It’s that time of year when the shops are getting busier and you have to check the expected delivery dates for the things you order online. With only weeks to go before the fat man in the red suit comes to town, you need to get your butt into gear when it comes to your Christmas gift shopping! We’ve made a list of some great Christmas gifts for fitness trainers, so if there’s a PT or other fitness professional in your life that you’d like to buy for, go on and check out these ideas!
Best gift ideas for exercise lovers
Training equipment:
For the fitness trainer who is always keen to add new tools to their arsenal for their own workouts as well as being able to keep their clients guessing, check out the range of training aids available from Verve Fitness. With staples like resistance bands coming in at under $50, or by spending a little more on sandbags and sleds, you can help set your loved one up for a great year ahead.
Recovery aids:
If you’re buying for someone who is physically active, there’s a good chance they’re often nursing sore muscles! Massage balls, rollers, and handheld massage tools are a great gift idea for a gym junkie. We think the TriggerPoint Acucurve Cane is pretty hard to beat, but there are a range of options to knead out those hard-to-reach muscles!
A foam roller is hard to go past and if you know your gift recipient likes to ‘go hard or go home”, then we recommend a textured model like this one from Verve Fitness. It’s sure to make even the toughest athletes get watery eyed when it hits those ITBs!
If you want to splurge a little more, massage guns are fast becoming a favourite recovery tool among fitness enthusiasts. Australian-owned Sommet Recovery offers an excellent handheld massage gun with 6 interchangeable heads.
Image from Verve Fitness.
Books for fitness professionals
Even those early-rising fitness industry types sit still sometimes, and for those who are partial to spending time with a good book, we’ve picked out some books that would be a great gift.
- 12 Hours in the Life of a Fitness Professional – Marie Anagnostis
Marie’s book (described as part memoir, part expose) shines a light on the seemingly glamourous and Insta-worthy life of a fitness professional to reveal a hilarious insight into the less attractive aspects of her career. Marie shares an insider’s view of what it’s really like to work in the fitness industry, blow by sleep-deprived blow. Order your copy here. - Finding Awesomeness Through Adversity – Leanne Sklavenitis
Recent recipient of the AUSactive Lifetime Award and inducted into the Roll of Honour, Leanne Sklavenitis shares her experience of being diagnosed with motor neurone disease and how she has confronted her diagnosis after a long career in fitness. This book is an exercise in resilience, acceptance, gratitude and determination. - Born to Run 2: The Ultimate Training Guide – Christopher McDougall
You may have heard of McDougall’s hit book Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. The hit book started gathering a cult following back in 2009 and has continued to be popular with distance runners and barefoot shoe advocates. The sequel book is essentially a holistic training program for runners of all levels and touches on every aspect, including nutrition, form, footwear, and the “why” behind clocking up the distances.
Leanne Sklavenitis: Author of Finding Awesomeness Through Adversity
Silent Night: Gifts for Better Sleep
Whether it’s the racing mind of a fitness business owner or the knowledge of an early start that seems to counterproductively stave off sleep, it’s not uncommon for fitness professionals to struggle with getting a good night’s rest. If you’re buying for someone who complains of poor sleep, here are a few great gift ideas that might help them on their quest for a quality night in the sheets.
Supplements to promote better sleep and stress management:
Ritua is a new Australian business, founded by Jasmine Meagher. Having spent years formulating supplements for other well-known brands, including PranaOn, Jasmine saw the need to help the 40% of Australians who suffer from poor-quality sleep. The range of Ritua supplements uses plant-based ingredients and adaptogens to assist with sleep as well as formulations that are designed to help with mental focus and stress management.
Optimising the sleeping environment:
Does your bed partner complain of feeling hot in bed? One solution is the Valmori mattress topper, designed to create a cooler sleeping experience by optimising air flow and reducing trapped body heat. The best thing? If you share the bed, you’re giving yourself a little gift as well!
If sleep aids sound like the perfect gift idea, Baxter Blue offers their signature blue-light-blocking glasses, as well as a comfortable sleeping mask that provides complete blackout for the wearer.
We also love the Therabody Smart Goggles, which provide heated temple and eye massage for better relaxation.
Gifts of professional development for fitness trainers
Training and coaching for business owners:
Anyone running a business that is in its infancy is usually overwhelmed with “what if” and “what then” questions. If you know where the knowledge gap lies, why not set them up with the tools to grow their fitness business by connecting them with an expert?
