Fitness Gifts for Under $50

This is a great stocking-stuffer for the home exerciser or, even better, the traveling exercsier. This unique set of playing cards offer pictures and instructions for over 50 different exercises. Each card shows an exercise one one side and detailed instructions on the other so you can shuffle them for new workouts every time you exercise. Choose from a variety of decks including FitDeck Bodyweight, Senior, Junior, Yoga, Pilates, Stretch, Prenatal, Postnatal, Kettlebell, Dumbbell and more. At $9.95 to $14.95, you get ideas for just about any kind of workout you can imagine.

The Perfect Pushup offers rotating handles to give you a different twist on traditional pushups. The website claims that this will accelerate results by engaging more muscle in the upper body. I'm not sure about that, but you will definitely add a different element to pushups with these handles. What I like about them is that they actually help protect the wrists and reduce elbow pain, which is a common problem with pushups. If you have a friend or loved one who does pushups as a regular part of his routine, he'll appreciate these handles. And at around $29.95, they're a great price.

These headphone/ear warmers are perfect for anyone who likes to run, ski, snowboard, hike or walk in chilly weather. They're lightweight, comfortable and designed to block wind, snow and rain while still allowing you to listen to your favorite tunes. At around $25, this is a great gift for the winter exerciser.

For those of us who use gym machines regularly, good music is a must. Most of us know people who refuse to workout at all without their iPods or other MP3 players. That's why an iTunes gift card makes a great, and frugal, gift idea. In fact, I'm getting one for most of my friends because I know they'll use it. The cards range from $15 and up.

Tons of heart rate monitors are on the market ranging from $20 to $500 and offering everything from heart rate displays to a personal exercise butler. Okay, I made that last part up. But with all the monitors available, it's hard to choose to right one. The Omron is a great choice for the gadget-phobic exerciser who doesn't want too many bells and whistles to distract from the workout. At around $40-$50, the Omron gives you your heart rate, time, a stop watch and an alarm - all the basics you need to monitor your intensity without having to spend hours reading the user manual.

It may look a little strange, but the foam roller is great for massaging tight muscles as well as working the core and stability muscles in a whole new way. Because it's an unstable surface, it incorporates those all-important stabilizer muscles. Lie on it to do crunches, leg lifts or other exercises to engage your core. At $10-$20, this makes a great inexpensive gift for the exerciser in your life.

For cold weather, these gloves make a great gift for the active exerciser in your life. They're lightweight, water and wind resistant and, best of all, they include Tec Touch 2.0 fabric pods on the index fingers that allow you to operate touch screens while keeping your gloves on. At $20, these are a great buy for any exerciser.

If your friends or family have a Wii, this is the perfect opportunity to give them something fun and healthy. Wii Fit Plus (which is the sequel to Wii Fit) offers a variety of fun and challenging balance, strength and yoga exercises that the whole family can do together. They'll need a Balance Board (sold separately) to take full advantage of the exercises, but they'll love juggling while balancing on a ball or getting into a virtual snowball fight.