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It may be time to start thinking about holiday gifts for those special people in your life instead of waiting until the last minute (again). After all, the holiday season is approaching more quickly than someone wanting to ask how many sets you have left on the leg press. And if you happen to be reading this even closer to the holidays, then it’s never too late for a last-minute gift or stocking stuffer either. Tree Watering Ring
Choosing the right holiday gift can be difficult, even for someone you know well. You want to ensure that it’s something the person will use and enjoy. Maybe your sister or significant other wants to start their fitness journey and needs an easy place to begin — we have a sleek, smart home gym Mirror for them with guided classes. Perhaps your best friend is still using that beater bar and rusty plates they found at a yard sale — we’ve got you covered there too. Whether you’re buying for a general fitness enthusiast, an avid lifter, or a cardio junkie, or you’re just buying to treat yourself, we’ve got a ton of great options on this list.
For those looking for the best smart home gym this holiday season, there’s no better option or time than now for a lululemon Studio Mirror Pro — a convenient total workout solution with over 10,000 virtual classes and 50+ class types.
You can immerse yourself in fitness with the world’s top fitness studios right at home and never have to worry about tiring of repetitive classes. Now you can purchase the lululemon Studio Mirror Pro for $700 off and free shipping with code LLSTUDIO700.
Take $700 off, plus an adittional $50 off using code LLSTUDIO700 at checkout for a total savings of 50 percent through November 21. You'll also receive free shipping, saving you even more.
Jump to more details on why we think the lululemon Studio Mirror Pro is the best home gym solution for most shoppers this holiday season.
Read More About the lululemon Studio Mirror
Now streaming — the best in fitness with the lululemon Studio Mirror. lululemon Studio Mirror, also known as The Mirror, is a one-stop destination for you to discover the joy and rewards of a dedicated fitness routine with expert guidance from hand-selected trainers that rank among the best in the world.
Do you like yoga? More into bodyweight workouts? Perhaps you want to try your hand at boxing? Well, even if you want to dabble in all of the above, you can do that with the lululemon Studio Mirror. There are over 10,000 classes with more than 50 different types of workouts facilitated by expert instructors. Through their partnership with the world’s top fitness studios, like Y7 Yoga, Rumble Boxing, Pure Barre, and more, you have unparalleled access to whatever type of workout routine you may be in the mood for.
Take $700 off, plus an adittional $50 off using code LLSTUDIO700 at checkout for a total savings of 50 percent through November 21. You'll also receive free shipping, saving you even more.
Even if you’re on the go, you can use the lululemon Studio app to access all of the workouts remotely, enabling you to move forward no matter where you’re at in the world. Membership is required to use The Mirror and costs around $39 per month, but you receive more than just the full library of world-class workouts.
You receive member pricing with 10 percent off every lululemon purchase, 20 percent off partner studio in-person workouts, and unlimited access to classes at select lululemon stores. You can purchase the lululemon Studio Mirror for $700 off with code LLSTUDIO700 with free shipping and installation, bringing the hardware cost to just $795.
Shopping for someone who likes to pump iron? Then we’ve got a few great options for you to help them round out their free weight selections. These are a few of our favorite top–tier products that are sure to be used daily by anyone who’s a fan of free weights.
Dumbbells are a central piece to any complete free weight setup and for good reason. They can be used for nearly any type of exercise, from circuits to developing strength and power. Living.Fit’s modern take on a classic hex dumbbell has some noteworthy upgrades, like ergonomic and knurled handles. Living.Fit also fitted these dumbbells with a rubber coating around the ends to help protect the bells themselves, as well as your floor.
These hex dumbbells from Living Fit come with an etched, knurled, grip, and durable rubber cap to help you hold them and protect your floors. Available in weights from 5lb up to 100lb, they’ve got what you need to progress along your fitness journey.
