What To Pack Into Your Gym Bag

Prepare your gym bag every evening for the following day's workout. This is a great way to get you to commit to the upcoming workout. But what do you put into your gym bag, besides the usual gym towel and water bottle?

Here are some suggestions:

Just in case

If you change into your gym kit at home before or after work, you do not need to pack your training clothes, however, it is always a good idea to carry a spare t-shirt in your bag, especially if you’re planning on an intense cardio session. A pair of spare, clean socks are also a handy item for those “just in case” moments.

Gym towel

Most gyms and health clubs insist on the use of a sweat towel during training, and with good reason. Think about all the germs that lurk on the gym equipment. Using a towel will not only help you prevent picking up someone else’s germs, but will also help you from spreading germs as well. Pack a clean towel into your bag for every session, and always ensure you remove your towel and put it in the laundry bin, as soon as you get home. You don’t want those germs breeding in your bag.

Water bottle

Having a water bottle with you makes training so much easier. Plus, you won’t have to queue at the water fountain every time you need to top up on some H20. Sipping water throughout your training session is vital as you lose a lot of fluid through sweat that needs to be replenished.

Gym gloves

If you participate in weight training exercises, keep a set of gym gloves in your gym bag. Using gloves during your training session helps to protect your hands not only from germs, but from developing calluses too.

Ipod or MP3

If you have one of these lying around the house, pack it into your gym bag. Preload it with some of your favourite, upbeat tunes and listen to it while you workout. Music is food for the soul and will help you enjoy those dreaded cardio sessions.

The essentials

These items should go in your gym bag and almost never come out. Consider them your essentials:

• Access card to enter the gym.
• Lock and key that you can use to keep your items safe in the lockers.
• Deodorant so that you can “freshen up” after your workout.

Copyright 2009: Remedium. This article may not be copied, in whole or in part, without the written consent of Remedium.