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7 Great Gifts For The New Fitness Junkie

By Jonathan Wong

Everybody likes gifts, fitness junkies included. Here are the top 7 gifts I would consider giving a friend who has just started the fitness journey.

  1. Precision Nutrition by John Berardi

    This fitness gift has got to be the most important resource I bought in the past year. Yeah it sounds a bit "fan-boyish" but its true. I have purchased and used some pretty darn good stuff over the last year or so but the Precision Nutrition (PN) course is the one that I would recommend to a client or athlete as a starting point for physical transformation.

    Peripheral stuff first, the package comes in a 3 ring binder and a ring bound book (the gourmet nutrition text). Also there are 2 audio CDs and 2 Video Discs of Dr.Berardi giving a seminar and teaching us how to shop and cook.

    I know many clients and athletes who are willing to put in 3,4, or even more days of training to achieve their goals - already impressive for a person with job, family, religious, social etc commitments. But experienced coaches know, that unless nutrition is on target, its near impossible to achieve an awesome physique (drugs or extremely good genetics aside).

    However, even these highly motivated people fall short where nutrition is concerned and end up with sub-optimal results (thats why they need this fitness gift). That's because eating right is 6 times a day, it's a constant grind, every day of the week making sure that nutritious food is in order and on time. This is hard, compared to training which is only a "one-off" activity.

    Like Dr. Berardi says in the manual...when it comes to diet, "information is not the problem, there is plenty out there... adherence is the problem". (paraphrased by me). And that's what PN does. Sure there is fundamentally sound diet info in the PN package. But what makes it groundbreaking is the way perfect nutrition is made doable and practical. Not only that, the recipes provided in the package make it tasty (impressively so) and yes... even kitchen-illiterate men can fix up these meals! (You know who you are!)

    Personally I have never had a longer period of leanness (sub 10% fat) or so as when I apply the PN habits. The focus of the whole package is habit formation rather than calorie counting. I find this a much easier way to stay on track. There is a place for calorie counting of course, but for my clients and I, we have found that habit formation is by FAR the better way to be consistent. I have had periods of extreme leanness before but this is the first time I was able to sustain it (8 months now and counting)... EASILY. My clients are finding the same to be true.

    The cool thing is that, even though I was eating clean and getting (and staying) leaner, the recommended foods are very nutritious so I feel that my strength levels and recovery were even better. I was training as hard as ever and yet staying leaner, with better recovery and better strength to body-weight ratios (looking prettier as well I have to admit!). What's not to like! I lifted the same weights at 80kg body weight and sub 10% fat as I previously did at 89kg body weight at about 13-15% fat.

    The key components of the package cover:

    • Habits and habit formation
    • 5 Minute Meals and nutritious Shakes
    • How to shop quick and smart
    • Daily food preparation (Easier than you would think!)
    • Individualization (for that extra edge once you are already lean)

    In the end, PN has mad a big impact in the way I eat, and in the way I teach nutrition to my clients. The habits that are formed really do "stick". This results in long term good health, high performance and great appearance. This is the first product that I have ever given a 10/10 rating to and I feel it fully deserves such a rating because the impact it makes to the success of a client or athlete. It's an awesome fitness gift.

  2. Scrawny to Brawny by Michael Mejia and John Berardi

    Scrawny to Brawny (ok its a catchy name)... is one of the best books for a total beginner and the ultimate fitness gift for the naturally skinny. While no book can replace quality coaching especially in the areas of assessment and exercise technique (heck for these things even a DVD is better than a book) this book does cover the basics for those of us who feel we may be destined to be thin forever.

    As the name implies, this book is for that sometimes neglected part of the population that doesn't gain weight no matter what they do. Often the focus is so much on slimming down and fat-loss that the thin guys get overlooked.

    The book covers (In my own words, not the chapter headings)

    Why some people are just the "thin kind" and how frustrating it can be

    Exercise technique (with a emphasis on compound movements which are EVEN more necessary for thin people)

    How to approach cardio (ok, ok its cool to call it energy systems work nowadays) as a thin person

    Assessment and testing before starting a program

    Some Dynamic mobility work

    Sample workouts in 4 phases from preparation to more advanced (the book never really goes into VERY advanced workouts that advanced athletes would be doing, but its not meant to, its a book about basics)

    Nutrition for the ectomorphic

    The strongest part of this fitness gift is the part by Berardi on nutrition for muscle gain in the case of the ectomorph. The "common mistakes" section is spot on when I compare those to the stuff I see as a coach in real life. For example - one of the mistakes mentioned is "mood eating" mixing emotions with nutrition, its a key point to address and its not in any diet textbooks.

    Berardi also addresses one common problem that I have noticed as well. People don't really know what "Eating enough" means. I like the "here is what a 4600 calorie day looks like"... and its way more than the misconceptions of most people who think they are eating enough.

    Overall a very complete book for a underweight guy who is just starting out. With fundamentals like those taught in the book, there is only laziness and closed -mindedness to blame if muscles don't start growing.