Living.Fit Dumbells are well-priced for home gym owners, and you can purchase them in pairs or sets with a standard five-pound to 50-pound set coming in at around $1,099 before tax with free shipping. If your giftee already has a basic set of dumbbells, you can pick up heavier pairs up to 100 pounds. Pairs range in price from around $29.99 to $415, depending on the weight. Despite a somewhat loose weight tolerance of +/- three percent, the design and price of these make them a great gift choice.
Kettlebells are a great option for someone who likes to incorporate different types of explosive and challenging movements into their training, and few companies can hold a candle to the craftsmanship of Onnit Kettlebells. Their unique forging process called gravity casting helps to ensure that these kettlebells are extremely durable and made to last a lifetime. They achieve this by allowing the metal to settle naturally during casting — producing greater consistency throughout the bell.
Onnit makes a quality cast iron kettlebell that is affordable, color-coded, and durable. The powder-coat finish is durable and consistent. It's the perfect starter kettlebell and also one experienced users will get great use out of, time and time again.
Grip shouldn’t be an issue with these bells either thanks to the chip-resistant powder coat — these feel solid in hand, both with and without the use of chalk. They’re color-coded on the handles with weights available from four kilograms up to 32 kilograms in six-kilogram jumps. They’re priced reasonably for gifts starting at about $32.95 before tax and possible shipping charges.
If someone is just starting to get their gym together or has been using a beater bar for a while, then a high-quality barbell that can last for many years — like the X Training Elite Competition 2.0 Barbell — will be a much appreciated present. This bar is made from steel alloy with a black chrome coat that can help prevent rust, which is especially important for garage-based home gyms.
The X Training Elite Competition Barbell has a 215,000 PSI tensile strength, and features medium, dual knurl marks. This bar is made with alloy steel and has a black chrome finish — plus, its oil-impregnated bronze bushings provide a great spin.
The spin and whip are moderate with this bar, so it’s great for both general fitness enthusiasts and more specialized powerlifters or weightlifters. The X Training Elite Competition Barbell can handle basically anything you throw at (or on) it with a tensile strength of 215,000 PSI, which is up there with bars that cost three or four times the amount. Pick up one of these for about $229 before tax with free shipping for someone on the “nice list”.
If you’re looking to pick up weight plates for a holiday gift or upgrade your own set, then look no further than these top-tier bumpers from Again Faster. The Evo Bumper Plates offer the best of both worlds with durability and versatility from a virgin rubber coating designed to equally protect the plates and your floor. These have a high durometer rating (how much they bounce on a scale from zero to 100) of 90, which is very close to a dead bounce.
The Evolution Bumper Plates from Again Faster are high-quality plates made from virgin rubber and stainless steel inserts. These affordable bumpers have a high dead bounce rating making them great for everything from Olympic lifts to rows and deadlifts.
The Evo Bumper Plates come in pairs ranging from 10 to 45 pounds, as well as bundles from 160 pounds up to 1,000 pounds with the number of plates and weight distribution varying with each bundle. A standard 160-pound bundle, which includes a pair each of 10s, 25s, and 45s, will run you about $420 before tax and possible shipping charges. Opting for a single pair of 25s is around $140 and a pair of 45s comes in at about $240. Whether you’re treating yourself or someone else, these are great plates that will last many years with proper care.
Slam balls are highly versatile yet often overlooked pieces of fitness equipment that can make for a great gift. Slam balls can be used as part of circuit training or by themselves to help improve upper and lower body power. These slam balls from Living.Fit can take a ton of punishment from daily use and still bounce back. Living.Fit slam balls are durable, have a great grippy tread, and don’t bounce like crazy, so you won’t have to chase them all over the gym.
Living.Fit slam balls are made to use every day without fail. The dense rubber shell is filled with sand to prevent rolling and bouncing while the textured outer layer gives a solid grip even when sweating during rigorous workouts. They’re available in weights from five pounds to 100 pounds with diameters from nine inches to 13 inches.
