Here is a short list for anyone looking to buy a gift or gifts for your favorite sprinter in your life. Hey, that person might just be you!
1. Blender
a) General Blender: Magic Bullet that is small, compact and does the job making simple 2 or 3 ingredient smoothies such as fruit and yogurt. I tried it and did not like it as it took up space in my kitchen and did not allow me to expand what I wanted to add to my shake. But the MB is cost effective for simple shakes.
b) Premium Blender: both Vitamix or Blentec will grind seeds, dark greens like broccoli or kale , flax and pumpkin seeds as well and whole frozen fruits like strawberries. ( My gift to myself this past holiday season was a Vitamix and it is hands down the best of all blenders I've used, bought and tried. I had Blendex thinking it was saving me 200 dollars. It was saving me money but as my knowledge has grown in nutrituion so too have my tastes. Vitamix a professional blender designed to crush almsot anything. It's durable, guaranteed quality and it's larger volume than anything I've had in the past. I can't say enough good about Vitamix.
Coach Ange's favorite Protein Shake of the moment
1. *home made almond milk one cup
2. one cup ice filtered water
3. 1/2 frozen banana
4. 1/2 cup fresh cut pineapple ( I cut my own now as it's fresher and better value)
5. 1 cup spinach loosely packed
6. 1/2 cup kale ( sometimes I add one or the other and not always both)
7. 2 to 4 TAB of whole flax seeds
8. 1 TAB of MCT Brain Octane BULLETPROOF (TM)
9. 1 scoop of my favorite protein right now
2. Athletics Tights for training
a) Tights for all occasions = can be purchased inexpensively at retailers, which include Costco, Wal-Mart, Sears, TJ Max. Reasonably priced tights are perfect for layering in colder weather when one pair won’t do and baggy sweats or rain gear interferes with training.
b) Premium Athletic tights = Sometimes you get what you pay for. I don't like buying tights that fall apart quickly but I also don't like spending a lot of money on tights and having small or large issues with them. I like to understand the return policies of items prior to the purchase. How long do I have to return them? How careful do I have to be washing them? Spending more money on tights does not guarantee quality. Many brands now have multiple levels of quality. Middle range might be a good idea for a gift. You can almost spend any amount of money on tights. Under Armour, Addidas, Puma, Nike are all really good at providing multiple levels of brands of tights. I'm somewhat done buying expensive tights. IMO, If it's a gift you want to ensure they can be returned and have some kind of quality guarantee should anything go wrong.
3. Water bottle
I like Nalgene water bottles because they are safe to drink from, they do not leak, they are easy to clean, durable and you can freeze them and they last. I personally do not like drinking from metal. I love the wide mouth but they also have bottle size opening to drink from. There are so many water bottles now but the reusable ones make so much sense for the active athlete who trains often. Water bottles for sale as of 2019 can be priced as high as $50 dollars. It's a personal thing because you are usually drinking from the bottle opposed to just storing water in it.
4. Protein
Protein for smoothies and protein shakes = Sun-warrior protein is a premium vegan based brown rice powder. It comes plain, flavored vanilla and chocolate. You can also try premium Whey Proteins from New Zealand. The biggest factor in my experience for protein is taste and ease of blending. The more I read and learn the more I believe most of our food needs to come from real food due to existing enzymes and minerals naturally occurring in foods . Having said that, I find it difficult to live a modern day life filled with demands of work, raising a family, being extremely active and feel great while living my life without supplementation. Buying a top end protein powder as a gift for someone you care about might be a real treat. The range of proteins for sale is large and can be confusing.
5. Subscription to a Top Nutritional Journal
Understanding more about nutrition is one of the easiest ways to enhance a sprinters ability to get the most out of his or her training. As of 2019, there are multitudes of free subscriptions to Functional Nutrition advocates, many whom are medically certified. Top notch nutrition is the most powerful performance tool any athlete and sprinter will legally be able to tap into. Here are the links to a few of my favorite, knowledgeable and very interesting individuals I follow online. PeterAttiaMD, Dave Asprey, ChristianaNorthrupMD, ChrisKresser.
6. Books for Sprinters
Speed Trap and The Charlie Francis Training System are two easy to read and follow book that are available here on the site or at Amazon.com. Both will give the sprinter in your life an overview of the world of athletics and sprinting at the development and elite levels.
7. Medicine Ball
Dynamax medicine balls are made of leather and made in the USA. For the most premium brand go to www.togu.de . For some reason it’s difficult to find good medicine balls out of these two companies.
8. Massages
the best place to find quality therapy is through athletic injury clinics or from other coaches or athletes who may make personal recommendations. You can’t go wrong with gift certificates.
9.Rain Gear
It does not have to be Gortex but light weight rain gear can stop the wind and keep you warm and prevent the rain from getting you wet. Muscles perform best when they are dry and warm.
10.Personal timing device
I have been wearing the Timex Indiglo watch for a long time and I love it. I time everything and log the results and use my watch in the water as well as its waterproof.
I hope this list of the 10 Best Gifts for Sprinters gives you some great ideas to buy your special someone a fabulous gift.
"Sprint your own race"
Coach Angé Coon