What do I Put in My Gym Bag?| Best GYM Equipment List!

Exercising is good. But it's even better when you're perfectly equipped! What are the essentials GYM equipments to slip into your gym bag for a session that is as effective as it is comfortable? We take stock.

Summary

l A comfortable outfit

l Shoes adapted to the activity practiced

l A towel, or even two

l wireless headphones

l A water bottle

l A sweet snack

l A practical bag

l They tell us about their ideal sports bag...

l conclusion

Have you just signed up for a gym or a new activity? Excellent initiative! Now, place the effort. But before chaining the squats and racing the treadmill, a small ‘gym equipment’ point is essential…

Indeed, if it is not necessary to invest in a panoply of high-level athletes to train effectively, a minimum is however required to exercise in good conditions.

Outfit, shoes, accessories... Focus on the essentials to carry in your workout bag.

A comfortable outfit

Who likes to play sports in a skimpy outfit or, on the contrary, without any support? Not many people… Besides, it's the best way to shorten your training and demotivate yourself!

“Comfort is paramount,” says Emily Unsworth, his is a fitness trainer and health writer. But the look matters too! An outfit that you find beautiful is also an outfit that motivates and in which you feel confident”. And to add: “today, you can find high-performance and trendy pieces in the major sports brands without costing the eye of your head, so you might as well have fun!”

On the list of essentials gym equipment, there is of course the t-shirt. Among those to avoid: cotton tops that absorb perspiration from the first minutes of effort. Instead, we focus on technical and breathable clothing that quickly wicks away sweat. “As a precaution, and to avoid catching cold if the air conditioning is a little too strong in the room, we also think of taking a zipped sports jacket that we put on during the warm-up and which we easily remove afterwards”, advises the sportswoman.

As for the bottom, “one avoids at all costs jogging too wide”, insists Emily Unsworth. The good choice ? Technical and well-cut leggings that accompany all our movements with fluidity.

An essential gym equipment not to be forgotten when you are a woman: the bra . “Even without having a very large chest, it remains an essential item of clothing when running or taking part in courses with jumps and impacts”, assures the coach. Indeed, the workout bra maintains the chest, limits rebounds and prevents pain (the weight of the breasts can be multiplied by five depending on the exercises, editor's note). Without being too wide or too tight at the level of the bust, it must however wrap the chest well and support it well. Depending on the size of your chest, it is possible to do without it or choose a “low impact” bra for softer activities such as yoga , Pilates or stretching .

Shoes adapted to the activity practiced

Be careful not to neglect them! Of course, a dedicated pair of sneakers is absolutely a necessary gym equipment: we forget the city sneakers and invest in real sports shoes, to be chosen according to the activity practiced.

Addicted to the treadmill? We opt for running shoes with good cushioning in the front and rear of the foot, to boost performance and avoid injuries.

More of a fan of muscle building classes? In these cases, fitness shoes are preferred , specially designed for indoor activities. Flexible and light, they must allow great freedom of movement while absorbing shocks during exercises with jumps (jumping jack, burpees, squat jump, etc.). “For gentle activities such as yoga or stretching, you can absolutely choose the “barefoot” option”, adds Emily Unsworth.

A word of advice: not all brands cut the same way. It is therefore better to buy and try on your pair of shoes in a specialized store rather than ordering them on the Internet.

Finally, be careful not to skip the socks! An unsuitable pair, it can cause may problems during exercise: friction, burning sensations, blisters... Choose a pair without seams, not too thin, and not too low either.

A towel, or even two

In the gym, the towel is often imposed for the sake of hygiene. It is a essential gym equipment to absorb sweat as you exercise or to cover your floor mat during gentle activities.

“If you shower in the room, you think of taking a second towel, of a different color to make the distinction better,” recalls Emily Unsworth. Too bulky? We put on much more compact microfiber towels. They also have the advantage of drying faster. A good point when you train between noon and two and you can't necessarily spread your towel in the afternoon.

To complete your “express shower” range, we also think of bringing a pair of flip-flops, deodorant , a brush, a hair elastic (also useful for tying your hair up during training and not being embarrassed), and spare underwear.

wireless headphones

To motivate yourself or immerse yourself in your bubble, there's nothing like a little music and a good pair of headphones. To choose them well, several criteria must be taken into account: they must not fall out of our ears every five minutes, and they must have good autonomy to accompany us throughout our session.

“Wireless headphones are the best gym equipment for music today because they allow complete freedom of movement,” says Emily Unsworth. With them, you can leave your phone on the floor and train without any problem”.

If you only have wired headphones, you can always buy an armband to slip your phone into. But this system has its limits, especially when performing exercises with arm lifts. So the perfect selection is a wireless headphone with RAM.

I can recommend my own use workout earphone for personal use, the Wissonly Hi Runner bone conduction earphone, It’s both have the two modes mentioned above.

The Wissonly team is primarily composed of engineers and designers. The design of these earphones includes three support points that conform to the head's bone structure: the temples, auricles, and occiput. This design ensures a secure fit, and they won't fall off during workouts. The earphone frame is made of titanium alloy material, making it easy to adjust to the most suitable angle. The entire body of the earphone is made of soft and skin-friendly materials, weighing only 27g, so it won't cause any discomfort even during prolonged wear.

