Well, the first of the 12 Days of Fitness offer came through my inbox this morning, which means two things. First, I get to evaluate the “specials” sent out by some of the self-proclaimed best trainers and fitness experts on the web. Secondly, it’s two weeks until Christmas. Does this worry anyone else? And, for once, I’m not talking about working out. I’m talking about wrapping, cards, decorating, lights, and getting ready for my in-laws! It seems like I was going along, totally and blissfully unaware of the looming workload. Then, BOOM! reality hit.

Anyway, my need to get christmas cards in the mail notwithstanding, let’s talk about the 12 Day Giveaway. The scope of the giveaway and the way it is arranged is great. The fitness snippets are categorized, and you select only what you want, so muscle-head gym rats don’t need to download the lose the baby fat new-mom tips, and new moms aren’t bombarded by tips to help them bulk up, fast!

So I like the organization, but so far I am rather disappointed in many of the participants. Quite a few of the downloadable workouts and journals look like they were created in Excel 10 years ago and were never updated. Others are so bloated with extreme marketing jargon (“Lose That UGLY FAT! Fast!” “X-TREME Technique for X-TREME Results!” “100 Secrets The Fitness Industry WON’T TELL YOU! But I WILL!”) that’s it hard to shift through the chaff to get to the wheat.

But there are already a few gems emerging. Not surprisingly, Josh Hillis’ contributions - Fighter Workouts and Stubborn Holiday Fat Workouts are excellent, with great, simple workouts and high quality photo-explanations. As I continue to sort through the booty, I’ll report back on the best.