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We all have a friend who’s rarely seen outside of a gym, and when they’re in the gym, they’re lifting something…anything. Whether it’s weightlifting, powerlifting, or bodybuilding, they live for picking up heavy weights—Olympic barbells, dumbbells, sandbags, you name it.
If the gym lover in your life likes lifting, what should you get them when a special occasion rolls around? Sometimes, it can be hard to think of a good gift for a lifter—besides something heavy. Fortunately, we’ve compiled a gift guide for the best gifts for weightlifters. No matter your budget, or your loved one’s lifting interests, we’ve got the perfect gift for them.
Gifts Under $50
Under $10
Primo Chalk Ball
This chalk ball will help your weightlifting friend get a grip on the barbell or pull-up bar without causing a mess in their home gym. Combined with five essential oils, this lifting chalk will also condition the skin while being used. Plus, it smells nice as a bonus.
Under $15
Ihuan Fingerless Workout Gloves
These gloves are a great gift to protect your lifting friend’s hands from rough knurling after tons of reps. With a thin padded cushion on the palm, these breathable gloves will provide protection while also helping to keep a firm grip during the workout.
Under $20
Mark Bell Sling Shot Hip Circle
Does your loved one like squats or deadlifts? They’ll enjoy using this hip circle to activate glutes and hips in their warm-ups. Also made to encourage proper form, the fabric of the Sling Shot helps it stay in place through exercises.
Under $25
Weightlifting House Lifting Straps
Made for heavy pulls and Olympic weightlifting, the Weightlifting House Lifting Straps help secure a strong grip on barbells. Made of cotton with a neoprene padding on the wrists, these lifting straps are the ideal gift for anyone consistently lifting from the floor.
Under $30
Fringe Sports Resistance Bands
Coming in a set of six bands of different colors and resistances, Fringe Sport bands will help your weightlifting gym-goer add versatility to their weight training.
Under $50
Ice Shaker Shaker Bottle
If your weightlifting loved one has a water bottle that always goes warm halfway through a workout, then try this fitness gift. The Ice Shaker holds 36 ounces and can keep liquids cold for over 30 hours. Also, you’re sure to pick the right color from the 17 color options available.
Strength Training Gifts
Best Adjustable Dumbbell Set
Snode AD80
The fitness fanatic in your life will love the functionality of this gym equipment. Going up to 80 pounds, these adjustable dumbbells can go heavy, and they can be dropped, too (though we don’t recommend it)—a rare feat compared to other adjustable dumbbells.
Best Lifting Collars
Rogue Aluminum Collars
When it comes to keeping weight plates secured on a barbell, Rogue Aluminum Collars are our favorite. Made with aircraft-grade aluminum, these collars are lined with rubber to protect your barbell. They’ll keep weights on tight during home workouts, without a doubt.
Best Iron Weight Plates
REP Fitness Old School Iron Plates
Gift that “old-school” feel for your friend’s home gym with the REP Old School Iron Plates. With a deep lip and a durable make, these matte-coated iron plates have a vintage design that’ll look good in any gym. Plus, you can load quite a bit of weight with these plates.
Olympic Weightlifting Gifts
Best Olympic Lifting Bar
American Barbell Training Bar
Made to IWF specifications, the American Barbell Training Bar has a knurling that’s solid, but not too aggressive for day-to-day training. With a tensile strength of 190K PSI, this barbell provides great bar whip and oscillation for the Olympic weightlifter in your life.
Best Bumper Plates
Titan EZ Grip Urethane Bumpers
If your weightlifting friend likes snatches and clean and jerks, then the Titan Urethane Bumper Plates are a fantastic gift for your their fitness goals. These plates are color-coded to IWF standards, and are extremely durable, made of a tough plastic.
Best Weightlifting Belt
2POOD Straight Belt
Give the weightlifting buddy in your life a gift of support. The 2POOD Straight Belt is a solid lifting belt with Olympic weightlifting specifications. Plus, these weight belts provide a variety of colors and patterns, from plain black to colorful pineapples, and even sequined designs.
Powerlifting Gifts
Best Adjustable Bench
Titan Series Adjustable Bench
Not only is this weight bench built to IPF standards, but it can also be adjusted to nine different levels with the back pad, plus another three for the seat pad. It’s a solid piece of equipment for bench presses, incline presses, and more in any home gym.
Best Power Rack
Bells of Steel Hydra Rack
The weightlifter in your life will love the versatility of the Hydra Rack. Made of high-quality 11-gauge steel, this squat rack can be customized to fit the footprint of your home gym, along with plenty of attachments to customize with.
Best Powerlifting Bar
Rogue Ohio Power Bar
Approved by the International Powerlifting Federation, this powerlifting barbell is thicker and more rigid than other bars, making it a great choice for the squat, bench, and deadlift. This barbell also comes in sleek stainless steel or in cool cerakote colorways.
