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fitness gear

10 Must Have Items For Your Gym Bag

by Nellie July 3, 2019

10 Must Have Items For Your Gym Bag

Always be prepared for your workout with these 10 Must Have Items For Your Gym Bag

In my many years of working out I have blown through many gym bags. I have made many mistakes when it comes to my bag as well. For example: I have forgotten my sneakers, or even worse one sneakers. My skin has been super dry from lack of lotion and I have a suffered from being extra funky when I don’t have any deodorant. Just keeping it real here folks.

Today I am sharing with you my top 10 things that I need in my gym bag. You can have one or all of these things but for me, these things come in quite handy pretty often.

Always be prepared for your workout with these 10 Must Have Items For Your Gym Bag

1) Snacks: After a really intense workout you may find yourself starving when you leave the gym. Its really great to have a small snack like a apple or banana to save you from eating the entire kitchen when you get home.

2) Money: This one is a given for any bag but you never know when you need some spare cash to buy a lock or a water.

3) Towel. (Big and small): Self explanatory. Small towel for the gym floor and big towel for your post workout shower.

4) Sneakers: Seems like a no brainer right? I can’t even tell you guys how many times I have forgotten my sneakers at home. Since my workout varies from not needing sneakers (spinning & yoga) to running outside to running on the treadmill, leaving your sneakers at home can happen quite easily.

5) Workout clothes: Always remember the three parts. Top, Sports Bra and Pants.

6) Necessary makeup: Ever left a sweat session looking like a zombie? *raises hand* Now I make sure I have a powder and at the very least eyeliner and a neutral lip gloss.

7) Perfume: This one is optional but I always make sure I have one of those sampler perfumes in my gym bag

8) Backup Headphones: There have been many times where I’ve forgotten to charge my bluetooth headphones and had to pull out my backups. Since music is mandatory for my workout, I need to make sure that I’m covered!

9) Womanly Products: Because you never know! Always be prepared!

10) Extra socks: This one may sound weird but I didn’t realize I needed extra socks until I was wearing footed tights to work one day and needed socks for my workout.

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Did I miss anything? How many of these items do you have in your gym bag?

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For many people finding time to hit the gym for weight training just doesn't happen. A great way to fix the issue is to opt for body weight training using only your body for resistance. Check out these 5 Sneaky Ways To Fit In Body Weight Training

4 Sneaky Ways To Get In Body Weight Training

by Nellie March 27, 2019

Sneaky ways to get in body weight training

For many people finding time to hit the gym for weight training just doesn't happen. A great way to fix the issue is to opt for body weight training using only your body for resistance.

We all know that weight training really is important for getting your body into shape and keeping muscles strong. No amount of cardio will do the trick. For many people finding time to hit the gym for weight training just doesn’t happen. A great way to fix the issue is to opt for body weight training using only your body for resistance.

You may even find you can combine these ideas with nearby items (like a baby, for example) for a more powerful sneaky workout. Not only is it more convenient to sneak bodyweight exercises into your everyday like you can skip paying for that gym membership you may never have time to use.

Lunges

Doing lunges on stairs as you go up is a great way to tone the muscles in your legs, butt, and thighs. If you have stairs in your home odds are your go up and down them several times a day making this an easy one to sneak in. Want to make it an even better workout? Carry up the baskets of clean laundry when you go.

Push-Ups

Push-ups are a great classing bodyweight exercise. Many people avoid pushups because they are a challenge that most people struggle with when they first start. A great way to get push-ups in and make them easier to do as you adjust is to start off the ground. This will work your muscles at an easier level while you build up strength. Doing pushups on the kitchen counter while you clean or cook is a great way to do this.

Squats

Vacuuming the house? A great option is to do squats as you work your way through the house. Yes, you will look silly but you can get a great workout while getting that floor clean.

Planks

Watching TV? This is a great time to do planks on the floor for a moment at a time. This works the entire body and is a useful way to keep busy during commercials.

For more articles on fitness check out:

20 Effective Body Weight Exercises – No Equipment Required

5 Easy Fitness Tips For Busy Moms

General Fitness Tips & Tricks

Got Muscle? 8 Beginner Strength Training Routines For Women

Upper Body Workouts For Runners

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fitness gear races running

5 Must Have Items For Every Race

by Nellie May 23, 2018

Every night before a race, I gather my favorite New York City Marathon branded fanny pack and make sure they have some key items to make sure that I had the best race possible. I remember running my first 5k with a bottle of water, but as I graduated to 10ks, halfs and even fulls I realized that I needed certain things to make my race experience more enjoyable. Now I never leave home without it!

A Mini Battery Charger: Since I run with music always, there is always the chance that my cell phone battery might die mid run. Since that would be an absolute disaster for me personally I carry around a super small charger (that usually fits in my hand) so it can fit in my pockets in my tights or my very cute fanny pack. I wrap the cord really tight and stuff it in there too. Sometimes I need it, sometimes I don’t–but it’s super helpful when I finish a race and I need to contact a friend or family that i’m looking for.