The dense outer shell is meant to withstand impacts from powerful throws and high drops without exploding or breaking. Living.Fit offers these in a variety of weights ranging from 10 pounds up to 100 pounds in 10-pound increments. The diameter also ranges from 11 inches to 13 inches, depending on weight. You’ll never have to buy another slam ball either thanks to the lifetime warranty that covers normal-use breakages. Pick one up starting at about $39.99 before tax and possible shipping charges.
So the person you’re buying for is already fully kitted with free weights, or maybe they prefer machines instead. No sweat, we’ve parsed out some of our favorite home gym machines that will put a smile on anybody’s face when they tear off that wrapping paper.
The final boss of home gym machines comes in the form of the Force USA X20. It’s built to cover essentially everything you could need for a home gym with a full rack and half rack, dual 289-pound weight stacks, built-in storage for weight plates and barbells, safety spotter arms, and a ton of attachments. You’ll receive 12 attachments, including a landmine, two pull-up bars, an ankle cuff, triceps pushdown bar, a low-row, and some other attachments, with the base package. Opt for an upgrade kit for jammer arms, lat pulldown, a dip bar, a TV mount, and more. With all these options and versatility, there’s almost no type of workout you’ll be unable to perform with the Force USA X20.
This power rack doubles as a cable machine with two 289-pound stacks for each cable. The basic package features 12 attachments, while the upgraded kit will bring the total to 18. The X20 is rated to hold up to 990 pounds, so even the most elite-level athletes can confidently hit their heavy lifts.
The heavy-duty 11-gauge steel frame can support up to 990 pounds, making this suitable for all but the absolute strongest in the world. This probably sounds great, but there is one large downside — this thing isn’t cheap; though we wouldn’t expect it to be with all you’re receiving here. With the base unit, upgrade kit, and white glove installation (which we highly recommend due to how many parts there are to put together) you’re looking at upwards of $7,000. There are options for financing though, so you don’t have to come up with all that money at once. It’s also quite large, measuring seven-and-a-half feet tall and almost six feet wide, as well as six feet deep. It’s a good idea to ensure you (or your giftee) have the space for this monster before finalizing your order.
Looking for a gift for someone who likes to be guided through their resistance training and other types of workouts? Then Tonal might be the right option for you (and them). Tonal is a compact interactive home gym that can adapt to your skills and strength on the fly. The two maneuverable, electromagnetic pulleys can provide up to 200 pounds of resistance in total for a dynamic and challenging workout. This is a great gift for someone who’s just starting out with lifting, or anyone looking to build strength while decreasing body fat or simply improve their overall fitness.
The Tonal is an interactive home gym that delivers up to 200 lbs of total electromagnetic resistance with the use of two maneuverable pulleys. What's most impressive is that it adapts as you progresses, which means you'll always be pushing closer to your fitness goals.
This machine isn’t cheap though and can run you around $3,000 for the Tonal device itself, about $495 for the smart accessories (like smart handles and smart bar, which can turn on and off the weight, and track your reps), and around $49 for the monthly subscription to their workout library. There are financing options here though through Affirm® with monthly payments as low as $68 depending on credit. If you can afford the price, you just need a seven-foot by seven-foot space, and your gift recipient is set to start making gains.
When you don’t have a lot of room to work with, finding highly versatile pieces of equipment is important. If the person you’re buying for is in need of a functional trainer but tight on real estate, then the REP Fitness FT-3000 Compact Trainer is an easy choice for a gift that can keep on giving. With a footprint of just 78 inches tall by 53 inches wide and 34 inches deep, this functional trainer is much more compact than nearly any other on the market, while still offering commercial quality.
The Rep Fitness FT 300 Compact Functional Trainer is true to its name. It’s incredibly compact and highly functional with 15 cable positions to choose from and twin 180lb weight stacks — pull up bar included.
REP Fitness managed to squeeze in two, 180-pound weight stacks (one on each side) for a combined weight of 360 pounds — though the pulleys are a 2:1 ratio, meaning every two pounds on the stack is one pound in hand. As far as functional trainers go, the FT-3000 is very reasonably priced at around $2,150 before taxes with free shipping. The free shipping is a huge savings here, leaving you with extra money for stocking stuffers. A lifetime warranty on the frame means you won’t have to worry about buying another functional trainer ever again, too.
