Fitness
Get Mom Moving on Mother's Day With These Top Health and Fitness Gifts
Our wellness advice is expert-vetted. Our top picks are based on our editors’ independent research, analysis, and hands-on testing. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement
Beats Fit Pro noise-canceling earbuds
For the mom who wants an uninterrupted workout
Hatch Rest Plus Second Generation
For the mom who values a good night’s sleep
Lululemon Align High-Rise Pant 28-Inch Women’s Leggings
For the mom who wants timeless leggings
Bombas Socks
For the mom who likes cushioned workout socks
WithIt smartwatch bands
For the mom who likes accessories
Flipbelt Zipper Running Belt
For the marathon-training mom
If your mom’s idea of self-care includes exercising and overall taking care of her health, we’ve narrowed down some gifts she’ll appreciate. There are endless products out there that would make a great gift this coming Mother’s Day, but you want to make sure that you’re getting Mom something that she will get good use out of.
Being a first-time mom as well as a fitness writer, I’ve come across products that active and health-conscious moms can enjoy and can even amplify their everyday lives. If you need ideas on what to get your fitness-loving mom this Mother’s Day, we hope you’ll draw inspiration from some of these top gift picks.
If your mom is a devoted Peloton rider, then chances are she can never have enough activewear. Peloton has its own activewear line with Lululemon and recently released its spring line — just in time for Mother’s Day. The new collection has shirts, jackets, sports bras, tights and tank tops available in bright colors exclusive for Peloton. Other attire you can pick from is Peloton’s Ford & Wyatt collection, which has T-shirts and sweatshirts with sayings like “Peloton Mama” and “Raising Legends” in muted colors, as well as tees for children ranging from sizes 0 to 24 months and 2T to 12Y.
Battery Life Rated up to 6 hoursNoise Canceling Yes (ANC)Multipoint NoHeadphone Type Wireless earbudsWater-Resistant Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)
A good pair of noise-canceling earbuds can make all the difference in a workout. The Beats Fit Pro are our top pick for the best buds for working out. If your mom likes to get her workout in without the interruptions, she can benefit from this solid pair of earbuds. They’re essentially built on the same tech platform as the AirPods Pro, but they’ve got a cool wingtip design that wraps around your ear for a secure fit while working out. CNET’s David Carnoy calls them “the sports AirPods you’ve always wanted.”
One of the things I learned to value as a new mother is what a big difference a good night of sleep can make for parents and baby. When I get a good night’s rest, I’m able to have a better workout and overall day. I use the Hatch Rest Plus second generation to help put my son to sleep in our shared bedroom, and it works like a charm. Before using the Hatch, I’d have to rely on my Alexa device for lullabies or white noise and a separate lamp for his bedtime routine. The Hatch is easily controlled by the app on your phone. It can play lullabies, and a new feature called “tuck-ins” lets you leave bedtime messages recorded by you or other family members. This is ideal if you have grandparents who live far away or if you’re a working mom and want to feel closer to your child at bedtime if you can’t be there. I tried out this function when my husband was away on a work trip recently, and our son loved hearing his voice in his absence. To get access to these features, you will need a Hatch subscription, which is $49 for the year or $4.99 a month.
You can’t go wrong by gifting a pair of Lululemon’s Align leggings. The Aligns were the only leggings I was able to wear throughout my entire pregnancy and postpartum. There must be something in the fabric that keeps the shape of the leggings but offers plenty of stretch in the waistband. These soft and weightless leggings come in a variety of lengths and are appropriate in yoga, bootcamp class or lounging. They’re also long-lasting so the mom in your life is sure to get lots of use out of it.
A pair of socks as a gift sounds underwhelming, but a comfortable and cushioned pair can make a difference in your workout experience. Bombas offers socks for different types of activities ranging from running to golf and lifestyle. I like wearing Bombas socks when I go for a run because my feet and ankles feel well supported and the wicking material keeps them dry. They also come in a variety of colors so you have plenty of styles to choose from.
If your mom likes keeping track of her steps or other data on her smartwatch, a stylish watchband can be a good way for her to change up her look. WithIt offers bands for Apple, Garmin, Fitbit and Samsung smartwatches and has a variety of styles. You can select from silicone, mesh, leather, steel and nylon bands to fit the appropriate smartwatch. WithIt also offers AirPod cases, AirTag clips and reading lights if you want to add a little something extra to your gift.
If the mom in your life is known to take HIIT, Crossfit classes or works a job where she’s on her feet all day, chances are she’s frequently sore. A massage gun can be a good tool to have around to soothe those aching muscles. Our top pick is the Theragun Elite, since it’s heavy duty but easy to operate and offers 16 millimeters of amplitude, which means it gets deep into muscles.
