Fitness
Best Virtual Gifts for Birthdays, Holidays, and Special Occasions
No time to browse, buy, wrap, and arrange special delivery for a loved one this year? Maybe you’re looking for a meaningful gift that’s simple to give but far more exciting and touching to receive than a piece of plastic with a dollar amount scrawled on the back. That’s where the latest offerings in virtual gifting come in. Gone are the days of simply heading to GiftCards.com and calling it a day. At this point, a nearly endless array of digitally powered gifting options and platforms await your ingenious present-giving skills with just a few clicks. Below, 20 unique subscription services and virtual gifts for every kind of giftee—from bookworms to booze enthusiasts.
Literati Book Clubs: A recent monthly selection among several other titles. Courtesy Image
1. Literati Book Clubs
Got bookworms on your holiday shopping list? Gift them a Literati membership, which delivers a hand-selected title by the book club leader of their (or your) choice, ranging from Stephen Curry and Roxanne Gay to Richard Branson and Cheryl Strayed. They’ll also get a reading guide and a note from the curator, plus access to the Literati app for discussion with other members, the book club’s leader, and author in addition to special programming. Users can also change between “clubs” each month. Kids’ subscriptions are also available.
[$75 for 3 months; $150 for 6 months; $240 per year; literati.com]
iFIT brings a world’s supply of fitness classes into your home. Courtesy Image
2. iFIT Subscription/iFIT Mind Subscription
Combine adrenaline-infused thrills with enhancing personal fitness with this first-rate training platform connecting iFIT subscribers with trainers around the globe—via treadmill, bike, elliptical, yoga mat, or living room floor. Thousands of workouts are available, both on and off machines, including cardio, HIIT, strength training, meditation, and more. There’s no need to do the same workout twice—although returning to Jamaica for a Pilates class or Barcelona for another bike ride may be tempting enough.
[$180 per year; ifit.com]
Northwest Cider Club’s Discover Cider Club Courtesy Image
3. Northwest Cider Club Discover Cider Club
Craft cider is pretty fantastic—especially when unexpectedly received during the holiday season. The best apples-to-apples cider subscription out there is a membership to the Northwest Cider Association’s quarterly, curated, hard-to-find ciders from the Northwest (WA, OR, ID, MT, BC). Each seasonal box is themed, and all six bottles or cans that are included are selected by professional “Pommeliers” and accompanied by tasting notes, cheese pairing ideas, and a map of Northwest cidermakers.
[from $50 per quarter; nwciderclub.com]
“From Buttermilk to Bourbon” with featured YesChef toque, Edward Lee. Courtesy Image
4. YesChef Subscription
Is your close buddy a cooking genius—or does he just think he is? Slyly improve his craft with an annual or lifetime subscription to this online education platform that provides Food Network-worthy cooking classes with celebrated chefs like Erez Komarovsky, Nancy Silverton, and other culinary stars. The course that totally sold us: Chef Edward Lee’s 13-class “From Buttermilk to Bourbon.”
[Annual All-Access Pass for $120, Lifetime Pass for $360; yeschef.me]
StubHub: Time to live it up again. Courtesy Image
5. StubHub Gift Card
Who’s not excited to get back out there and catch a ball game or a concert? Time to toast the much-awaited return to college bowls, arenas, comedy clubs, and theaters with an all-purpose, live entertainment StubHub gift card. The company also handles bulk order options if you’re treating, say, an office full of concert-starved employees.
[from $25 to $1,000; stubhub.com]
Drizly: The bar is at your door. Courtesy Image
6. Drizly
Drizly is our go-to wine, beer, and liquor concierge when gifting boozy delights from afar. Select a bottle or two for your pal or family member, and a local retailer will get your selection to their door in 60 minutes or less. To order, simply enter an address, shop the virtual retailer shelves in their area and make your purchase. Drizly will then email the recipient to schedule a convenient delivery time. If anyone cares to know, we’ve got our eyes on Dewar’s 12-year blended scotch whisky and Espolòn Tequila Blanco.