If you’ve already purchased the main gifts or you’re shopping for someone while on a budget, we’ve included a few less pricey options here that will still make a great holiday gift, and make sure you don’t come across like Scrooge.
Ice Shaker changed the shaker cup game when it came out and has been a fitness enthusiast favorite ever since. The double vacuum seal technology and stainless steel material helps keep your cold drinks cold for 30 hours, and your hot drinks piping hot for 12 hours. Hot cocoa anyone?
The Ice Shaker Bottle is shaking up the game with its double vacuum seal technology. The screw-in agitator breaks up your protein powder, and doesn't allow anything solid to pass through, which also makes it ideal if you want use it to add fruit to your water.
If you’re trying to shake up your protein or pre-workout without letting the whole office know, the screw-in agitator that attaches to the lid helps eliminate any clanking sounds. Choose your giftee’s favorite color from 23 choices, or customize one entirely for an extra cost of about $10, depending on the size you choose. The standard 26-ounce Ice Shaker will run you around $34.99 before tax and shipping — though the price is different for other sizes, like the half-gallon or 20-ounce.
Resistance bands make for a great gift because they’re useful in a ton of ways and cost-effective — everyone wins. Resistance bands are helpful for warming up, prehab, accommodating resistance, or bringing variety to familiar exercises (like with banded push-ups). Living.Fit resistance bands are among the best thanks to their natural rubber latex and color-coding, which corresponds to the amount of resistance offered by each band.
Living Fit makes their resistance bands from natural rubber latex. They’re available in six different tension ranges from five pounds all the way up to 200 pounds and are sold both individually and in sets. Add some variety to your workouts or have more thorough warmups with a set of resistance bands from Living Fit.
What really makes these a great choice is that Living.Fit provides information right on their product page about how much resistance each band gives, from least to most, throughout a range of motion — making tracking volume and intensity much easier and more accurate. Living.Fit offers the bands both in sets of four or six, and individually. The resistance offered by the bands ranges from 10 to 35 pounds at the lightest, and 70 to 200 pounds at the heaviest. Sets of four are priced around $79.99 with individual bands ranging from about $9.99 to $29.99.
Something pretty much every lifter should have is a high-quality lifting belt to help with stabilization during heavy lifts. For a non-specialized and economic option that makes for a solid gift, we like the Gymreapers Quick Lock Weightlifting Belt. This belt goes on and comes off quickly without any fuss and is made from 100 percent nylon with a steel roller that’s built for durability.
The belt is made of 100 percent nylon, and a steel roller that is built to last. The consistent four-inch size all around the belt provides even pressure to increase confidence in your core tightness, and the material isn’t prone to pinching the skin during squats or deadlifts.
Gymreapers made this belt with a consistent four-inch size all around to help provide extra core tightness with minimal skin pinching. There are nine color options and sizes available, from XS to XXL, to accommodate nearly anyone you’d want to gift this to. Despite being high-quality, this belt only costs around $35 before tax with free shipping from Amazon.
Sometimes a gift can be for both you and the person receiving it. That may be so in the case of gym mat flooring. If you’re tired of hearing weights clanging around or perhaps want to protect your weights and floor a bit more, the Living.Fit Gym Mat Flooring is the way to go this holiday season. These mats are made from heavy-duty black rubber tile with white flecks throughout to provide a more elevated look. The interlocking puzzle-piece design allows you to fill your space easily and move the mats around if needed. This also prevents the need for floor tacks or adhesives.
Forget horse stall mats and pick up some gym mat flooring designed for home gyms. The Living.Fit Gym Mats are made from extra heavy-duty rubber to be resistant to damage from dropping weights. Each mat features an interlocking puzzle-piece design and measures 40 inches by 40 inches.