The Pilates-loving mom will appreciate a Pilates kit for her home workouts. Jennifer Aniston swears by the Pvolve Method, which is a low-impact Pilates class that states that its method is clinically backed by various experts on its clinical advisory board. Pvolve can be taken in one of its boutique studios or at home. There are various kits to pick from for home use, but the Signature bundle includes the P.ball, P.band, a precision mat and a Pvolve membership, which you can stream at home.
If you know a mom who wants the personal training experience, but doesn’t have time to head to the gym, the Future app can be the next best option. The Future app connects members virtually to coaches across the country with different training backgrounds, so you’re sure to connect with one who is the right fit for your needs. I used the Future app prior to pregnancy, during pregnancy and postpartum. The workouts are easy to follow, complete with video demonstrations and coach cues. And if you have any questions, it’s easy to connect with your coach via the built-in chat. This is an attainable way to get a taste of personal training without leaving your home while still having someone hold you accountable.
If the mom you’re shopping for is in full training mode for a race, she’s going to need a running belt that stays in place and can store all of her belongings. I’m a fan of the Flipbelt because it has compartments all around, and the Zipper version keeps your items secure. What makes it appealing is that it blends in with your waistband and isn’t bulky like some other running belts on the market. I’ve been able to store my ID, keys, earbuds, cash and more while out on long runs, short runs and even running errands. They’re also available in various sizes and colors so you can get the most customized fit.
If your mom is always on-the-go but likes having protein shakes or smoothies after a workout, a good blender that takes up minimal space goes a long way. The Nutribullet Pro Plus is one of the newest models of the personal blender. It has more extraction power and a pulse cycle that gives you more control on the consistency of the beverage. It also has the ability to blend up seeds and nuts better, so you have a smooth shake every time.
If your mom loves to hike or other outdoor adventures, she’ll enjoy the Apple Watch Ultra 2. The second iteration of the Apple Watch Ultra is a smartwatch that can do it all. It has all the features of the original Apple Watch Ultra including sensors that can read biomarkers such as your heart rate, blood-oxygen levels and more. Its emergency features include international emergency calling, emergency SOS and crash detection, so Mom will stay safe no matter where she ventures off to. Newer features she can enjoy are the night mode and a brighter screen display.
More Mother’s Day gift ideas
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
While exercise is known to improve memory, scientists have mostly studied this effect by using behavioral tests or brain imaging methods like MRIs, says Michelle Voss, PhD, one of the study’s authors, a professor, and the director of the Health, Brain, and Cognitive Lab at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
But she says these approaches can’t precisely identify where “ripples” originate, particularly in the deep brain structures like the hippocampus, a part of the brain strongly connected to memory and learning, she says.
The current study, published in Brain Communications, recorded electrical activity directly, using surgically implanted (intracranial) electrodes. “This allowed us to observe how exercise changes the brain’s memory circuits in real time,” Dr. Voss says.
20-Minute Bursts of Exercise Increase Brain Ripples
The participants performed a 5-minute warm-up and then rode a stationary bike for 20 minutes at a pace they could maintain. Researchers recorded their brain activity before and after the biking session.
The electrodes showed an increased rate of so-called sharp-wave ripples from the hippocampus and connections with cortical regions of the brain, which are involved in learning and memory.
“Sharp-wave ripples have long been known from animal studies to play a central role in memory,” Voss says, adding that recent studies using intracranial recordings in humans also support the importance of ripples for human memory.
“Our findings are the first to show that exercise can modulate these ripple signals in the human brain,” she says.
Researchers also observed that larger increases in heart rate during exercise were associated with larger changes in ripple activity in cortical networks, Voss adds.
What’s Already Known About Exercise, Memory, and Learning
Exercise helps build connections between neurons, which deepens and strengthens brain networks, Franssen says.
Physical activity also improves metabolism, which improves insulin sensitivity, helping blood sugar regulation and giving the brain a “more stable and reliable supply of fuel,” Dr. Perlmutter says.
“This is critically important because the brain is an energy-intensive organ, consuming roughly 20 percent of the body’s energy despite representing only a small fraction of body weight,” he adds.
The Research Has Limitations
Voss says researchers were careful to “exclude signals that contained epileptic activity. However, of course, we can’t statistically control for the accumulated effects of having epilepsy on the brain.”
The exercise-brain ripple patterns observed in the current study also closely match those observed in healthy adults using noninvasive brain imaging, such as MRI, she added.