[prices vary; drizly.com]
Daily Harvest Custom Gift Box Courtesy Image
7. Daily Harvest Custom Gift Box
Hazelnut and chocolate snack bites. Portobello and pesto flatbread. Pistachio and hazelnut crunch cashew “scoops” (plant-based ice cream with a cashew milk base). Daily Harvest knows how to assemble an exciting customized gift box. Better yet, they let you do the curating from an assortment of nine items from their line of plant-based eats centering on organic fruits and veggies. Gift cards and a dessert gift box of their “Scoops” ice cream are available too.
[$75; daily-harvest.com]
Taelor Menswear Courtesy Image
8. Taelor Menswear Rental Gift Card
Any dapper dude will be right into this men’s clothing rental subscription service. Upon sign-up, he’ll fill out a style questionnaire and then partake in a personal consultation with one of Taelor’s stylists before receiving a box of shirts selected by the fashion wizards for two weeks. Dry cleaning and shipping is free both ways, and if he loves what he gets, he can purchase whatever he’d like to keep for up to 70% off the regular retail price. Save 15% on gift certificates worth $60, $100 or $150 with the code HOLIDAYGIFT.
[gift cards available in $60, $100, and $150 denominations; taelor.style]
ClassBento: Artisans around the world sharing their craft. Courtesy Image
9. ClassBento
Stumped by what to buy your brother, college roommate, or some other hard-to-get-for person? With a gift card to this educational platform led by local artisans and small biz owners, recipients can sign up for virtual experiences ranging from beer tasting with trivia to making wood wick candles. Whatever he’s secretly yearning to learn, these fun, firsthand experiences are streamed straight to his screen.
[From $175; classbento.com]
Future Membership Courtesy Image
10. Future Membership
Future makes one-on-one, remote personal training fun and approachable. Most importantly, it will keep your workout-loathing spouse or best friend motivated with weekly training sessions tailored to their goals, schedule, environment, and more. Coaches are on-call and available to respond to questions in real-time via text, and they check in regularly to help keep clients on track. No cheating here, folks. Future sends recipients an Apple Watch, so coaches can track progress by monitoring biometrics such as heart rate, rep counts and cardio distances. Sign up by choosing a coach based on expertise and goals before virtually meeting up to hammer out training specifics.
[From $149 per month to $1,425 per year; future.co]
Uncommon Experience’s Soft Pretzel & Beer Cheese Making Kit Courtesy Image
11. Uncommon Experiences
Uncommon Goods recently launched a slew of virtual experiences, and the epicurean offerings are best in class for the discerning gourmand. Our current top picks are DIY Pretzels and Beer Cheese ($45), Home Bar Hero: Mixology Class & Simple Syrups ($55), and DIY Hot Sauce Class & Heirloom Chili Peppers ($75) , but browsing all the offerings here is half the fun. Yes, tarot reading ($50) is offered too.
[From $25; uncommongoods.com]
Goldbelly Subscriptions Courtesy Image
12. Goldbelly Subscriptions
This holiday season, up the epicurean ante with a food delivery subscription from this popular gourmet eats site. Options run the gamut from pizza and barbecue to cake and curated delectables out of culinary meccas like New York, Chicago and New Orleans. Our vote is the Best of Goldbelly Monthly Subscription ($89) for a diverse array of noshing nirvana. For another fun gift idea, consider gifting Goldbelly LIVE, featuring the company’s series of interactive cook-alongs.
[from $45 per month; goldbelly.com]
Ten Percent Happier Courtesy Image
13. Ten Percent Happier Annual Subscription
For anyone dabbling with the idea of a meditation practice who can’t quite sit down to do it, a Ten Percent Happier subscription can provide just the right app-based mindful motivation. A plethora of courses led by top meditation teachers are designed to combat stress and offer the numerous health benefits of steady practice. In fact, make it two subscriptions. Heck, we’d take five percent happier.