Each mat is 10mm (0.4 inches) thick with self-healing and spike-resistant properties thanks to the ultra-dense rubber — this means it can withstand small tears and dents. For dimensions, the mats come in at 40 inches by 40 inches (one meter by one meter) to allow for easy measuring, so you know exactly how many to buy for your gift. Living.Fit offers these mats for around $99 before tax and shipping with a three-year wear and tear warranty.
So you’ve nailed down the big stuff and even went the extra mile for a few more gifts, but you need a smaller gift for that coworker who always works out, or you want a couple of stocking stuffers to round things out. That’s where these products come in. They’re generally inexpensive, but still extremely useful and will be appreciated by nearly anyone who works out regularly.
Lifting straps are a solid gift idea for anyone who likes to lift heavy. Even if they already have a pair of straps, it’s always a good idea to have a backup in case they break — or in the case of a really hard session, the straps don’t dry out in time for the next lift. No one wants to use sweaty lifting straps. There are tons of options on the market — from nylon to leather to canvas, straight straps, hooks, and figure eight straps. Our favorite lifting straps right now are the Gymreapers Lifting Straps, which you can pick up for around $16.99 before tax and shipping.
Gymreapers Lifting Straps provide the security and comfort that many lifters desire at an affordable price. These 18 inch straps are available in nine different colors. You can rely on these straps for shrugs, deadlifts, cleans, or heavy dumbbell rows.
Take a look at all of our favorite lifting straps.
Jump ropes are a highly underrated method of training cardio. Not only can you train endurance, but high intensity too if you perform double-unders or kick up the speed. They’re easily portable, inexpensive, and only require a small space to work in. GoxRunk is our go-to right now and comes with two ropes — so you can keep one at home and one for on the go. Both are buttery smooth with anti-dust ball bearings. Swipe a pack for under $20 before tax with free Prime shipping.
This pair features two tangle-free jump ropes with memory foam-covered handles for comfort and smooth anti-dust ball-bearing for a silky feel in all 360 degrees of rotation.
Check out these jump ropes.
Having a strong grip is crucial to success in many areas of fitness, but grip strength is often overlooked and frequently not trained directly at all. If you want to help the receiver of your gift be strong all around, our top choice is the Captains of Crush (CoC) Grip Strengthener. They may be old-school, but they’re time-tested with decades of lifters swearing by them. The CoC is easily portable and you can train grip nearly anywhere — at your desk, watching TV, watching the kids play, or elsewhere. They come in a variety of difficulties, but it’s usually best to start with the Guide or Sport level and work up from there. CoC grippers run around $26 before tax and shipping
IronMind Captains of Crush Hand Gripper has two handles connected by a resistance coil. There are eleven different weight options that range from 60lb to 365lb and each is made of billet aluminium and alloy steel.
Check out these grip strengtheners.
Though these might not fit in a stocking, they can be a thoughtful and useful gift nonetheless. Having to pick your weights up off the floor every time you want to use them is a real pain, and a weight holder can help alleviate that problem, as well as organize your weights to keep your gym neat and tidy. There are tons of different options to choose from like vertical storage, wall-mounted, and weight trees. We like the Rogue Vertical Plate Tree 2.0 for its sturdy build and slim design. It’s priced reasonably too at about $230 before tax and shipping.
The Rogue Vertical Plate Tree 2.0 is a perfect all-around storage option for weight plates. It's reliably built by a company that prides itself on durable products, accommodates nearly any weight plate, and comes with wheels to make it mobile and easy to access.
Check out these great weight racks.
Gift giving can be fun and exciting, especially when you know you’ve given something that the person will use and remember you giving them for a long time — like the items on this list. There are some considerations to make before a final decision, though. It may seem obvious but think about the person you’re buying for. Are they into lifting? Cardio? Are you treating yourself? The next factor is the value, which ties directly to the functionality of a gift. Finally, the compatibility of the gift with the person you’re gifting it to is important to consider. Read on for a breakdown of scenarios for each of these points.
