Heading to the gym today? Whether you’ve been working out for a while or you’re a newbie, filling a gym bag with essentials is critical. Oftentimes, people pack too many things to the gym and end up using none of them. Your gym bag can become your source of motivation and ensure productive workouts each time you hit the gym. Without further ado, here are 7 items you should take to the gym:
1. Top quality shoes
This goes without saying, but the key word here is quality. Working out in poor quality shoes reduces your performance and can result in a variety of foot injuries. Plus, it’s important to find out the type of shoes you need. If you exercise for health, the high-quality running shoes might be your best bet. These shoes provide enough cushioning to protect the front of the feet and heels and overall absorb the shock. Running shoes help to eliminate tendinitis, stress fractures, and shin splints.
In case, you’re a lifter, look for weightlifting shoes. These shoes provide great lateral support and have an elevated heel and a hard sole. If your workout includes shuffling, or jumping on boxes, or performing any type of agility, weightlifting shoes should always be in your gym bag.
Cross-trainers are ideal for daily workouts. Choose these flexible shoes if you perform more than one kind of workout. Walking shoes might be a great choice as well. Thanks to a “rocker” bottom or a slightly rounded sole, these shoes shift weight efficiently from your heels to your toes. Once you decide on the type of shoes you need, make sure you take only them to the gym all the time.
2. Quality training clothes
Again, it’s obvious, yet a lot of people bring the wrong types of training clothes in the gym. Your workout is going to be a headache if you wear poor quality or wrong training clothes. Perhaps you’ve seen that Facebook or Instagram ad of sexy tight pants multiple times and, of course, you bought the one. Maybe you look sexy in those pants, but they cause discomfort during your workout session and can even lead to injuries and muscle pain. When it comes to exercise, the fit must always be over fashion.
Moreover, your training clothes must be breathable. Otherwise, you might end up dealing with breakouts after each workout. Most importantly, it’s important to choose clothes based on your training. If it’s a regular workout to boost your energy and health, a well-fitted training suit will be an excellent choice.
There are also special fitness women sports bras, men bodybuilding clothes, workout hoodies, tees, and shorts. It depends on your workout sessions and your level of comfort. When choosing fabrics, avoid the ones that make you feel uncomfortable, like plastic-based or rubber-based materials. They aren’t breathable and trigger the whole body breakouts.
3. Towels
A towel seems like a little thing, but it can increase your level of comfort in the gym – especially if your workouts are highly intensive. Even if you don’t sweat too much in your daily life, you’ll need a towel in the gym as sweating is unavoidable here. You’ll also need a small towel to clean the equipment after your workout session.
4. Healthy snacks
Eating after exercise is vital. During your workout, your muscles make use of the glycogen stores in order to fuel your body. As a result, your muscles become slightly depleted of the glycogen. When you complete your training, your body starts rebuilding the glycogen stores.
Plus, it tried to regrow and repair the proteins your muscles also lack after training. Pack some healthy snacks and put some in your gym back. Having a healthy snack right after your training will improve your recovery process, restore your glycogen stores, enhance muscle protein growth, and reduce muscle protein breakdown.
5. Shaker bottle
If you don’t feel like eating after training, you can drink the post-workout protein and carb combo drink to speed up the recovery process. Your shaker bottle can also contain pre-workout or intra-workout supplements or even lemon water. Anyway, any gym bag is incomplete without cool shaker bottle. When choosing the one, make sure it’s not leaky. The last thing you want to deal in the gym is wearing wet clothing and shoes because of your leaky shaker.
6. Timer
If your workout involves timed exercises, Tabata, or HIIT training, you’ll need a timer to boost your training focus. HIIT training, in particular, requires a timer to let you know when to work out and when to rest.
If your workout involves lifting and cardio sessions, you might need a quality heart rate monitor to track your heartbeat and burned calories. If you’re trying to drop unwanted pounds, look for a monitor that includes estimations related to weight loss. They might cost a fortune but are worth an investment.
7. Headphones
Some people leave their favorite songs for the gym time in order to motivate themselves to work out. Multiple researches have proved the powerful benefits of listening to music during exercise. With a variety of music available these days, you can even find special fitness playlists.
Plus, you can find playlists for a particular type of exercise, including cardio, HIIT, weightlifting, and light fitness. You can either buy an Mp3 player or use your smartphone. Just don’t forget your headphones. Even if your gym plays some music, it’s best to have your own playlist that will motivate you to perform better.
Here you have it! Your complete list of the essentials to take to the gym! Of course, there are many other items people bring in the gym, but most of them are just steals your gym bag’s storage. The next time you hit the gym, check out your bag to ensure the items mentioned above have their place in your bag. You’ll see how effective your workout sessions will become.
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