Whenever I get ready to go to the gym, the first thing I do is to gather up all of the mandatory products I need to carry with me in my gym bag. The reason I refer to the stuff I fill my gym bag with as mandatory products is simple, each of the items I’m about to tell you about is essential to my well-being before, during, and after my workout.
Many people don’t consider all of the little things that make their experience at the gym less stressful. Most of us arrive at the gym dressed in our workout gear. And if you know you’re going to be lifting, you may have remembered your wraps or your tapes. There’s a good chance though, you forgot to pack both your wraps and tapes in your gym bag.
This is why it’s a good idea to consider which mandatory products you’ll always need in your gym bag before you’re running out of the house and off to the gym! Read on to find out my personal recommendations for which mandatory products you should have in your gym bag at all times.
Staying Safe With Wraps & Tapes
If you’ve ever had weak or strained muscles, you’ve probably heard of or even used, both wraps and tapes. It’s so important to stay safe at the gym, whatever your routine. So having a few wraps and some tape in your gym bag is always a good idea.
Wraps help to stiffen your joints, whether it’s for your wrists, ankles, or knees. This allows you to lift more weight, but also to maintain good form. Lifting or doing any exercise with a compromised form is often one of the biggest limitations in our workouts. Having wraps available to you any time will help increase your confidence since you’ll know your wrists and knees won’t buckle under pressure.
Athletic tape is also good as it stretches or tightens your muscles, depending on wherever it’s applied. Choose a tape that you know pro athletes use, as it will allow your skin to breathe but still give your soft tissue that additional support. Tapes are generally used when you need a little extra stability. Although, they won’t give you as much support as wraps will give you, mostly because they tend to restrict your movement.
Towels vs. Facecloths & Moisturizing Lotion
When you are sweating, your skin is mixing salt, toxins, and dead skin cells together. That’s why sweat can get very smelly, even downright offensive at times! And since the mixture of everything that you’re sweating is gross on its own, you can imagine the potential for it turn into a truly vile odor. If you sweat excessively, you will need to bring some cleansing wipes with you.
Gym staff will likely tell you to bring a towel to wipe the machines down before and after you use them. But you must remember this very important rule; do NOT use the same towel you wipe others’ sweat off of machines with, to wipe your face! This may seem like the obvious tip you’ve heard all year but you’d be surprised how many people worldwide have been spotted using their one small towel to wipe everything.
You’ll want to use a standard gym-sized towel and you can ask your gym what that preference is. As for your face, I’d recommend a nice, soft muslin cloth! Remember though, no matter how soft your facecloth, wiping it can instantly dry out your skin. Even if you don’t shower at the gym and want to travel lite, you should always have a travel-sized moisturizing face & body lotion as one of your mandatory products, in your gym bag.
I recommend “St. Ives ‘Collagen & Elastin’ Skin Therapy”, which can be found almost anywhere, it’s affordable, and the best part? The two ingredients in its name, collagen, and elastin are responsible for warding off wrinkles and fine lines. Collagen is one of the main structural proteins found in our connective tissues. Elastin is another protein, responsible for giving structure to your skin and promoting elasticity.
Prêt-à-Porter (ready to wear) Leggings
Of all the things to wear to the gym, ‘workout leggings’ are probably the most universal. They offer comfort and style so you feel confident yet totally protected at the same time.
These full-length leggings from Curves & Combat Boots, come in a gorgeous shade of classic sage, meets military green. The color is mild enough to add a slimming look to your figure but bold enough to still be stylish.
Made with a mixture of spandex and polyester, these ‘ready to wear’ workout leggings are just thick enough to be tough but still stretchy and comfortable. They’re designed to help raise your glutes and shape your thighs; offering extra support and just a bit of compression, which is perfect for a curvy woman like me!
These leggings are great for any woman who wants to squat and lunge without having to worry about the waist of her pants rolling up or down (as it can when wearing ‘regular’ cotton leggings) and just get in a solid lower body workout.
Replace the Water You Lost From Sweating!
I truly believe that the most important product, one that is absolutely mandatory you carry it in your gym bag, and that is water. I’m sure most of you know how important it is to maintain your body temperature of 98.6 degrees. And when you work out, exerting yourself, you may notice you sweat a lot.
This is why the gym asks you to mop your sweat up after using their machines. When we sweat, it’s actually our body leaving its own water behind. So, what’s the best way to replenish our body’s lost water? By drinking MORE water!
In fact, we should be drinking half of our body weight (the number, in ounces) of water every day, in order to ensure that each of our vital organs is fully hydrated. This is the very thing that keeps our bodies the happiest!
Jessica Rose Adams
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