Sign up for The Wild
We’ll help you find the best places to hike, bike and run, as well as the perfect silent spots for meditation and yoga.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
The Times may earn a commission if you buy any of these gifts through links on our site. The items were independently selected.
For the record:
5:22 p.m. Nov. 18, 2019An earlier version of this story incorrectly referenced the waterproof hiking boots by Forsake: They are the Halden boots, not the Wilson boots.
An old trick used to speed-up recovery from injuries and build muscle extra fast without lifting heavy weights is Blood Flow Restriction, or exercising with a tight cuff placed around a working arm or leg muscle. Smart Cuffs and similar devices work by restricting outgoing blood flow while allowing more blood in, causing an increase of metabolic stress and cellular swelling that is thought to increase growth hormone, muscle hypertrophy, and muscle strength.
$350 for two cuffs, travel case and hand gauge. Purchase here→
Strengthening the three muscles of the butt — gluteus maximus, medius and minimus — makes sports and all daily movements better, but few do it. The DB Method consists of a a glute-specific device and video tutorials that bring the pain, and gain, to one of your biggest assets. No tools required for assembly; folds for storage.
$229. Purchase here→
A new spa treatment at the Four Seasons Westlake Village is designed to help people develop a more effective at-home sleep ritual. After an aromatherapy bath soak, massage therapists target seven areas to improve sleep and give guests a kit filled with products, sleep music and step-by-step rituals to take home. $330 for 80 minutes, $375 for 100 minutes.
From $330. Purchase here→
The GT Men’s Aggressor Pro Mountain Bike is equally at home climbing on fire roads or hurtling down rocky single tracks. With an aluminum frame, Shimano drive train, eight-speed shifter and a SR Suntour XCT fork, it will shift and maneuver well, and stop on a dime.
$669.99. Purchase here→
Banish headaches, sleep better, and release stress with the Night and Day aromatherapy blend set from Saje Natural Wellness. The four relaxing scents can be used on the body before bed or whenever you need to bust stress or boost energy, or they can be added to a hot bath to maximize relaxation.
$47.95. Purchase here→
Put a spring in his stride with these Adidas Men’s Ultraboost 19 running shoes. A lightweight knit upper with midsole torsion spring and plenty of “Boost†cushioning for greater energy return will ensure those morning training runs feel that much better.
$179.99. Purchase here→
Koral’s Limitless leggings are a favorite of celebrities — including Jennifer Lopez — and with good reason. This high-rise holiday green number with flattering black mesh inserts and a matching sports bra would make a great gift for any fitness fashionista.
$115. Purchase here→
What to give your friend or co-worker who’s a barre or yoga fanatic? How about a pair of these unique recycled cotton grip socks? The design, which separates the big toe from the other four, is designed to be more comfortable than a closed toe sock, allowing for more sensation and feedback from the floor during exercise. Allegro model.
$16. Purchase here→
Spy Optic’s Helm 2 sunglasses are lightweight and with their rubber tips provide the grip you need while hiking or running. With high-definition lenses that incorporate a “Happy Lens†technology, these shades promise to enhance color and clarity of the trail ahead as well as promote better mood and alertness.
From $100. Purchase here→
Sanuk’s vegan Yoga Sling 3 shoes are perfect for your yoga-loving friend who hates the slap-slap of flimsy flip flops and wants a little more arch support and a heel pad. Made from yoga mats, the soft multi-sling style keeps your feet securely in place.
$49. Purchase here→
Rather than booking her another package of infrared sauna sessions to detox, calm and loosen sore muscles, bring the Higher Dose infrared sauna blanket home so she can wrap herself up in its soothing warmth whenever she feels like it.
$499.99. Purchase here→
If your girlfriend has always wanted to give the Keto diet a try but wasn’t sure if it was doable or where to start, gift her with a certificate for one of Kooshi Gourmet’s meal delivery programs. Delivered fresh to your door each morning, this plan’s meals created by a former chef to Bill Gates, Arianna Huffington and Kobe Bryant contain no grains, fruit tubers or refined sugar yet still manage to be packed full of flavor.
Gift certificates sold in $50 denominations; plans start at $24.50 a day. Purchase here→
This Patagonia sweat-wicking stretch tee, with its 50+ UPF sun protection and odor control, will keep him equally comfortable on a cool day at the beach or a hot day on the trail. Available in solids or graphic prints.
$55. Purchase here→
Treat your stressed-out BFF to an annual subscription to Headspace, a lively animated app created by former Tibetan Buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe. With meditations to relieve stress, improve focus, sleep and even mellow out her run, your gift will be the one that keeps on giving.
