The 2009 Fit Gift Giving Guide – 5 Cool Fitness Things That You Need For The Body You Want

So far I have only bought one entirely inappropriate gift for the holidays, so I figured that I would continue procrastinating on shopping by writing this blog post about what other people should get for other people.

These are the 5 coolest gifts ideas that I have seen and bought this year:

#1.  Fitness Ropes – Men’s Health called these “The Best New Cardio of 2009”.  I call them the most fun piece of cardio equipment of 2009.  Anthony Duliglio calls them “Ropes Gone Wild” (hilarious).

These give you an absolutely fantastic,  NO IMPACT interval workout that gets your entire body involved, and is WAY more interesting than slogging away on the treadmill for 20min.  The nice thing is that anyone can pick up how to do these on day one – no matter how weak, poorly coordinated or poorly conditioned they happen to be.

Oh, and they’re way cheaper than other pieces of cardio equipment – a good treadmill will set you back at least $2,000.  But you can only do one thing on it – and it’s not too good for your knees to run on a treadmill.

Perform better has them on sale right now.  Shipping is free too.

(Charlie, you will notice that the video has music this time!)

#2.  A Kettle Bell – A weight with a handle on it, what will they think of next?  All you need is this + your body to get a killer interval workout in the warmth and comfort and convenience of your living room.

One of my personal favorites is the kettlebell swing and goblet squat ladder:

Do 10 swings, then 10 Goblet squats

Rest 30 sec

Do 9 swings, then 9 Goblet squats

Rest 30 sec

Do 8 swings, then 8 Goblet squats

Rest 30 sec

Do 7 swings, then 7 Goblet squats

Rest 30 sec

Do 6 swings, then 6 Goblet squats

Rest 30 sec

Do 5 swings, then 5 Goblet squats

NO Rest

Do 4 swings, then 4 Goblet squats

NO Rest

Do 3 swings, then 3 Goblet squats

NO Rest

Do 2 swings, then 2 Goblet squats

NO Rest

Do 1 swings, then 1 Goblet squats

Rest 2min and repeat

This is a lot like the workout in this video right here. (Same workout structure, but one of the movements is different.)

Kettlebells are on sale right now at Perform Better. Free shipping which is a big deal for something that is supposed to be heavy.

#3.  The Magic Stick – this one of the greatest tools for managing joint and muscle pain.  If you’ve got a tight neck or shoulders, this will help a lot.  If you’ve got knee pain, this will be incredibly helpful.

Most of my clients start out with some kind of joint pain.  For those with knee pain it’s usually bad enough that on day one they can’t actually work out hard enough to get any results.  BUT, with a whole lot of stick work they can usually complete the workout PAIN-FREE by the end of their first workout even if it has literally been years since they’ve been able to go up and down the stairs without pain.  These are magic sticks.

#4.  The Client Success Manual – if you know someone who lives outside of the DC area who has tried and failed to lose weight before, this might the gift that turns their life around and fast.  There’s no reason why you can’t drop 30-40 pounds of body fat (WAY different than scale weight) in just 16 weeks.

#5.  BPA-Free Water Bottle – All of us should be drinking more water, BUT you don’t want to be drinking that water out of a bottle that can make you fat, give you cancer, or damage your unborn child.

Apparently Bisphenol A (BPA) is found in most plastic bottles and is really nasty stuff – it does all of the above, plus it seems to disrupt thyroid function.

For the holidays this year I got all of my clients BPA-free bottles and bags.

The bottles are $7.00 and the bags are $35.00, if you’d like to order one send an email to my assistant Natillie (thebodyyouwant@yahoo.com).

For more fitness gift ideas, check out my 2008 gift guide right here.

Happy Holidays no matter what you celebrate!

Josef Brandenburg is 2010, Washington, DC based Personal Trainer of the Year Nominee for both Personal Fitness Professional Magazine and The Washington, DC Fitness Association, and author of “The Body You Want”.  He shows normal people with hectic lives and average genetics how to create the bodies they want in the time they actually have. To find out more about the 7-Day Free Trial click here. You can also pick up a copy of his brand new CD – “Why Eat Less and Exercise More is The Worst Advice Ever” here.