Chapstick: This one is obvious but even in the warmer temps my lips tend to get dry while I’m running. I now have a running dedicated chapstick that lives in my fanny pack because my lips need to be comfortable!

Tylenol: In distances over a 10k there are generally tons of medical tents along the route, but not everywhere. I tend to get headaches during and after long distances, so having the medication on hand is super helpful. I put two tylenol in a super small ziploc bag or paper towel and fold it a dozen times.

Money: This one is a no brainer. In NYC, there are plenty of places to buy things, during the 20 mile tune up race a few years ago, I stopped at a Central Park hot dog vendor and bought a ice old water. I keep money in the fanny pack that never gets touched unless I’m racing.

Wipes: This one is KEY. One word, Port-a-potties. However, wipes are really helpful during the warmer months when everything gets really sticky and gross. Wipes can be a total lifesaver!! I usually throw them in a ziploc and fold as much as possible.

**Bonus: A small anti bacterical spray/lotion/gel…again…the port-o-potties!

There are certain VERY important items that I cannot race without! I'm sharing them today with my friends @vitatrain4life, @carlypizzani, @HappyFitMama, @ThisRunRecipes! #runchat #running #racegear

I am teaming up with my favorite running bloggers to share our FAVORITE must have race items, check them out, you may learn something new, (I did!):

Angela @ Happy Fit Mama

Laura @ This Runner’s Recipes

Allie @ Vita Train 4 Life

Carly @ Fine Fit Day

What is the #1 thing you need for every race?

6 comments

fitness gear

5 Ways To Become A Morning Workout Person

by Nellie August 25, 2017

5 Ways To Become A Morning Workout Person

How To Become A Morning Workout Person

When I first started in the gym, I would start by going after work. I’d find myself getting my sweat on right after work, and hitting the hay HARD right after! Then I had kids. 🙂 I had to run home and pick up my children who were being taken care of at the daycare, and the commute home was adventurous to say the least.

How To Become A Morning Workout Person

I quickly learned how to become a morning workout person, and even though it was rough at first, it quickly became my favorite way to start my day. Working out in the morning was so good for my brain–all of a sudden I was thinking clearly, I had a bit more pep in my step, and I felt super accomplished before 8am!

Here are some of the tips I have for how to become an early morning exerciser:

How To Become A Morning Workout Person

Set your clothes up the night before: Nothing will delay (or derail) you more than fumbling for workout clothes in the wee hours of the morning. If you love your workout clothes the way I do, you have to make sure your outfit is CUTE too! Take 5 minutes to choose something you love to wear and it will be the transition THAT much easier.

Know before you go: It’s super easy to say that you are going to workout in the morning right? But it’s even better when you are specific about what you want to do. Know if you are going to do a youtube workout, a strength workout or a spin class–If you aren’t used to getting up that time of morning your brain will not want to do much of anything. Have a plan.

Have everything ready: Fill your water bottle and put it in the fridge, have your keys right where you need them, pack your petty cash, fuel (if you need it for a long run), Metrocard (if needed), have it ALL ready to go! I can’t tell you how many precious minutes I’ve wasted looking for all of these things.

It’s not going to feel good (until you get there): When I started getting up at 4:30 am to run, I hated every single minute. From the alarm going off, to putting my clothes on I questioned my decision making skills. However, once I got started, and the endorphins started flowing–I was SO grateful for the decision!!

Be prepared for a crash: Around 2 o’clock the effects of getting up so early started to catch up with me. It’s super important to be ready for this with a great snack that you can carry in your bag wherever you go!

Are you a morning workout person? What do you do for an afternoon snack?

3 comments

fitness gear running

Workouts for Common Runner Injuries

by Nellie April 26, 2017

When I was in the 4th grade, I used to walk about a block away from home to catch the bus. (This was back in the day–and it was totally okay to walk a block away from home without any worry from your parents) Our bus was unpredictable — sometimes it was super early, some days it was super late, and some days it didn’t show up.

To pass the time while we waited for the bus, one of the girls would pack a jump rope and we’d jump double dutch every single day without fail. We’d teach each other new tricks and pretty much just have a great time.

One day it was raining, we didn’t care, we jumped anyway (I was a smart fourth grader, really I was). I slipped on a wet spot and sprained my ankle pretty severely. To this day, 25 years late, my ankle has never been right. If I run too long, or even if the weather is off (I swear my ankle has a memory and it remembers whenever it gets even a little bit wet outside!) I feel twinges of pain.

Here are a few exercises that are great for a sprained ankle (I am NOT a doctor but these are really helpful for ME):

These upper body workouts! This is a really good excuse to get buff arms! 🙂
Calf Raises: These should be done as long as you are able to put weight on the ankle

Range of motion exercises from WebMD:

Trace the alphabet with your toe, which encourages ankle movement in all directions. Trace the alphabet 1 to 3 times.
Sit in a chair with your foot flat on the floor. Slowly move your knee side to side while keeping your foot pressed flat. Continue for 2 to 3 minutes.

Runner Bloggers share exercise solutions for some of the most common #runner injuries! Click to Tweet