  3. The New Rules of Lifting by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove

    This fitness gift is for the non scrawny beginner to fitness, the New Rules of Lifting is an excellent book. I personally think I could have cut down perhaps 3-4 years of my own learning journey if I have this book when I first started out. It covers myths and misconceptions, exercise technique, program design, and movement patterns. The stuff inside is similar to the things I use with my clients this day (years later) that's how up-to-date the book really is. It will be a valid fitness gift for years to come.

  4. Magnificent Mobility DVD by Eric Cressey and Mike Robertson

    Magnificent mobility (MM) is a very focused product. Its main focus is mobility from the hip down. Many people are deficient there and really need this fitness gift. Sure there are some upper body movements as well but the "meat" really is in the lower body warm-up movements. I would say that MM is second to none in addressing the needs of the athletic community for a good dynamic warm-up video.

    Happily the video is not just a catalogue of different movements, it also explains the rationale and reasoning behind each movement.

    The production quality is good, Mike Robertson and Eric Cressey also do a good job of teaching and performing each exercise that is in the DVD.

    The general flow of the DVD is a progression of difficulty. From an introduction to the DVD and to dynamic warm-ups in genera, to easy, then to moderate, then to difficult exercises.

    I found the introduction very useful because it explains the necessity and the benefits of a dynamic warm-up. Not that the benefits are not known (I'm pretty sure all decent fitness/performance coaches, and even trainees know them) but rather how it is explained comprehensively and concisely.

    Its also very good that the exercises are arranged in level of difficulty. It allows us to pick those that are suited for the fitness level that we are at. Some of the "difficult" movements are pretty challenging and might be discouraging to newer clients or athletes.

    Some of the exercise that I picked for use with my own clients (above their previous warm-up) are the spinal flossing movements and several of the movement drills which I believe really get the hips ready for explosive change of direction work that is needed in most field/court sports. Just choose a few exercises (do vary them over time of course!) that work on each movement and get your clients started on them.

    I can give credit to the drills we do as part of a dynamic warm-up for the low injury rates in the teams that I work with. Each year, these teams log over 45,000 man hours of court work, physical training, and games. Last season, we had only one injury that kept a player out for more than 4 weeks. And that was a freak accident...a shoulder fracture from a collision while chasing a loose ball. While "luck" may be involved, a proper warm-up certainly adds to the "luck factor".

    If you are a personal trainer, coach or just somebody interested in fitness, MM is a product that will enhance your workouts and keep you injury free (FURTHER enhancing your workouts of course!). I have to highly recommend this DVD as a fitness gift.

  5. A good set of basic supplements.

    Too much advertising, too little truth. That sums up the supplement industry as a whole. I can't stand to see people cheated by fake claims. Here are the 3 supplements that all fit people should use. These genuinely work and as long as you get them from a reputable brand, they should be fine. Your fitness gift will really be appreciated.

    A Protein Supplement - Its tough to get enough quality protein in our diets. A blend of slow and quick digesting protein is your best bet.

    A Fish Oil Supplement - The benefits of healthy fat supplementation are well documented. If you go to pub-med (an online medical journal publication site) there are THOUSANDS of articles about the benefits of fish oils.

    A Multi Vitamin Supplement - For optimal health we need about 10-15 servings of fruits and veges a day. When you can't get those in at least the Multi Vitamin can help keep you healthy. Its not a replacement for real food, but it does help when we are just not able to get the nutrition we need.

  6. A Foam Roller

    This is a cheap (20 USD or so) fitness gift and an investment in long term health. Get one of these and use it for a month. I can guarantee that with the correct technique, you will feel alot better. It's main purpose is to improve the quality of your soft tissue. It helps joint pain, posture, chronic pain, mobility and just feels good. Its also allows you to do self massage at home for a much cheaper cost.

    My previous knee pain is due to tight quadriceps muscles. Stretching didn't help but daily foam rolling did. Its all fixed now. Pain free living is a good enough reason for me!

  7. The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Claire Davies

    Knowledge of trigger points has caused many clients to love me. Not kidding. In the past month alone I have helped 4 clients with shoulder pain and numbness resolve it with training AND trigger point therapy. The best thing is that all the techniques in this book can be done by yourself, at home with only basic and cheap equipment. In as little as 10 mins total per day for 2-3 weeks, chronic pain issues that have bothered people for months or years can be resolved. Freedom from pain is really a priceless thing to have and a priceless fitnes gift to give. This book gets you on your way there.

These 7 items would make a great addition to anybody just starting out in fitness. Even if you are an experienced lifter, athlete or coach, I'm sure the items on this list will be of value and help to you.

About the Author:

Jonathan Wong is a certified Personal Trainer and Sports Conditioning Specialist located in Singapore. Clients from all walks of life come to him for fitness solutions. His passion is to ensure that his clients get the results they desire. His website is http://www.coachjon.com.