Gym Essentials
(2) I LOVE my Bagsmart gym bag. It fits everything I need, and the things I want ☺️ I got mine on Amazon for a little more than $20 and I would buy it again and again.
(3) I spent some decent money on my shoes… lol. JK. I got them all on clearance at our Nike Factory store. And, because #pinktax I always look in the men’s section first. (A) these are the shoes I wear exclusively in the sauna, steam room and shower. People be gross, and I’ve contracted MRSA from a public (high school) gym in the past. (B) these are the shoes I wear exclusively for stretching or weightlifting. They have the flat bottoms and I have always loved these shoes. These are “men’s” shoes. The women’s version were about $20 more - even in the clearance section. Stupid. (C) these are my running shoes. I assume they are a previous version of the same Nike running shoes. They offer good support, but I had to replace the shoelaces. All in all. I spent about $130 on all these shoes put together. I’ve had them all about a year. I’m not an avid runner. I just do a little cardio prior to stretching or after lifting depending on what I’m doing that day. At MOST I will run a 5k (3.1 miles).
(4) my lifting/running/mobility clothes. I’m weird. I sit in the sauna BEFORE I do anything else in the gym. So I show up in my sweats and some volleyball shorts and a tshirt. Then I change and head up to lift or whatever else I’m doing that day. I’m sure the gym goers will hate on this process, but with my anxiety sitting in the sauna centers me, clears my head, and puts me in the right mindset to get after it in the gym. OST of my leggings are thrifted. My shirts I get on Amazon (big fan of the acid wash “pump covers”). The three pack is usually about $25.
(5) after I lift, I shower. Even if it’s just a quick rinse off. I wipe down all the equipment before and after I use it, but anyway, a shower is a necessity. The gym I go to has body wash, shampoo and conditioner in every shower which I why I don’t have it in my bag. I’ve recently started this “romanticizing” my gym routine, so I have my Sol de Jeneiro scent that I spray on after the sauna 😁
(6) when I don’t have time to do a full wash of my hair, I’ll spray this dry shampoo, just a bit. And also my “don’t wake up throughout the night” vitamins that I take before I shower. I’ve struggled with sleep my whole life. I take a tiny “vitamin” and then I don’t wake up with panic attacks at 230 🙃😴
(7) self explanatory headphones and lifting gloves. I don’t wear the gloves often because I think calluses are tiny personal trophies 🤣. My Studio Beats are a MUST. I’m not sure who is in charge of the playlist at my gym, but I have never, not one time, liked the music played in the gym. The locker room is a different story though… they play different music in the women’s locker room (think all female artists vibe) than in the rest of the gym. A small thing, but I love it. Anyway, I’m also an audiobook gym-er. I get lost in other worlds. And the noise cancelling function with these is worth the money I spent on them. I’m sure there are less expensive (and with the same quality) out there though!
(8) hydrating and getting some quick sugar is a must for me. I workout at night. It’s the only time I like going. The gym is basically empty, I’m not fighting with a bunch of people for any of the equipment, and there aren’t twenty naked people in the sauna. No offense to ANYONE who sits nakey in the sauna, I just… I don’t get it. lol. I also cannot stand bringing my Owala in the sauna. It gets too hot in there, so I always bring a plastic water bottle into the sauna with my sugar free Liquid IV. The rainbow sherbet and the peach are my favorite. With as much as I sweat in the sauna and when I workout, I usually go through two packets throughout my 1.5-2 hour gym session. Also, the taste of water is trash. The end. So if I get through my electrolytes before I drive home, I throw a sugar free flavor packet in my water. (“The chemicals…” hush… I’m drinking water and it tasters not like crap)
