Hey y’all, Coach Matt here! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and got to spend some time with family! Now that we’ve got our fill on turkey and other regrettable foods we are happy that only seems to come around once a year, it’s time to start thinking about Christmas. With today being Black Friday and Cyber Monday only a few days away, it’s the perfect time to start getting gifts for your loved ones. Some of you Black Friday Warriors may have already gotten your hands on some great deals, but if you’re like me and enjoy sleeping a little too much, then you’re just now trying to figure out what gifts to get your special CrossFitter. While pondering the plethora of options, I decided to make a list to help y’all out! So without further adieu, here are the top 10 gifts to get a CrossFitter you know (it could be yourself)!
12. Water Bottle $15-40
Staying hydrated throughout the day, and especially during your workout, is extremely important. Find a water bottle that’s spill proof, keeps drinks cold (if you like it that way) and looks cool. We have Outlier hydro-flask style bottles on pre-order now and you can customize your name on them. They come in 2 sizes, 3 colors (black purple or blue) and include 3 types of lids (regular screw on cap, drink spout with straw and coffee style top). They’ll keep drinks cold or hot, your choice!
11. Gym Bag $40-120
We all know that sweet gym gear automatically improves your open ranking by 10 spots. There is a scientific equation showing the direct relationship between CrossFit swag and pounds kilos lifted. Now that you have all the gear you need you still need something to transport all your stuff, because let’s face it, if you couldn’t bring that headband because you weren’t able to hold everything, you probably won’t hit a PR today.
There are a lot of nice gym bags out there, from a lot of top brands, with a lot of different styles. A little research online should help you find they style and size that suits whoever you’re getting this awesome gift for!
10. Jump Rope $25-70
As most of you know, the relationship between a CrossFitter and their rope is an intimate relationship. Most of the time it is a love/hate relationship. Most gyms will have plenty of jump ropes for to use whenever you need, but if you or someone you know is ready to commit to a full-time relationship with one rope, this is a great gift! Like the gym bag, there are a lot of different brands to choose from. We are setting up our wholesale account with RPM ropes and will be able to offer those at a discounted price in the next 2 weeks! Two popular choices, that I personally love to use are:
RPM Speed Rope
9. Wrist Wraps $10-40
All those thrusters taking a toll on you or your CrossFitter’s wrists? If you’re hearing complaints of early onset carpal tunnel syndrome or want to take extra precaution when protecting your wrists, wrist wraps are the gift for you! There are a lot of cool designs on the market so find one that fits you or your CrossFitter’s style!
8. Weight Belt $20-140
So you or someone you know is moving some serious weight? You feel pretty good but want that extra stability when you have all that weight on your back? Then it’s time to belt up! There are different types of belts for different purposes. I like using a thinner, velcro belt for sub-maximal dynamic lifts where I would need to get in and out of my belt quickly. The thicker leather belts are amazing for those one rep max attempts for squats or deadlift. No matter what type of belt you choose, they are especially helpful for body weight squats, pull ups and double unders. Toto Wraps (Aaron from the gym) is branching out and making weight belts so talk to him about what options he has too!
Rogue 5″ Nylon Weightlifting Belt
7. Knee Sleeves $20-50 (per sleeve)
Your knees take a beating in CrossFit. We run, jump, squat…just so many movements where knee stability is imperative to keeping them healthy and keeping your progress moving along. I highly recommend Rehband brand knee sleeves to keep your knees safe. Depending on what you are doing that day, they make 7mm, 5mm and even 3mm knee sleeves to give just enough support for big lifts to long chipper WODs. I recommend using knee sleeves everyday without washing for at least 3 months to make your knees smell amazing! We are setting up a wholesale program with Rehband Knee Sleeves this week too and will have them available before Christmas through preorders! More details on that to come.
Rehband 7084 Blue Knee Support – 7mm
6. Freeze Sleeves Revolutionary cold compression sleeves for sore muscles. These sleeves are stored in the freezer and provide awesome cold therapy with gentle compression when you use them. There’s no melting ice or mess to worry about and you put it back in the freezer when you’re done. It gradually warms up the longer you wear it so you don’t need to set a timer or worry about falling asleep with it on. There are small and large sleeves for arm/leg use.
Check out Freeze Sleeves HERE – Use code OUTLIERCF10 for 10% off your order!
5. Hand-Care Kit
There’s no better way to take an unscheduled day off from the gym than a nasty tear. These come in many forms given to us generously from our favorite equipment. My personal favorite is the tear between the palm and start of your finger. Luckily, there’s an easy way to take care of, and even prevent, any and all tears. There are a few items that I use religiously to keep my hands feeling good.