It’s nice to get yourself a gift every once in a while, and we think you deserve it. Buying for yourself versus someone else means thinking differently though. You likely know every piece of fitness equipment you have, whereas you may not be entirely familiar with your giftee’s setup. It’s generally better to err on the side of generality than specificity unless you know for sure that they don’t have the piece of equipment you’re looking to give them.
If you’ve been to their workout space a couple of times but can’t remember if they have a high-quality bar or a heavy kettlebell, then maybe another gift that you know they don’t have is a better option. On the other hand, if you’re there all the time and notice their budget bumper plates are becoming pretty beat up, or they keep mentioning how they want to save up for a new functional trainer then those are solid options. Having an inside person (like a friend or partner) do some light reconnaissance work is always helpful in this area.
When we give a gift, we want the person to receive as much value from it as they can, which means that we want to ensure we’re opting for high-quality items. Thankfully, you can rest assured that everything on this list is top-tier in the value and quality department. Another aspect of value has to do with the person you’re giving the gift to. You may be big into calisthenics, but gifting a sweet TRX system to a competitive powerlifter may not hold as much value as it would going to your friend who practices bodyweight exercise daily. This point also ties directly into compatibility.
Ensuring that the gift you purchase for someone is compatible with their training style and goals is paramount. If the person you’re buying for is a bodybuilder, for example, they may not have much use for a circus dumbbell except for some novelty in their training, but it’s doubtful they’d use that piece of equipment much in the long term. Make sure you tease out their preferred training style if you don’t already know it by asking about any upcoming competitions or what their favorite lifts are — these are solid questions to ask to point you in the right direction.
Functionality is a word that’s tossed around frequently in the fitness world, but in this case, we mean how functional the gift is in general. If the gift is only useful for one specific condition, then it should be reasonably priced or perform that function exceptionally well. Otherwise, that may not be a very functional piece of equipment to gift someone, unless they specifically said they’ve been wanting it.
On the flip side, there are some pieces of equipment that can perform a ton of functions, like a barbell or dumbbell. The utility of those is high, but a lot of people already have them in their gym. Once again, this is where asking probing questions and some recon work may come in handy.
On the whole, most people want to select the “perfect” gift and you can spend days or weeks driving yourself mad searching all over for what might be best for the person you’re buying for. It all comes down to figuring out what that person needs, wants, and doesn’t yet have that is within your gift budget. Whether you’re shopping for a new smart home gym, upgrading your pal’s free weights, gifting a sparkly new weight machine, or grabbing last-minute stocking stuffers — you can’t go wrong with any of the products on this list.
If the person you’re planning to give the gift to is a caring and kind person, they’ll be glad that you care enough about them to purchase a thoughtful gift regardless of the functionality or compatibility with their training modality. People often go through different interests over time too, so that gift they thought was sweet but might not be useful may end up being something they use every day a few months or a year from now. In the spirit of the holiday season, as long as the gift is sincere and given out of care, most anyone will be happy to receive any gift they are given.
Many would think this would make things easier, but oftentimes it’s harder when you don’t have a specific sub-category of interest. There are some items that transcend the fitness community such as barbells, shaker cups, foam rollers, and grip strengtheners. While some subsets of the fitness community may use these items more often than others, they are prevalent in nearly all. Think about items you see everyone using. Gym bags are another great example because pretty much everyone (and even home gym owners) uses gym bags when they travel or go to a competition.
This is perhaps the easiest one that seems the most difficult on the surface. Many strongman competitors would be happy to receive a heavy rock with a bow slapped on it that they can pick up and carry around — though that may not be the most practical gift to find. If you’re trying to find a gift for your strongman or strongwoman competitor then we have a handy guide to strongman equipment available here.
If they really have every piece of equipment that’s within your gift budget on this list, then send us their name and address, so we can come work out with them. Jokes aside, it may be time to look at the other side of things, and think about gifting them some supplements that they can use. Some commonly used supplements include protein powders, creatine, BCAAs, and pre-workout.
BarBend is an independent website. The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization. BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting.
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