Wissonly Hi Runner comes equipped with Bluetooth 5.0 technology, offering a stable connection with a wider coverage range and faster data rates compared to Bluetooth 4.2. The effective range can reach up to 300 meters, with a maximum transmission speed of 24Mbps. Moreover, these earphones are designed for swimming, and the Bluetooth connection can still be used underwater at a distance of up to 15 meters. The Hi Runner also has an MP3 mode, which is useful when swapping exercise equipment during workouts. When your hands are sweaty and it's uncomfortable to handle your phone, this feature comes in handy. It can play music through Bluetooth connection and also has a built-in memory for downloading and using music as an MP3 player. With 32GB of internal memory, it can store over 5000 songs, allowing you to have all your favorite tracks with you. The earphones also feature convenient and hygienic magnetic charging, with a battery capacity of 230mAh, providing up to 10 hours of continuous use when fully charged.

Concerned about excessive sweat damaging the earphones by getting inside? This is one of the differences between sports earphones and other types. Sports earphones generally have higher waterproof capabilities. Hi Runner meets the IPX8 waterproof standard, which is currently the highest level of waterproof protection. It can be used as swimming earphones and can even be used underwater at a depth of 20 meters.

Wissonly Hi Runner utilizes the latest technology, providing excellent sound isolation and reducing sound leakage by 90%. Before using it, I was worried that bone conduction earphones would leak a lot of sound, but in reality, the amount of sound leakage is not as much as I imagined. In noisy environments like the gym, sound leakage is almost negligible.

A water bottle

Whatever the activity, you have to drink ! Water bottle is another must have gym equipment.

A little before training (so as not to run to the bathroom in the middle of your lesson…), in small sips during exercise (be careful not to overload your stomach) and a lot after having worked out (essential to compensate for water loss linked to perspiration).

For the planet, we equip ourselves with a water bottle with a “pipette” cap, much more practical than a wide neck if you don't want to spill water everywhere in full effort.

A sweet snack

If we know that the session is likely to be a little more intense than usual, “we plan to take something sweet like fruit, compote or almonds in order to avoid hypoglycemia”, advises Emily Unsworth.

Regarding the protein bars that are often found in vending machines in gyms, they remain ultra-processed products, often richer in “bad” sugar than they seem. So distrust.

A practical bag

For the bag itself, we think practicality! “A backpack is not necessarily the most practical gym equipment because you will have to stack your things on top of each other, underlines the workout coach. Personally, I prefer bags with a closure that opens in length, to be able to spot everything at a glance". These bags are also often more compact and light, therefore easier to carry during the day.

You are now ready for a comfortable and effective sports training. The next step ? Warm up your muscles, of course!

They tell us about their ideal sports bag...

The ideal yoga bag from Tatiana Orlhac, yoga teacher and creator of the “ZENANDBOOST” concept

“A comfortable outfit, a water bottle to hydrate before and after the session, a small relaxing pillow for the eyes (ideal for letting go and surrendering more easily to the final relaxation), a face towel for dynamic and intense practices, a snack if you practice in the morning on an empty stomach (bananas, almonds, green juice...), as well as a small notebook and a pen to take notes of what may emerge after the practice . If you have a bigger bag, you can also bring: your own mat(it will have our energy and we will have chosen it according to the style of yoga practiced), a strap and blocks if the studio does not offer them (these supports help to build strength and develop flexibility), a pair of socks and a plaid to fully enjoy relaxation.

The ideal swimming bag of Lara Grangeon, swimmer and 9th in the Olympic 10km at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics

“I always put in my bag: a bathing suit, a hat, glasses, a towel, a small bag to store wet things, a water bottle, soap, shampoo, a hairbrush, a moisturizer because chlorine pulls the skin, a little snack (chocolate!), flippers, a board, a boy's jumper (a small float, editor's note), flip-flops for the edge of the pool. ”

The ideal running bag of Audrey Merle, triathlete and ambassador of "Les Bornées" , a start-up that is committed to the feminization of sport

“Clothing suitable for running (flexible so as not to be limited in movement, with breathable and comfortable materials) but also for the weather (gloves in winter). For women, choose the right bras to ensure good support while remaining comfortable to breathe. When you go on a difficult session on the track for example, it is always better to have something to discover for the intensity and to cover up for the recovery and the return. For more advanced practice: a GPS watch and a heart rate monitor to check if I am at the desired intensity. As far as possible, a water bottle nearby to maintain good hydration, with an isotonic drink in case of long and/or difficult training.”

conclusion

After reading this article, check your gym bag. Have you prepared all the essentials mentioned above? Using earphones with insufficient waterproof capabilities for sports activities may cause damage to the earphones due to sweat seepage, and in more serious cases, it could even lead to electric shock and skin burns. Before wearing earphones for workouts, please verify their waterproof rating; it should be at least IPX4 or higher. If you are unsure whether you will be swimming later, then choosing earphones with an IPX8 waterproof rating like the Wissonly Hi Runner would be a good choice.