Is sales their sticking point? Steve Jensen has been working alongside Australian fitness professionals to guide them through sales, communication and leadership skills for over three decades. His team at Impact Training offer personalised coaching and mentorship alongside workshops and digital training tools. As Warren Buffet would say, “The best investment you’ll ever make is an investment in yourself.”
Tickets to expos or conferences:
Being able to attend an industry event such as an expo can be a great way to meet people, see the latest products and get better educated on niche topics. Research upcoming events that you think your loved one would be keen to attend and if tickets aren’t available for purchase yet, consider giving them a “save the date” card at Christmastime with the tickets to be purchased later on. If your love language is time over money, you could offer to accompany them to an event in a different city and make a weekend of it, or even give yourself up for child-minding duties to allow them to attend.
Fuel Business Summit, Sydney. Photograph courtesy of Candice Epthorp
Wellness gifts for fitness professionals and enthusiasts
The wellness industry is exploding right now and it’s made gift giving a whole lot easier for a lot of us! Not only are most fitness enthusiasts keen to embrace the recovery offerings out there, everyone from burnt out corporates to busy parents are keen to indulge in the mental health benefits of wellness services.
Wellness experiences – gift vouchers and memberships
From a single session in a float tank, or a sauna to massage vouchers and facials – you can treat your loved one to an hour or two of bliss without breaking the bank. Do a little research to find a venue that is convenient for them – there’s nothing worse than it actually being a hassle to cash in on the special treat someone has gifted you because it’s too far away! If you’re looking to spend a little more, many facilities will have a package or membership option available as well.
Home wellness products
There are so many recovery and wellness products available for home use now and the price points vary considerably, depending on what is right for you. A portable ice bath can cost as little as $100, while a heavy duty ice bath with a filter and hardcore chilling unit can set you back thousands.
Saunas have reached a whole new level of buyer’s choice as well, with affordable options such as sauna blankets starting at a few hundred dollars, infrared saunas usually in the $3000 – $8000 range and traditional saunas from there upwards.
Personal wellness gifts
If a $5000 sauna is a little over what you had in mind (we can always dream), there are so many great gifts available at a gentler price point that will be sure to delight. Here are some of our picks:
- Shiatsu massage pillow
- Light therapy mask
- Acupressure mats
- Recovery boots
- TENS device
Nutrition and supplements as gifts
While a good old voucher for Nutrition Warehouse is any easy out, we’re guessing you’re reading this because you’d actually like to choose a gift for your recipient. There are so many supplements out there, it can be hard to make the right choice unless you already know what they like.
The reality is that someone who takes protein powder has already found the brand that they enjoy and that agrees with their guts, so you might make the mistake of buying a giant tub of whey protein when it turns out pea protein is their preference. Here are a couple of ideas that might appeal to a broader audience and give them something new to try:
- Beforeyouspeak Performance Coffee: a keto-friendly, delicious, low calorie coffee blend that provides the regular kick of your morning brew alongside performance optimising ingredients such as MCT oil, ginseng and turmeric.
- Meluka 3-in-1 Gut Nutrition System: a complete gut nutrition system consisting of prebiotics and probiotics to reset your gut microbiome for the new year.
- BCs Violet Crumble soft protein bars: the lovechild of confectionary and nutrition – a delicious treat to enjoy without the guilt.
Gifting activewear and fitness apparel
When it comes to buying clothes – especially activewear – use caution! While some lucky humans are a standard size and can almost always pick something off the shelf and wear it, most of us simply aren’t built that way! While anyone in the fitness industry is bound to be appreciative of exercise clothes, since it’s probably their main wardrobe choice, it’s important to remember that a good fit is more important than ever when it comes to exercising.
The safest best is to stick with a brand, style and size that you know they already love. For example, women’s’ tights can come in different lengths, waist heights, levels of compression as well as size, so there are a lot of factors when it comes to the right fit!
Socks, hats, or even a loose fitting tee or hoodie is the best choice if you’re unsure of sizing. If in doubt, keep the receipt, but beware of returns policies if you’ve snagged a great deal in the Black Friday sales before Christmas, as heavily reduced items might not be eligible for refunds.
Of all the people you need to buy a gift for this Christmas, a fitness enthusiast is probably one of the easiest because there are just SO MANY options! If you’ve found a brilliant gift suggestion, be sure to reach out to the team and let us know about it. Watch this space for some more articles coming soon where we dive into out favourite tech gadgets and gifts this Christmas as well!
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