“That convergence across very different methods is one of the strongest indicators that the effects are not specific to epilepsy, but reflect a more general human brain response to exercise,” Voss said.
Researchers also didn’t directly test memory performance, Voss notes. “While hippocampal ripples are strongly linked to memory processing in decades of neuroscience research, the next step will be to measure how exercise-related changes in ripples relate to memory performance in the same individuals.”
Future studies should also compare exercise with other everyday activities, such as sitting quietly or light movement, to determine how specific these effects are to aerobic exercise at the intensity that was studied, she says.
Satisfy Your Brain’s Exercise Craving
It’s never too early or too late to start exercising for brain health, Franssen says.
People of any age, from grade-school children to people in their nineties, can benefit from increased physical activity, Perlmutter says. “My recommendation is to consider taking advantage of the connection between physical activity and brain health across the entire range of human aging.”
Any type of exercise is great, Franssen says, but especially “repetitive behaviors,” like swimming, jogging, and walking.
“Sometimes we let the hugeness of putting in a huge fitness routine get in our way,” she says. “Having a little exercise snack every so often is also very important to improving cognition.”
Increasing our level of physical fitness leads to a bigger release of brain-boosting proteins following one session of exercise, a new study led by a UCL researcher has found.
The study, published in Brain Research, took a group of inactive unfit participants through a 12-week training programme of cycling three times per week and made them fitter. Researchers found as their fitness increased, so did the amount of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) released following exercise, resulting in improved brain function.
Just 15 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise releases BDNF, a brain protein which is known to support the formation of new neurons and new synapses (connections between brain cells), and maintains the health of existing neurons. This is the first study to show that for unfit people, just 12 weeks of consistent training can boost the brain’s response to a single 15-minute workout.
The study, led by Dr Flaminia Ronca (UCL Surgery & Interventional Science, and the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health), involved 30 participants – 23 male and seven female – taking part in the 12-week programme. To assess fitness levels throughout the programme, participants completed VO2max tests every six weeks, which measures the maximum rate of oxygen your body can consume and use during intense exercise.
BDNF levels were measured pre- and post-VO2max testing, alongside a series of cognitive and memory tests, while also measuring changes in brain activity in the prefrontal cortex – where executive functions such as decision-making, emotion regulation, attention and impulsivity are controlled.
By the final week of the trial, results showed that baseline levels of BDNF did not change, but participants did show a larger spike of BDNF following intense exercise, compared to how their brains responded to intense exercise before the 12-week programme. This was linked to improvements in VO2max (aerobic fitness).
Higher overall BDNF levels and stronger exercise-induced increases were also associated with changes in activity across key areas of the prefrontal cortex during attention and inhibition tasks, though not during memory tasks.
Overall, the results showed that increasing physical fitness can enhance the brain’s ability to produce BDNF in response to acute bouts of exercise, which can have a strong positive influence on neural activity.
Lead author Dr Flaminia Ronca said: “We’ve known for a while that exercise is good for our brain, but the mechanisms through which this occurs are still being disentangled. The most exciting finding from our study is that if we become fitter, our brains benefit even more from a single session of exercise, and this can change in only six weeks.”
Notes to editors:
For more information or to speak to the researchers involved, please contact: Tom Cramp, UCL Media Relations , T: +447586 711698, E: [email protected]
The research paper: ‘BDNF relates to prefrontal cortex activity in the context of physical exercise’, Flaminia Ronca, Cian Xu, Ellen Kong, Dennis Chan, Antonia Hamilton, Giampietro Schiavo, Ilias Tachtsidis, Paola Pinti, Benjamin Tari, Tom Gurney, Paul W. Burgess, is published in Brain Research, March 2026,
About UCL (University College London)
UCL is a diverse global community of world-class academics, students, industry links, external partners, and alumni. Our powerful collective of individuals and institutions work together to explore new possibilities.
Since 1826, we have championed independent thought by attracting and nurturing the world’s best minds. Our community of more than 50,000 students from 150 countries and over 16,000 staff pursues academic excellence, breaks boundaries and makes a positive impact on real world problems.
We are consistently ranked among the top 10 universities in the world and are one of only a handful of institutions rated as having the strongest academic reputation and the broadest research impact.
We have a progressive and integrated approach to our teaching and research – championing innovation, creativity and cross-disciplinary working. We teach our students how to think, not what to think, and see them as partners, collaborators and contributors.
For 200 years, we are proud to have opened higher education to students from a wide range of backgrounds and to change the way we create and share knowledge.
