What’s Inside My Gym Bag?
It’s no secret that I have been well and truly on a health kick since New Year, I am all aboard that band wagon and I’m taking to parts of it (mostly the exercise part, still working on the diet) like a duck to water. I don’t want to be one of those people who act like a know it all because I do a bit of exercise every now and again because well, I don’t and I’m certainly not here to ram it down anybody’s throat. I still don’t know much about it at all being honest but I’m starting to get to grips with again after a few long months away from the gym and away from any form of exercise whatsoever. I’m starting to get myself in to a routine and slowly easing myself back in. I’ve put on nearly three stone in recent years and I am nowhere near happy with my appearance so I have decided to take control and get back to being comfortable in my own skin. I’m going to document this story on my blog as part of a mini health series to share my progress with you (my lovely readers) and to keep a record of it myself. I’ve spoken about ‘Body Confidence’ in the past and you can read about that here but this is going to be more in depth; exercises, recipes, gadgets, etc. So let’s have a look at what’s in my gym bag to start things off…
Nike Graphic Reversible Bag (Link, £15.00) – I didn’t want anything to big or bulky as I normally just go from the car/carpark straight in to the gym so this is perfect for me. It fits everything that I need in it, it wears really comfortably and I like that it’s reversible. It has a fabulous blue and white pattern on the inside which makes a great bag for shopping too. Multi-purpose – wahey!
Deodorant – This is pretty much a given, right?
Avene Eau Thermale Thermal Spring Water (Link, £7.00) – Perfect for a little refreshing spritz after a big work out, it instantly cools you down and works wonders for your skin too.
Headphones (Link, £14.99) – Big headphones are an absolute necessity. I’d love to be able to wear those nifty little ones BUT I have a lot of piercings in my ears and sadly, the earphones just fall out, a lot. These ones sit on my head nicely with no movement whatsoever, allowing me to listen to my Spotify playlists through my iPhone. The downside is that I look a little space age-y but needs must.
Padlock – I purchased this from Pure Gym for £4.00 to keep my belongings safe and sound in a locker. Believe it or not, I actually spent more time in the gym one night trying to figure out how to use the damn thing than I did exercising. It was a nightmare. In hindsight I should have purchased one with a key and not a code but hey ho!
Bobble Bottle (Link, £6.99) – Aren’t these bottles just a wonderful little creation? Basically, they are a water bottle specifically designed for people like me who absolutely despise the metallic taste that you get with tap water. I point blank refuse to drink tap water. These bottles come with a handy little replaceable filter which removes all of the rubbish from tap water as you drink it, making it all nice and clean. Trust me, this little baby makes a massive difference – the water tastes much fresher. Plus they come in an array of cute colours and different sizes.
iPhone Armband (Link, £3.99) – I don’t really use this in the gym but I keep it in my gym bag anyway for safekeeping. It’s good to have for an early morning/late night jog with my humongous headphones and my Spotify playlists.
Jawbone UP24 (Link, £99.99) – I purchased this just before Christmas and it is a cool gadget for tracking your health – food, steps, sleep and exercise. It comes with a great app where you can break down all your daily steps taken, calorie intake, exercise and level of sleep. It also sets you tasks to make you more aware of your normal habits and helps you to make changes for the better. For example; going to bed earlier to ensure at least 8 hours of sleep or eating at least 25g of fibre for a healthier, more balanced diet. It rates what you eat on a scale of 0-10 (worst to best), making you much more aware of what it is that you are putting in to your body and how good/bad that is for you. It also monitors the amount of deep/light sleep you get each night and you can set an alarm to gently wake you up by vibrating on your wrist. The Jawbone App links with other apps that I use regularly which is great such as My Fitness Pal, Strava and Map My Fitness.
Polar FT4 Watch and Chest Strap (Link, £74.50) – In a nutshell, this watch and accompanying chest strap is my motivation. Before using the watch, you must programme it with your sex and current weight and height so that the readings are as accurate as possible. At the start of every gym session, run or workout, I put my Polar FT4 watch on my wrist and I attach the heart rate monitor to the chest strap and rap it round my chest so it sits comfortably just under the breast bone and away I go… It monitors your heart rate continuously throughout your workout, focusing specifically on the amount of calories burned and whether you are in/out of the ‘fat burning zone’. My fat burning zone is between 125 and 165 beats per minute and once I fall outside of this, the watch will beep so that I can push harder or pull back a little. The watch keeps a record of your last ten workouts so that you can track your progress and look back over previous workouts. This is why I say that this IS my motivation – each session makes me want to do better than the last. It is a great investment in my opinion.
I will be doing more in depth reviews of both the Jawbone UP24 wrist band and the Polar FT4 watch and chest straps over the next few weeks as part of this little series so watch this space.
Have any of you took to trying to lead a more healthy lifestyle this year?
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