Hand Repair Cream $10-20
There are a lot of brands out there but I recently started using Rip Stopper Balm for Gymnastics. It goes on a little greasy but apply before going to sleep and wake up to rejuvenated hands.
Pumice Stone $5-10
You can find these pretty much anywhere. I buy a lot of stuff on Amazon because I’m a little lazy but they have some great deals on there for pumice stones.
Natural Earth Lava Pumice Stone
Cuticle Cutter $10-20
This is awesome for cleaning up the extra skin from tears or opened blisters without peeling more skin away. Not as high of a priority as the others, but it is a lot handier than scissors.
Callus Shaver $5-10
The creator of this ingenious contraption is a saint! If you ever feel like your callus are getting too thick and big, this will bring it back down with ease. It’s great because it saves your callus, just prevents the build up and eventual pain you get from the raised skin.
4. Gymnastic Wraps $15-40
A must have for anyone doing CrossFit! As your gymnastics progresses, you’ll be on the bars moving faster and for a longer amount of time. These will SAVE your hands BIG TIME. Lucky for us, Aaron (Ay-Ay-Ron) Basave just started his own line of gymnastics wraps. The quality on these Toto Wraps are awesome! The leather is tough but soft, and the straps are very secure. Can’t find a better pair for the price. If you’re interested, reach out to Aaron Basave for a pair!
3. Olympic Weightlifting Shoes $100-200
Before those of you who were blessed with amazing natural mobility get started, I want to say that no matter who you are, these shoes will help with all of your olympic lifts. There’s a reason why even the olympic athletes still wear their lifters! These shoes have a solid base with a raised heel that puts your ankle and the rest of your body in a better position for any squat-based lift. There are different brands out there with slight differences so I recommend trying on different pairs before deciding on a pair. I am quite partial to the AdiPower Weightlifting Shoe, but they do have a slightly higher heel, making it a little more difficult to couple movements like double unders when wearing these.
2. Mobility Tools
We’re getting to the good stuff! This is a pretty broad category but I’ll list a few items that I believe are essential to have. A lot of CrossFit boxes have mobility tools to use but I am a firm believer in mobility throughout the day, not just at the gym. This also helps in the off chance you can’t make it to the gym at least 15 minutes before your class to mobilize.
SuperNova ~$30
One of my favorite mobility tools. My hips and legs owe a debt of gratitude to this guy. It’s also great the big muscle groups of your upper body like chest or back of the shoulder.
Lacrosse Balls $3-20
Every surgeon needs a scalpel. Significantly smaller than the SuperNova, and similar in density, it allows you to get into those tough to reach small muscle groups that cause the most aggravating pain for some reason. I usually recommending getting at least a six-pack of balls just so you can leave some at home, office or wherever you think you can use it. You also have the option of taping a couple together and making the awesome peanut! Amazon or any sporting goods website is a good place to look for packs. You didn’t hear this from me, but the SDSU Lacrosse practice field is also a good spot to “acquire” some balls.
Voodoo Floss $20-50
Voodoo Floss is the ultimate tack & compression tool. Not only does it compress your muscles to remove all the trapped waste product, it also promotes blood flow, flooding your muscles with fresh juice! These come in two main colors: black and red. The red is a little thicker and I use it for the larger muscle groups like legs. The black is great to focus on the smaller groups like forearms. You can also get an uncut, long strip so you can cut it to your liking which helps if you have larger limbs.
Large Loop Resistance Bands $15-70
Here’s a great tool to help you get deeper into your stretches. From lats to hips, these bands can help with all.
1. Training Shoes $100-150
The heated debate rages on! Whether you rock the Reebok Nanos or roll with the Nike Metcons, a good training shoe makes all the difference. This would be the number one gift for yourself or a CrossFitter you know, if they don’t already have a pair. Training shoes are designed to withstand all the punishment you put them through during a week of WODs. Whether you’re climbing the rope, hitting touch-n-go squat snatches or buying out with a 400m run, these shoes are designed to keep you moving. As far as which one is better, just like the lifters I would recommend trying on both pairs and see which feels better to you. I have a pair of Reebok Nano 6’s and Nike Metcon 3’s. I love both shoes for different types of WODs.
Reebok Nano 7
So there’s your Top 12 Gift Ideas for a CrossFitter. Hope this helps with your holiday shopping!
Some notable gift ideas that didn’t quite make the list:
Workout Journal
Tape
Apparel (T-Shirts/Shorts/Headbands/SPANDEX/leggings)
Equipment
Chalk
Headbands
CrossFit Jewelry (kettlebell/dummbell necklaces etc)
Protein/preworkout/supplements