Not sure what to get your fitness-minded friends for Christmas??? Check out below for some great holiday gift ideas:
1. An activity tracker
a.
Activity trackers are a great way to promote
movement and activity throughout the day. Recent research has suggested that
getting a 30-60 minute workout in followed by 8-10 hrs. of sedentary behavior
may not be enough. It’s important to remain active throughout the day and take
short breaks to get up and walk around. Activity trackers help keep track of
steps, distance covered, calories burned and sleep throughout the day. A lot of
them also sync nicely with nutrition tracking software presenting you with your
overall fitness profile for the day.
My personal favorite is the FitBit line as they sync with a lot of apps (https://www.fitbit.com/store)
2. A foam roller
a.
Foam rollers are a great way to improve the
integrity of soft tissues and muscle fascia which can become “tight” or damaged
due to intense physical activity and/or improper body mechanics throughout the
day. I prefer a more rigid foam roller to really break up the junk, improve
mobility and promote recovery.
Check out this video and link for more details:
My favorite foam roller:
a.
There is a lot of debate out there regarding the
pros/cons of wearing minimalist shoes and to be honest more research is needed.
People who have strong enough muscles in their lower legs and feet and can
maintain proper running form really seem to benefit from these types of shoes.
Regardless, one thing that is known is that a high heel lift or a thick squishy
sole is NOT beneficial and probably does more harm than good. If you are
curious, I recommend trying a “hybrid” minimalist shoe and one that is kind of
in between such as Nike’s Free Brand:
4. Voodoo Floss Band
a.
If you think the name looks crazy you are right.
This unique recovery device works wonders for facilitating recovery and aiding
with soft-tissue or tendonitis-like nagging issues. To be honest we don’t
really know why it works so well, hence the name Voodoo.
Check it out here: http://www.roguefitness.com/voodoo-floss-bands
And watch this video on how to use it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dgbCDtqdlI
5. Resistance Bands
a.
Resistance bands have always been around but
their popularity is picking up serious momentum with the promotion of more
functional movement based exercise and non-traditional modes of training. These
bands are great for people who prefer to workout in their home or travel a lot
for work as there are hundreds of exercises you can do without a need for
weight machines.
Check out these bands if interested:
6. Active Wear
a.
By no means necessary to improve health and
wellness but everyone wants to look good while they are getting their sweat on!
Dry fit and compression gear are always nice additions to a workout
wardrobe:
7. Gift Card
a.
If you can’t find anything, a gift card to
amazon, a grocery store or bodybuilding.com is always a great idea so the
person can pick out their own products whether they are equipment, books, food
or supplements.
Check out these great books on fitness and training related
topics:
Enjoy the holiday season and your shopping adventures. Your
fitness minded friends will love it!
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