classic, iPod Photo, iPod Video and all iPod Nanos can fit into the waterproof case.
$120 at Waterproof Music.
If you’ve got soccer balls, basketballs, footballs, volleyballs, and more, you’ve probably got a pretty cluttered garage, too.
Well, here’s an organization gadget that’s a little more fun than nets or the common throwing-the-ball-in-the-corner method:
This sports ball holder is an easy way to keep organized. Suitable for indoors or out, the Ball Claw can go in a garage, basement, kid’s room, etc.. It can be mounted to walls, poles, and even ceilings, allowing you to display your balls in unusual fashions. And, practically speaking, you can find your equipment easily and no one will trip over those balls left on the floor any more.
There are different sizes for different balls, and the storage gadgets run $9.99 to $14.95.
If you enjoy cruising along the bike trails, but you find bicycles and inline skates a little ho-hum, perhaps you’ll be interested in a new way of getting fresh air and exercise:
Instead of peddling, or pushing off the ground with one foot, you use a stepping motion to propel this scooter forward. It’s like those stepper exercise machines, except a little more fun, because you’re actually going places.
“The scooter uses an innovative pedal recovery and drive system to transfer the force from each pedal downstroke into rear axle rotation. Two parallel offset crank shafts engage a pair of gears to produce the reciprocal pedal recovery, providing riders with smooth, comfortable downward strokes. A brake lever controls the front wheel’s disc brake for confident stops. The three pneumatic tires provide grip on concrete, asphalt, or other hard surfaces.”
$300 lets you be the coolest one (or maybe the oddest one) on the bike trail this summer:
For those of you who like to get your exercise on the hiking trail, you may dig the Fireflye.
This special water bottle lid can turn your beverage into a lantern. Handy for campers or those folks who just like to look unique at the gym, the gadget “contains an integrated LED light which spreads a warm glow throughout the bottle.” You can adjust the light level, so the water-bottle lantern can guide you to the bathroom on a dark night or just provide a little glow by which to read.
The electronics are in a sealed compartment in the lid, so you don’t have to worry about water rusting anything. The Fireflye works with your standard wide-mouth water bottle.
From Guyot Designs.
A week or two back, we looked at the Smooth Folding Treadmill (because it comes with a snazzy sound system), but what if you’re looking for a home treadmill that doesn’t cost $2,500? You don’t want to go bargain basement (not if you want a machine that will let you run on it more than three times before it falls apart), especially if you’ll be jogging on the treadmill, but you don’t necessarily need to pay thousands of dollars for a decent model.
Here are some more affordable folding treadmills you might consider:
LifeSpan Fitness TR200 Fold-N-Stor Compact Treadmill
The $800 Lifespan folding treadmill can fit under a bed or in a closet when not in use, and it has all the usual features you’d expect: adjustable speed and incline; a monitor that tracks time, calories, distance, steps, speed, and incline; and built-in training programs that can help you meet your exercise goals. It has contact heart-rate grips, and for music lovers there are built-in speakers and a headphone port.
BodyCraft 1120 Folding Treadmill
The Bodycraft treadmill is a little more expensive, coming in just under $1,000. It has an 52-by-18-inch running surface with 8 kinetic energy dampers; an LED display that tracks speed, time, distance, calories, etc.; 8 pre-set workout programs; and a 1.75-horsepower, continuous-duty motor.
The Bowflex folding treadmill retails at $2,000, so you might not put it in the “affordable” department, but as I write this, it’s $700 off at Amazon, so I thought it was worth mentioning. I’ve had a Bowflex before and was always pleased with the quality of their products.
This treadmill features all the usuals as well as large 20 by 60 inch walking/running surface area (bigger than you usually see with the home folding treadmills), a 3-speed fan to keep you cool, and a 15-year warranty on the frame (10 on motor, 2 on parts). If you do a lot of running, it may be worth investing in a higher quality treadmill (with a good warranty) such as this one.
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If you get a little bruised up playing football, soccer, basketball, or other sports that involve body bumping, then perhaps you can save your flesh some wear and tear by picking up Nike’s Pro Combat shorts, vests, and elbow sleeves.
Possibly the most advanced undergarments you’ll ever don, the Combat clothing features “strategically placed foam” to give you lightweight impact protection. Mesh overlays the foam pads to “enhance breathability and flexibility.” Other features include anti-friction panels, Dri-FIT for wicking sweat away, and flat-seam construction to help reduce irritation caused by chafing. Oh, and important for the soccer moms out there, the garments are machine washable.
Prices run from $25 to $80.