Last Updated on October 11, 2021 by Andrew Blakey
Note: For full transparency, each one of these fitness gifts are available through the Amazon affiliate program. This in no way influenced my decision to put each one of these fitness gifts on my life. Each product is listed based on my own professional opinion as a certified personal trainer.
The holidays are upon us, and many of us are running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to figure out the best gifts for all of our loved ones.
For those who are looking to make fitness a part of their life, I have rated and reviewed my top 5 fitness gifts for 2020. These fitness gifts are in my opinion the most affordable and most user-friendly products that I personally use in my day-to-day life. These products are not in order, these are simply my 5 favorite products in the fitness industry today for under $50. If you or your loved one is thinking about becoming more involved in fitness, consider sending them or giving this article about the top 5 mistakes beginners make when getting involved with exercise.
The three criteria I have used for the reviews of these fitness gifts are:
Ease of Use
Cost
Effectiveness
Let’s Get Into It!
The Renpho Bodyweight and Body Fat Scale
Although I have always been a bit leary when it comes to scales that claim to be able to measure body fat percentage. I believe that this scale is one of the most accurate on the market today. It’s important to note that this scale uses bioelectrical impedance in order to measure the health markers which means there will always be a bit of inaccuracy due to the method it uses. For us common folk, this will be the best we get unless we want to drop thousands of dollars on more expensive equipment. The markers it measures include:
Weight
BMI
Body Fat Percentage
Bone Mass
Muscle Mass
And 8 other metrics that can all be measured and tracked through the Bluetooth app on your phone
Pros:
Affordable (right now the scale is on sale for $32.29 compared to its normal $49.99)
Easy to use and very user friendly making it one of those fitness gifts that is appropriate for anyone in your family
Fairly Accurate
Cons:
Limited by its use of bioelectrical impedance
With bioelectrical impedance, there will always be factors that influence the numbers that show up. On days where we’re dehydrated vs not, this will slightly influence the results due to the fact that water is a great conductor and this scale uses electrical currents to measure our metrics.
Overall:
Ease of Use – 4/5
Cost – 4/5
Effectiveness – 3.5/5
The Fitlife Exercise Resistance Bands Set
This is the same set that I use with many of my clients. I own 2 sets of these in case I ever have an issue with the one I use so often. In my 2 years of owning these, I’ve never had any issues or any of them snap. They are stackable up to 110 lbs of resistance and come in an easy portable travel bag (fairly cheap feeling bag but what can you expect for around $30?). In my opinion this is one of the most versatile fitness gifts you can purchase for someone looking to take control of their fitness goals.
Pros:
Extremely Versatile – I have a huge fan of resistance bands due to the fact that they are so portable and you really can train the entire body with a set of bands. The ability to stack different bands together is huge, you can always add another band to an exercise once your body adapts to the current resistance which is why I love bands so much.
Cost-Effective – With the current situation of free weights costing so darn much, this is an awesome alternative so that you can still continue to get your workouts in.
Cons:
Can Be Confusing For Those New To Fitness – for those getting involved in fitness for the first time, you may just see a set of bands and not know what to do with them. I encourage you to search up resistance band workouts on youtube and follow along. This approach is great for any of the fitness gifts on this list. Alternatively you can email or send me a message and I would be more than happy to set you up with a custom program!
Overall:
Ease of Use – 4/5
Cost – 4.5/5
Effectiveness – 5/5
REEHUT Foam Roller – 2 in 1 Trigger Point Exercise Roller
This roller system is very unique in that it comes with both a soft and hard roller. This is super important in that when some days you may be extra sore and it may be too much to use the hard dense roller. Having the soft roller as well can definitely be useful if you’re rolling a particularly sore area, or a spot like the upper back when using the hard roller may be too much.
Pros:
2 in 1 system – having two separate rollers adds a new dynamic to the mix
Affordable – online on amazon it is currently $31.99 and is eligible for prime 1-day shipping.
Durable – the hard roller is pretty standard but it also has different sides to it that offer different capabilities for rolling. Be warned, once they find a sore spot and experience the discomfort, you may wish that you had gotten them one of the other fitness gifts on this list! Jokes aside, foam rolling is great for helping to overcome soreness and help your body move better.
Cons:
None that I can think of off the top of my head.
Overall:
Ease of Use – 3/5
Cost – 3/5
Effectiveness – 4/5
Deluxe High Speed Jump Rope – Skipping Rope for Fitness
Skipping has started to become very popular during COVID. It’s a great way to get the heart rate going and there are lots of ways to make it fun and entertaining while you’re working on your cardiovascular fitness. I skip almost every day and it’s just a great way to challenge yourself. Giving a skipping rope as one of your fitness gifts can be one of the awesome ways to start doing something you enjoy. While there are other cheaper alternatives, I like this rope because it’s adjustable and the excess rope portion stays out of the way because it feeds through the handle rather than through an attachment on the end.
Pros:
Made of durable material and comes with an extra rope in case the initial one gets to beat up or breaks somehow
Handles feel good in your hand
Easy adjustment to make the rope longer or shorter
Cons:
A bit expensive for a skipping rope
Very skinny which for some people, they may need to adjust and relearn how to skip properly with this rope
Overall:
Ease of Use – 5/5
Cost – 2.5/5
Effectiveness – 4.5/5
SPRI Exercise Dice
This last one is one of those fun little type of fitness gifts that will keep your workouts interesting. It is essentially a couple of dice, one has exercises listed on it, and the other has a number of reps or a time on it. This is a great way of making up a short impromptu workout, especially when you do this with a friend or spouse!
