Ahh the holiday season. Eat, drink, be merry, and try to come up with gift ideas for your family and friends! If you have fitness enthusiasts on that list, let’s make that shopping just a little easier this year! Here are the 12 best gift ideas for fitness friends for this holiday season!
Yoga Mat
If you have a yogi on your list, please just trust me when I say, yes, they do want a new yoga mat. Don’t skimp with a cheap one though. Yoga mats are one of those things where you get what you pay for. You can buy it cheap now and it’ll crumble in a few months, or you can buy a great one from a brand like Manduka and enjoy it for years! I finally made the switch to Manduka about 10 years ago and now it’s all I will use. I bought my daughter a Manduka mat last year and she loves it, too.
TRX
Invented by a Navy SEAL who wanted to be able to work out anywhere in the world without a gym, the TRX straps have become an indispensable piece of equipment for all types of workout environments. The TRX is easy to pack in your suitcase for trips and comes with a door jam attachment that hooks onto any door. In my garage, I hook mine up onto the pullup bar of my squat rack, and use it for a wide variety of movements. You can do anything with a TRX and it’s a great, functional piece of equipment because it gets you using your core more. Your fit friend would love one of these for travelling or home workouts!
Silicone Wedding Band Rings
Lifting weights, hiking, cleaning, yardwork, etc. can really do some damage to your beautiful wedding rings and bands. Enter silicone rings! When they first came out, they were a novelty and fairly expensive, TBH (like $30 for 1), but now there are a bunch of different brands, styles, and options for every taste and budget. My husband started wearing one years ago and wears one now everyday instead of his metal wedding band. I have also gotten so used to mine that I only wear my pretty wedding ring on special occasions these days. The last batch I bought was a 5 pack for about $15. Here’s a good example of the ones I am wearing these days, see pic. I think they make great gifts!
Virtual Personal Training
If you or anybody you know is looking for a great virtual personal trainer, I am currently welcoming new clients! Give somebody the gift of custom fitness programming, tailored just for them! I offer a variety of different packages, including custom program building, one on one virtual session packages, or race prep programs. Please fill out my contact form if you are interested and I’ll get back to you ASAP!
Water Bottle or Tumbler
Hydration is a huge part of daily fitness. Help give somebody the gift of hydration and decrease the amount of disposable plastic water bottles we’re using in the world! A new Yeti, Stanley, or Nalgene water bottle would make a great stocking stuffer this holiday season.
Percussive Massager – a Jack Hammer for your Muscles
These little handheld massage guns pack a serious punch! The deep muscle massage that you get from a percussive tool helps increase blood flow and loosen up muscle knots, which can really help you regain or maintain flexibility and mobility. Further, it increases blood flow to muscle tissue, which can aid in recovery and repair after hard workouts. Theragun makes some really great options and there are some other brands that are coming close as well. Be sure to check the ratings and stars. Not all brands are created equal! Who wouldn’t love to get this under the tree this year?
Classic Fitness Books
Books are always great gifts of course! I wrote a separate article where I recommend 5 of my favorite fitness books of all time. Please click here to check that out for full details. Otherwise, here is the list of books I highly recommend!
- Book # 1 – The Women’s Health Big Book of Exercises, by Adam Campbell
- Book # 2 – Glute Lab, The Art and Science of Strength and Physique Training, by Bret Contreras
- Book # 3 – Starting Strength, Basic Barbell Training, by Mark Rippetoe
- Book # 4 – The Abs Diet for Women, by David Zinczenko
- Book # 5 – Thinner, Leaner, Stronger, The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body, By Michael Matthews
Motivational Gym Posters
I have been building a sweet garage gym for years now. I wrote an article about that too, in case you’re interested. One of my favorite aesthetic things about my garage gym is having the main wall covered with things that motivate me! Various flags that mean something to us. This Arnold poster. A rack with all my race medals from the last decade or so. I love having visuals around me when I’m working out in the garage that help keep the vibe alive in there. Which brings me to the next great gift idea…
Race Medals Rack
Get those medals out of the closet or drawer they’ve been stuffed in and display them proudly on a race medal rack where you can see them often! This definitely helps me with positive reinforcement when I’m training for my next race. Being able to see the proof that I have done this before helps me believe I can and will do it again! I have one in my garage and one in my office next to where I write programs and this blog! A race medal rack would be an awesome gift for your fit friend who’s always toeing the line at races!
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Neck Roller by Chirp
I bought my husband a Chirp Neck Roller just recently for his birthday! He had been catching a case of the dreaded tech neck recently from lots of computer work. He has been using it for about a week, and it’s helping him work the kinks out of his tight neck muscles. I tried it too, and like that it has two types of knobs on it. They both feel great in different ways. Great invention! I would gift this to anybody in my life who works on computers way too much.
Fitbit
I have been running with Fitbit for many years now, since 2015. I love that I can see big sweeping chunks of data related to my fitness. Metrics like how many workouts in a month I get or miles covered! It’s great for tracking runs and seeing pace, heart rate, and training zones. Being able to see and track your data over time is a major perk and why this item made the list of best gift ideas for fitness friends and family! Here’s what my last month looked like, see pic. Great gift for the data loving fit friends in your life!
C2 Erg
Saved the big one for last. This one probably isn’t the gift for everybody but it would be “the gift of all gifts” for a select few fitness friends out there. The erg is an awesome piece of home cardio equipment for many reasons. It’s easy to maintain. It doesn’t need a special plug or socket (like some treadmills, ellipticals, etc.). It can stand up and tuck against a wall to save space. It’s a KICKASS total body workout that gives you strength, power, or endurance depending on your intensity AND works legs, core, and arms all at once.
Takeaways
In conclusion, thanks so much for shopping with me and learning about great fitness gift ideas for different budgets and workouts! I hope you took away some good fitness gift ideas for your family and friends! Maybe even an idea or two for those “hard to shop for” or “already have everything” folks as well.
Affiliate Disclaimer
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that I make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I know and use personally!
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