$95.88. Purchase here→
Prana’s zip-up, high-necked Permafrost jacket in cozy boucle is the cocoon of warmth she’ll come back to again and again.
$119. Purchase here→
Is it a long-line yoga bra or a crop top? Either way, it’s easy to pull on Beyond Yoga’s V-neck Heather Rib Crop Tank with her favorite leggings for a hot yoga session. The length kisses the top of high-waisted yoga pants, or she can wear it with midrise leggings as a crop top.
$68. Purchase here→
Give your Type A friend who runs herself ragged “The More or Less Definitive Guide to Self-Care,†which provides personalized tips for increasing her day-to-day well-being.
$16.95. Purchase here→
If you’ve ever roller-painted a wall, you can do deep-tissue massage for next to nothing. The Pro-Tec Athletics RM Extreme Mini Handheld Contoured Roller massager combines a simple, effective, studded, 4-inch foam roller on a handle. You can effectively target most of your muscles easily, reducing tightness on your lower back, quads, calves, neck and shoulders.
$24.95. Purchase here→
Tippy and unstable when fully inflated, the B-Board makes every exercise — from basic yoga positions to push-ups — a core-blasting challenge. It comes with a 30-minute core and strength HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout video and can also be used in the water as a stand-up paddleboard. Travel-friendly, it compacts into a backpack size and includes a pump and a yoga mat. An optional 30-minute yoga video costs $9.90.
$390. Purchase here→
The Smart Squat teaches you the mechanics of a proper squat, a key movement in athletics and daily functionality by putting you on an imbalanced board. If you tip forward, it cues you to self-correct by putting your weight on your heels, which helps you learn to use your core and glutes, protecting your back and knees from strain.
$129.95. Purchase here→
Versa Gripps are wrist wraps with a built-in arch support that are designed to assist grip, add wrist strength and delay fatigue and failure. It can improve push and pull performance by helping to isolate muscles and providing unrestricted blood flow during exercises. You’ll get fewer calluses too.
$39.95-87.95. Purchase here→
Say goodbye to the iconic wooden sauna with built-in stereo sound and lighting. It’s been replaced by a 30-by-30-by-40-inch tent, a nylon folding chair. and two light radiators. You zip into a Relax Far Infrared Sauna, with only your head popping out of the top. It uses the water-pulsating power of far infrared ray heat source, which has a long list of beneficial claims: increased core temperature and microcirculation, reduced toxins and body fat, boosted metabolism, activated ATP and nitric oxide release. And unlike a wooden sauna, this one can travel with you and starts instantly with no preheating.
$1,195. Purchase here→
The Waveweight is an 11-pound, hollow, ladder-shaped structure that can be filled with up to 24 pounds of water. As the water sloshes about in the twin tubes during side-to-side and overhead lifts, presses, squats, sit-ups and more, it provides “fluid dynamic resistance†that leads to better balance, agility, coordination and all-body functional strength-building than that available from static weights. The ever-changing unpredictability of water forces its user to constantly adapt, in theory generating enhanced muscle engagement. Several online videos teach strength and aerobic workouts.
$149.95. Purchase here→
Take a sock made of three-layered StretchKnit, bulk up the bottom with a 2-mm double layer of super-durable dirt-resisting phthalate-free Swedish polymer, then go for a run, paddle an SUP or hit a yoga class. The Czech-made Skinners ShoeSock claims to offer the protection of shoes with the comfort of socks. Whether you use it for long airplane flights or sitting around the campfire after a long day of backpacking, the underside purportedly will last for years.
$54.49. Purchase here→
ElevenPine’s 11P Dual-Fit Multi-sport shorts use discreet side zippers to change the Uprising shorts from form-fitting (for biking or yoga) to a loose, relaxed fit (for running, hiking, swimming or going to the gym).
$89.99. Purchase here→
No cords. No plugs. The Powerwatch 2 is the only smartwatch charged by your own thermoelectric energy (i.e. body heat and movement) and ambient light. Features include GPS tracking, heart-rate monitoring, step counting, calorie counting, activity tracking, sleep monitoring, and notifications. Water resistant to 650 feet. It has a 1.2-inch-diameter display, LED backlight, an aluminum casing, black steel finish and a silicone strap.
$499. Purchase here→
These waterproof Forsake Halden boots will give him the traction to move through wet and muddy trails and still clean up nicely for travel or tooling around town.
$149.99. Purchase here→
Sign up for The Wild
We’ll help you find the best places to hike, bike and run, as well as the perfect silent spots for meditation and yoga.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.