The 14 Best Unique Fitness Gifts to Buy for Athletes in 2018

For hardcore workouts, strap on a ZFOsports Adjustable Weighted Vest, and immediately increase the effort and calorie-burn of your exercise. The vest allows you to add or remove weight in small, one- to two-pound increments.

Start slowly, and build up gradually over time. Before long, your strength will have increased to where you will be explosive in speed events and better able to sustain endurance activities.

The TRX Suspension Trainer in a hardcore home exercise kit created by a former Navy SEAL that uses your own body weight to get a full-body workout. It includes instructions for doing hundreds of different routines that can challenge everyone from beginners to extreme athletes. It's perfect for the athlete on the go.

If you've ever had to tape toes to avoid blisters or crowding in your shoes, you will definitely appreciate getting a pair of Injinji Toesocks. They are designed to prevent blisters by reducing internal friction and wicking moisture away from the feet with their patented CoolMax fabric.

There are plenty of therapeutic massage rollers on the market, but in our minds, the Triggerpoint Grid Foam Rollers takes the cake with its durable, hollow-core construction and variable ridged exterior that simulates fingertip, palm, and even thumb massage.

By shifting between the different zones, you can vary the amount of pressure on specific muscles and trigger points. The product comes with an instructional video that illustrates many of the techniques used by massage and physical therapists.

The swimmer in your life will appreciate the Finis SwiMP3 player which uses bone conduction to deliver sound from your cheekbones to your inner ear. The player delivers a surprisingly crisp sound and can enhance the enjoyment of any workout, whether you are listening to favorite music or keeping up with your latest audiobook.

The Perfect Fitness Perfect Pushup adds to your chest workout by allowing you the full range of motion while reducing damaging pressure to the wrists. Unlike other products on the market, this handy device has rotating handles that allow you to adjust your position for a more dynamic and comfortable pushup.

TriggerPoint Massage Balls are great for getting targeted relief of minor aches and pains in the neck, shoulders, back, chest, and calves. Simply position the ball over a muscle and apply pressure by rolling the ball between yourself and the floor, wall, or any hard surface.

To achieve a deep tissue massage, apply moderate pressure for just five to seven seconds. You'll definitely be surprised at the difference a few seconds can make.

Cyclists, runners, hikers, and climbers will appreciate a pair of Pearl Izumi Thermal Arm Warmers when embarking on an early-morning or cold weather workout. The anatomical design ensures a comfortable fit, while the four-layer thermal construction generates enough heat to be toasty but not overly hot.

Another product designed by a former Navy SEAL, the Luminox Dive Watch meets the performance specifications of all three branches of the U.S. armed forces. This robust sports watch can withstand water resistance of 20 ATM/660 feet and is the perfect gift for the recreational scuba dive enthusiast in your family.

Smith Sports Optics offers a huge selection of sunglasses specifically designed for sports. Depending on your specific need, you can choose from a list of interchangeable lenses that offer maximum coverage without impeding the peripheral vision. The bridge and temples both have non-slip rubber so that they stay in place during activity. It's a fashion statement with athletic function.

For the cyclist in your life, the Cat Eye Wireless Bike Computer may very well be the perfect gift. It's easy to install and simple to use. The functions include current, average, and maximum speed as well as trip distance, elapsed time, calorie consumption, and carbon offset.

They may look odd, but some athletes swear by the Vibram Five Finger Cross Trainers. The barefoot shoe design completely abandons the standard principles of heel cushion and arch stability in favor of a more natural and form-fitting experience.

Cyclists, skiers, skateboarders, and adrenaline junkies will be able to share the thrill of their sport with the GoPro Helmet Hero, a professional quality, high-definition camera that delivers stunning 4K video and 12-megapixel photos in single, burst, and time-lapse modes.

People have come to understand how important stretching is to any sport from walking to Ironman marathons. In our opinion, there is no better guide that the series of stretching books written by renowned running enthusiast Bob Anderson.

Now in its 30th year, the seminal "Stretching" has sold over three and a half million copies and keeps getting better with every edition. The current edition includes a section specifically for kids and even has routines devoted to office workers, computer operators, and persons with repetitive stress injuries.