Weightlifting Accessories
Best Wrist Wraps
Element 26 IsoWrap Wrist Wraps
These minimalist wrist wraps are a fantastic stocking stuffer for your loved one. The design of these wraps specifically targets support of the scaphoid bone in the wrist, a common place for pain. With a thumb loop and velcro, they’re easy to get on and off and adjust, too.
Best Knee Sleeves
SBD 7mm Knee Sleeves
Your weightlifting friend will enjoy the support from SBD’s 7-millimeter knee sleeves, which are compliant with many lifting federations. With different sizes ranging from 3XS to 5XL, you’re sure to find the right size in these neoprene sleeves, too.
Best Earbuds
Beats Powerbeats Pro
If your loved one appreciates a good jam session during a workout, they’ll enjoy these wireless Bluetooth earbuds for their next workout. They’re water-resistant and will last through any strength or CrossFit workout, with nearly 10 hours of listening time.
Weightlifting Apparel
Best Weightlifting Shoes
Nike Romaleos 4
These lifting shoes are built solid for the heaviest of lifts, with their raised heel and sturdy sole. These shoes also come in different fun colors, so weightlifters can show off in more ways than one during a heavy clean and jerk.
Best Leggings
NOBULL Tights
NOBULL’s high-quality leggings are durable enough to last through the heaviest snatch and clean sessions. They come in a variety of colors and lengths, and the high rise is both stylish and functional. They also have a flat-lock seam to prevent chafing and irritation.
Best Lifting Singlet
Virus Elevate V2 Singlet
Approved for multiple strength sports, this compression singlet will give you both support and comfort during your lifting competition. With durable quad and shoulder panels as well, this singlet will endure some scraping by a heavy barbell, too.
Best Gym Bag
Gymreapers Gravestone Duffel
This is the perfect gym bag for the weightlifter in your life. With plenty of pockets, including an internal shoe pocket, this bag has plenty of room to fit all of their gym essentials. Made of durable polyester fabric, this duffel bag will last for years to come.
Best Lifting Shorts
Lululemon License to Train
If the lifter in your life likes to do things aside from lifting, the License to Train shorts are a great option. These shorts are stretchy and durable enough for squatting and weight training, but also light enough to breathe during running or cardio.
Best Powerlifting Shoes
Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars
The minimalist Chuck Taylor All-Stars provide a solid, flat base for deadlifts and bench press. These shoes are comfortable enough to wear outside the gym; plus, they come in a variety of colorways, so your lifting friend can find one to match their style.
Gifts for Recovery
Best Massage Gun
Theragun Pro
For tight and sore muscles, get your lifting friend this high-end massage gun. With 5 hours of battery life, the Theragun Pro comes with tons of options for each massage: an adjustable rotating arm, different speed ranges, and six different attachments.
Best Foam Roller
Triggerpoint GRID Foam Roller
Target large muscle groups with the Triggerpoint GRID. This foam roller is wide enough to roll out the lower back and lats, but small enough to carry in a gym bag. No matter the type of lifting your loved one does, the GRID will help alleviate muscle soreness before or after their workout.
Best Weighted Roller
Kabuki Strength Boomstick
Nagging sore muscles? The Boomstick can help get a deep tissue massage on troublesome areas. Weighing nearly 20 pounds, this metal stick is designed to pinpoint problem areas and dig deep, providing deep tissue work traditional foam rollers can’t provide.
Supplement Gifts
Best Post-Workout Drink
Legion Recharge
Packed with 5 grams of micronized creatine monohydrate, Legion Recharge has the recovery ingredients needed after a tough workout. The supplement tastes great, is naturally sweetened, and comes in a variety of flavors. And it’s third-party tested, so athletes can rest easy.
Best Protein Powder
Transparent Labs Grass-Fed Whey Protein
For protein without any fillers, get your loved one this powder from Transparent Labs. The whey is sourced from grass-fed, hormone-free cows. Plus, this whey isolate has no artificial sweeteners or food dyes. There are plenty of flavors to choose from for a protein shake or smoothie.
Best BCAAs
Huge BCAA
You can get the athlete in your life a big serving of branched-chain amino acids in Huge BCAA. Along with 15 grams of amino acids, which are the building blocks of muscle, this powder also contains coconut water powder, which can help rehydrate after a long workout.
Best Fish Oil
Kaged Muscle Omega-3
Lifting can be a lot on the joints; keep them healthy with Kaged Omega-3. The fish oil is purified in a two-step process to provide a purer supplement that keeps the fish burps at bay. With a healthy dose of DHA per serving, this will help keep your heart and head healthy, too.