[4 months for $50 or one year for $100; app.tenpercent.com]
Artifact: Your own professionally produced personal podcast. Courtesy Image
14. Artifact
Think of this service as a personal podcast production studio. Whether you’re surprising your girlfriend with a memento of your love story or giving your boss a keepsake before retirement, Artifact will create a beautifully produced podcast comprised of interviews with friends and family members and deliver a studio-quality podcast about anything under the sun.
[From $199; heyartifact.com]
Togu Knives subscription includes a Santoku chef’s knife and a paring knife—replaced for sharpness every two months. Courtesy Image
15. Togu Knives Six-Month Gift Subscription
Surprise the chef in your life with a Togu Knives’ subscription service that provides members with two sturdy and sharp knives, a Santoku chef’s knife and a paring knife—replacing them every two months with a freshly sharpened set. Ghe recipient drops the old knives in the box that the new ones arrived in and places the pre-paid package in a mailbox. Upon purchase, you’ll receive an emailed code to deliver your gift digitally, and your recipient will get a gift box with their own sign-up code.
[$129 for six-month gift subscription; toguknives.com]
Acorn TV Courtesy Image
16. Acorn TV One-Year Subscription
You can bank on most folks having Netflix. Dazzle them with a membership to Acorn—and they’ll have a hard time peeling themselves off the British and International television platform. Countless hours of mysteries, dramas, and comedies, plus standout hits like the new adaptation of Dalgliesh are all in the mix. Did we mention 22 seasons of Midsomer Murders and the must-see Australian crime drama Jack Irish?
[$60 a year; acorn.tv]
GiftCast boosts the usual gift card with a personalized message. Courtesy Image
17. GiftCast Gift Card
Before you send that routine gift card, opt for this neat app that lets you deliver money gifts or Amazon bucks with a video message for your loved one to view upon receipt. If you forget someone’s birthday, this makes a great last-minute gift for that occasion too.
[from $5; giftcast.me]
Vous Vitamin Courtesy Image
18. Vous Vitamin Gift Card
Any health enthusiast will appreciate a gift card for this personal vitamin subscription. The service packages your recommended nutrients into one caplet that you take twice daily instead of cumbersome vitamin packs with multiple pills. After your purchase, the recipient will receive an emailed gift message along with a quick online survey to create the ideal multivitamin designed for their individual needs.
[from $90 for 3-month subscription; vousvitamin.com]
Game & Grub Choice eGift Card Courtesy Image
19. Game & Grub Choice eGift Card
Sometimes a guy just wants to play video games and eat pizza. Help him satisfy both cravings with this gift card designed to let him buy new video games and gaming accessories paired with takeout from Domino’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, or GrubHub. ‘Nuff said.
[$25 to $500; giftcards.com]
HomeExchange: Nearly half a million listings around the world. Courtesy Image
20. HomeExchange One-Year Subscription
Who isn’t sick of staring at their own four walls? This annual subscription gift opens that special someone to the wonderful world of home exchange—providing access to the ingenious service’s 450,000-plus homes across 159 countries. To learn more about how the home-swapping platform works, read our article here..
[$150; one-year membership and unlimited exchanges; homeexchange.com]
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!
The key to 360-degree muscle: 90-degree eccentric isometrics. It might seem like we’re throwing a lot of geometry at you, but the concept behind time under tension (TUT) is simple, says Joel Seedman, PhD, owner of Advanced Human Performance: “Perform the lowering phase of a movement in a slow, controlled fashion, usually 3 to 5 seconds; pause in the stretched position, typically around 90 degrees; then perform the lifting phase in a powerful yet controlled fashion.” Believe us, a time-under-tension workout can humble even seasoned lifters…Eccentric isometrics are like the pressure cooker of training.