We were the first in England to welcome women to university education and that courageous attitude and disruptive spirit is still alive today. We are UCL.
www.ucl.ac.uk | Read news at www.ucl.ac.uk/news/ | Follow UCL News on Bluesky and LinkedIn
Journal
Brain Research
DOI
10.1016/j.brainres.2026.150253
Method of Research
Experimental study
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
BDNF relates to prefrontal cortex activity in the context of physical exercise
Article Publication Date
4-Mar-2026
Media Contact
Tom Cramp
University College London
[email protected]
Journal
Brain Research
DOI
10.1016/j.brainres.2026.150253
Journal
Brain Research
DOI
10.1016/j.brainres.2026.150253
Method of Research
Experimental study
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
BDNF relates to prefrontal cortex activity in the context of physical exercise
Article Publication Date
4-Mar-2026
Tags
/Health and medicine/Human health/Physical exercise
bu içeriği en az 2000 kelime olacak şekilde ve alt başlıklar ve madde içermiyecek şekilde ünlü bir science magazine için İngilizce olarak yeniden yaz. Teknik açıklamalar içersin ve viral olacak şekilde İngilizce yaz. Haber dışında başka bir şey içermesin. Haber içerisinde en az 12 paragraf ve her bir paragrafta da en az 50 kelime olsun. Cevapta sadece haber olsun. Ayrıca haberi yazdıktan sonra içerikten yararlanarak aşağıdaki başlıkların bilgisi var ise haberin altında doldur. Eğer yoksa bilgisi ilgili kısmı yazma.:
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Keywords
Tags: 12-week cycling training program benefitsbrain plasticity and physical fitnessbrain-derived neurotrophic factor after exerciseeffects of aerobic exercise on BDNFexercise and neuron healthexercise-induced neurogenesisfitness level impact on brain proteinsfitness training for cognitive improvementimproving brain function through fitnessmoderate to vigorous aerobic exercise effectsphysical fitness and brain healthVO2max and brain function correlation
SOLE Fitness announces new additions to its home exercise bike range, with models including built-in screens, resistance systems, and notably, zero monthly subscription fees.
— SOLE Fitness has announced a new range of home exercise bikes aligning with its policy against mandatory monthly subscription fees – addressing a growing concern among cost-conscious fitness enthusiasts.
For more information, visit: https://www.soletreadmills.com/collections/bikes
The announcement comes as subscription fatigue intensifies across the home fitness market – where hidden costs of ongoing memberships have become a significant pain point for buyers. Many consumers now actively seek alternatives that deliver premium features without the financial burden of perpetual fees – and SOLE Fitness offers its range in direct response.
Technical capabilities across the range support the no-subscription experience through innovative design and robust hardware. For instance, SOLE Fitness cites the SB1200 exercise bike as a suitable option for its 10-inch touchscreen – including preloaded entertainment applications.
SOLE’s team notes that this particular model also incorporates 100 levels of adjustable magnetic resistance, offering a broad spectrum of intensity for diverse workout preferences. A 35-pound flywheel contributes to smooth, consistent pedaling motion, while the durable steel frame supports users up to 300 pounds.
Elsewhere in the range, SOLE Fitness offers options across recumbent, upright, and indoor cycling styles to accommodate different fitness goals and space constraints.
The LCR Recumbent Bike is an example of a comfortable seated design with back support, ideal for low-impact cardio sessions, coming with 40 levels of magnetic resistance. The B94 Upright Bike, meanwhile, delivers a traditional bike posture with 20 levels of resistance, suited for users seeking straightforward training without advanced touchscreen features.
Central to the value proposition is the SOLE+ App, which provides zero-cost online fitness classes to customers who own SOLE equipment. The app offers hundreds of home gym video tutorials ranging from basic to advanced routines – standing in contrast to platforms that charge separately for similar content.
As explained by SOLE Fitness, its overall range is engineered for smooth, silent rides through magnetic resistance systems, sturdy steel frames, and precision components that deliver a premium indoor cycling experience. Magnetic resistance eliminates the wear and noise associated with friction pads, while the structural integrity of the frames ensures stability during high-intensity intervals.
“Each treadmill is crafted to provide an unparalleled exercise experience, featuring robust motors, intuitive controls, and cushioned running surfaces for maximum impact absorption,” says a company representative.
Moreover, since the company’s product portfolio is designed to offer entry points at various price levels, customers have readily available access to select models that align with their own budget and training preferences.
Interested parties can browse the full selection at: https://www.soletreadmills.com/
Contact Info:
Name: Inquiries
Email: Send Email
Organization: SOLE Fitness
Address: 56 Exchange Pl., Salt Lake City, UT 84111, United States
Website: https://www.soletreadmills.com/
Release ID: 89185487
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