Looking for a gift they’ll actually use?

If you’re buying for an active auntie or a marathon-running mate, we’ve found some clever products that are guaranteed to find their way into their gym bags.

From vitamin-infused cubes that turn a boring old water bottle into a treat, to soothing herbs to cool throbbing muscles and pampering booties to transform road-weary feet, these fitness-first finds will ensure they hit the ground running in the New Year – with you to thank.

Here are five excellent stocking fillers for fitness fanatics:

Treat them to a trending tipple

Hydration is key for people who are always on the go. If your giftee is always slugging from a water bottle, they’ll love Waterdrops. These sugar-free microdrinks revitalise your water with the taste of real fruits and an infusion of vitamins.

Just add a microdrink cube into 400-600ml of sparkling or still water; the drop dissolves completely and you can enjoy your favorite flavour straight away.

We love Relax, with hibiscus, aronia and acerola, Boost, with blackcurrant elderflower and acai and Clean, a herbal blend with juniper berry and nettle.

Buy it: Order a Waterdrops Taster Pack containing six flavours for €13.90 at waterdrop.com.

Massage in a bottle

Whether your muscles are aching from being on your feet all day at work or your sports game has you hobbling home, this pocket-sized find is a little piece of heaven you can pop in your pocket.

Made by Irish brand Kotanical, the Muscle rollerball features tingling sensations of warm wintergreen and cooling peppermint, combined with the healing properties of helichrysum to reduce inflammation and promote healing.

Simply apply it to stiff or sore muscles and inhale the soothing woody scent of spruce and pine with the minty fresh peppermint notes to unwind.

Buy it: Muscle Rollerball Massage in a Bottle is €22 from Kotanical.ie 

A new way to stay fresh 

It’s good to sweat. In fact, studies show that fit folk sweat faster, blasting away inflammation, stress, and anxiety until it’s little more than a drenched t-shirt.

Unlike traditional antiperspirants, Janni Bars natural deodorants are not designed to make you stop sweating… it is, after all one of your body’s natural defenses. Instead, the organic arrowroot and bamboo powder base (which can absorb up to 200 times its own weight) is designed to neutralise bad odour and give a dry feel on the skin all day.

Available in Unscented, Ylang Ylang and Lemongrass, Vetiver and Palmarosa and Rose and Cardamom, this deodorant is free from aluminium, harsh chemicals, preservatives and sodium bicarbonate and comes in a handy paper push-up tube.

Buy it: Janni Bars Bamboo Deodorants are €11.99 from Jannibars.com

Pampering for pavement-pounders

Power walking and jogging can be tough on your tootsies. Give someone the gift of a night with their feet up in front of the fire.

Patchology’s Posh Peel Pedi Cure is a luxurious, incredibly effective foot peel treatment that progressively dissolves dead skin on your feet with a combination of powerful acids. This peel is formulated with Patchology’s activating essence, which contains an advanced AHA plus BHA botanical blend featuring glycolic, salicylic, lactic, and citric acids.

You simply pop on the foot mask socks, pour in the activating essence and kick back for 90 minutes while they work their magic, deeply exfoliating and softening the surface of your skin, speeding up cell turnover, and encouraging dead skin to slough off.

The PoshPeel treatments are progressive, so treatments work over a period of 3-7 days (on average) to get rid of dead skin and smooth the surface.

Buy it: Patchology PoshPeel Pedi Cure Intensive Foot Peel Treatment: €12.50 from Brown Thomas

Help them loosen up

A gloriously effective little gadget for easing aches and pains, the Peanut Massage Ball is designed with a dip in the middle so it can really get up close and personal with your back muscles.

Ideal for myofascial release, a DIY technique to loosen knots and tight tissue when you’ve overdone it in the gym, it can be used all over the body, from the neck to the calves, relieving tension in ways your old foam roller could only dream of.

Buy it: Peak Fitness Peanut Massage Ball, €12 from fitnessequipmentcork.ie