“Rather than mindlessly performing slow-tempo reps, you’re using the increased time under tension as a means to fine-tune your body mechanics and alignment, which requires more mental engagement and focus,” Seedman adds.
If you want to forge functional muscle mass and strength while simultaneously bulletproofing the joints and connective tissue, give this 10-move, full-body eccentric isometrics workout a go.
Directions
Perform the following moves as 90-degree eccentric isometrics following the above protocol. Use heavy weight, but not at the detriment of proper form. Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets and 2 minutes between circuits. Perform once every 2 to 4 days for optimal results.
Best Time-Under-Tension Workout for Total-Body Strength
Circuit 1
A. Barbell Back Squat
Set a squat rack up with heavy weight, then grasp bar and step under it. Squeeze shoulder blades together, then stand to unrack bar and step back with feet shoulder-width apart. Inhale, hinge at hips and slowly bend knees to 90 degrees. Pause, keeping natural arch in low back, then extend through hips to powerfully stand. 3 x 4-6 reps
B. Renegade Row
Start in the top position of a pushup with hands shoulder-width apart on moderate-to-heavy dumbbells (shown). Explosively drive right elbow back to row dumbbell toward ribs while balancing on opposite hand and feet. Pause, then slowly lower weight, stopping a few inches above floor. Switch sides after all reps are done. 3 x 5 reps each side
Circuit 2
A. Dumbbell Bentover Row
Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding two moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in front of thighs, palms facing you. Push hips back and hinge torso forward so it’s nearly parallel to floor, soft bend in knees. Dumbbells should be near shins. Drive elbows back to row weights toward ribs. Pause, then slowly lower down for 3 to 5 seconds. 3 x 4-5 reps
B. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press with Legs Raised
Set an adjustable bench to a 30- to 45-degree angle and lie back with dumbbells in either hand. Engage core and lift legs off floor, flexing feet. Press weights overhead, palms in. Slowly lower to 90 degrees, staying tight and compact. Pause, then drive weights up directly over chest. 3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 3
A. Dumbbell Bulgarian Squat
Stand lunge-length in front of a flat bench, holding heavy dumbbells in each hand by your sides, palms facing in. Rest the ball on top (shoe’s laces) of your right foot behind you on the bench. Slowly lower your body until your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Pause, then drive through your heel to stand. Switch sides after all reps are complete. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
B. Single-leg Romanian Deadlift
Stand with feet hip-width apart holding dumbbells or kettlebells. Drive right leg up, foot flexed, knee aligned with hip, making a 90-degree angle. Hinge at hips as you slowly lever your torso toward floor, lowering weights and driving right leg back for counterbalance. Hold, then squeeze glutes to reverse. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
Circuit 4
A. Pullup
Hang from a pullup bar using an overhand grip with legs extended and feet flexed. Engage lats and draw shoulders down your back, then pull yourself up until chin is higher than hands. Pause at the top, then slowly lower. Pause at bottom, then reset before your next rep. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
B. Kneeling Overhead Barbell Press
Hold a bar with moderate-to-heavy load at shoulder level with forearms perpendicular to floor. Kneel at end of bench with feet flexed to grip edge for support. Inhale, engage your core and glutes, then press the bar overhead, pushing your head forward so it passes your face, exhaling at the top.
Slowly lower until elbows are at 90 degrees, then hold to maintain tension. Begin your next rep from here. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 5
A. Dumbbell Pushup
Place hands on dumbbells (this provides greater range of motion) at shoulder width and feet wider than shoulder width with just toes touching the ground. Keep head neutral and hips high to increase tension on core, chest and tris and reduce stress on spine. Slowly lower to the floor. Stop
once elbows hit 90 degrees, pause, then push up to start. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
B. Biceps Curl
Stand with feet hip-width apart with moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in each hand hanging by sides. Engage biceps to curl the weights up, keeping upper arms still. Pause at the top, then lower slowly. Don’t let arms drop all the way down to keep greater time under tension on biceps. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!