Best Pre-Workout
4 Gauge
If your loved one likes to drink a pre-workout before a heavy lifting session, 4 Gauge is right for them. This pre-workout has natural ingredients designed to give you more stamina, focus, and power—all while getting a good muscle pump.
Best Protein Snack
Lenny and Larry’s The Complete Cookie
Lenny and Larry’s cookies are great for a weightlifter with a sweet tooth who also likes to eat a lot of protein. They’re non-GMO, vegan, and come in 10 flavors, meaning your loved one is sure to enjoy chowing down on these.
Other Gift Ideas for Weightlifters
Although this is a pretty comprehensive gift guide, there are still plenty of gift ideas for any lifter in your life. If you’re still stumped about what to get them, here are a few of our best-in-class roundups for more lifting and gifting inspiration.
Lifting Accessories and Gifts
- Best Weightlifting Shoes
- Best Weightlifting Belts
- Best Knee Sleeves
- Best Wrist Wraps
- Best Cross-Training Shoes
Fitness Tech Gifts
What to Look for in Gifts for Weightlifters
Tank tops, liquid chalk, adjustable kettlebells—no matter the gift, you’re going to need to know a thing or two about your weightlifting loved one’s wants and needs. Here’s a few things to consider while you’re browsing gift ideas:
Training Style
Obviously, the lifter in your life lifts weights. However, the type of strength training they do can influence the gifts you should consider. For example, if your friend trains predominantly in Olympic lifting, the barbell needs specifications to fit the standards of weightlifting competitions. The same goes for powerlifting. Furthermore, if your loved one trains in Strongman competitions, perhaps they’ll want some odd objects to train with, like sandbags.
RELATED: Barbell Anatomy 101
Whatever type of training your lifting loved one is into, make sure the equipment and accessories you choose to get them work for their training discipline. Look for IPF specifications for powerlifters and IWF approval for Olympic weightlifting equipment.
Strength
How strong is your lifting buddy? That may be a factor in what equipment you look for. In purchasing barbells or power racks, you need to make sure that the weight capacity of these pieces of fitness equipment is large enough to suit that lifter. Most budget home gym equipment will satisfy this need, but you might have to step up with a stronger piece of equipment if your friend is an elite-level lifter.
Size
If you’re buying a t-shirt, hoodie, or even knee sleeves for your friend, you’ll need to know their size. While you could cleverly insert these types of questions into your conversation with your lifting friend, you may worry about spoiling the surprise. Instead, if you live with your weightlifting friend, you might be able to sneak into their closet for a quick moment to find shoe and apparel sizes. Otherwise, try to ask a mutual friend.
Footprint
You need to make sure the gift you decide on makes sense for the space your loved one has in their home gym. If space is limited, it’s probably best not to buy them a bulky functional trainer. Instead, you can look at compact exercise equipment, or even small lifting accessories or apparel.
Gifts For Weightlifters FAQs
What is a good gift for a person who works out?
If you have a friend or loved one who works out, there are many great gifts to satisfy their itch for training. However, narrow down your search by learning their training style. If they’re a runner, then some running shoes may be a great idea. However, if they prefer weight training, then perhaps some weight plates or barbells would be the ideal gifts for them.
What is a good gift for someone who lifts weights?
If your friend lifts weights, there are a wide range of gifts to purchase. If price and size is not a problem, you can look into gym equipment like squat racks, barbells, and weight sets. However, if space (or your wallet) is limited, you can look at lifting accessories: lifting chalk, wrist wraps, knee sleeves, or lifting apparel.
What is a good Christmas gift for a lifter?
There are quite a few great stocking stuffers for a lifter during the holiday season. You can look at wrist wraps, knee sleeves, or lifting shoes for a great lifting present. Some larger gift ideas would be free weights like dumbbells, kettlebells, or an Olympic barbell.
Further reading
What muscles do chin-ups work? Our personal trainer breaks down the movement and what you can expect from this exercise. Read more
Improve the strength and definition of your legs with the oft-forgotten and neglected leg press workout. A certified personal trainer shows you how. Read more
Our Rogue CB4 Buffalo Bar review lets you know if this specialty bar is for you, and whether it’s better than the iconic Duffalo bar. Read more
We all have a friend who’s rarely seen outside of a gym, and when they’re in the gym, they’re lifting something…anything. Whether it’s weightlifting, powerlifting, or bodybuilding, they live for picking up heavy weights—Olympic barbells, dumbbells, sandbags, you name it.If the gym lover in your life likes lifting, what should you get them when a special occasion rolls around? Sometimes, it can be hard to think of a good gift for a lifter—besides something heavy. » Read more about: Lift Them Up and Put Them Down: These Are the Best Gifts for Weightlifters » Read more