Holiday Fitness Gift Guide

Remember: You can’t give the gift of fitness to someone who doesn’t want it. Giving a fitness gift to someone you think should work out is likely to backfire. But with these gifts you can support your friends and family members who have already made their own decision to pursue fitness — even if they’re just starting out.

A glass water bottle. Staying hydrated is great, but plastic isn’t. There’s significant evidence that plastic — even BPA (Bisphenol A) free — has harmful effects on your health and weight. Glass and stainless steel are the way to go. BKR makes glass water bottles that are really cute and really durable. You can find them at Georgetown University Bookstore and Georgetown Running Company.

My Zone. Wearable technology, especially for tracking movement, is hot, but most of the devices out there don’t give you feedback beyond how many steps you took while walking or running. They offer hardly any accurate data on intensity or calories burned outside of those two activities. My Zone makes movement measurable. It uses a very accurate heart rate monitor to let you know how hard you’re working relative to your own fitness levels.

A good sports bra. I used to wonder why some female clients would hug themselves during any bouncing exercises. It turns out that a well-designed, well-made sports bra is hard to find, and very important for a good workout. I’ve received a lot of positive feedback about the many different brands and helpful staff at Athleta. A gift certificate to the Georgetown store would probably be best.
Better nutrition. I see two options for gifts. One is a membership to a local CSA (community-supported agriculture network), which generally runs $25 to $100 per week. Getting fresh, organic fruits and veggies delivered to your recipient’s door helps him or her eat better. The other is a gift certificate to work with a local nutritionist, such as Julie DiBella at justbewellhealth.com.

Body work. Massage isn’t just for when something hurts or you’re feeling overwhelmed. You’ll get much more out of it if it’s part of your regular lifestyle. There are two ways to take advantage of the mental and physical benefits: self-massage and seeing a professional. For self-massage, pick up a foam roller from Georgetown Running Company and you can loosen up most parts of your body on your own schedule. But self-massage has its limits. Luckily Georgetown has some of the area’s best massage offerings at Aveda and M3 Massage, both of which have holiday gift-certificate specials.

A best-selling author and fitness expert, Josef Brandenburg owns True 180 Fitness in Georgetown. Information about his 14-Day Personal Training Experience may be found at true180.fitness.