What should a girl take to the gym besides sneakers?

Bag

First you need to choose a suitable bag for yourself, and of course, so that you like it, first of all. It should be roomy enough, but not so large that you can easily stuff a refrigerator in there.

Preferably choose a sports bag. There is, as a rule, a very comfortable belt that is convenient to throw over your shoulder. Believe me, after a hard workout you don’t really want to carry a bag in your hands.

Make sure there are at least a couple of side pockets (it’s convenient to store a training diary, gym membership, wallet, etc.).

Pay your attention to the zippers, often they may not be of high quality! They should not be “flimsy” in appearance. Also try fastening and unfastening the zippers. The main thing is that nothing “sticks” and, naturally, that the zippers do not diverge.

That's it.

• The bag should be medium in size;
• Preferably sports;
• Preferably with side pockets;
• With reliable zippers;

Stress and nerves

What to take to the gym for the first time should be decided in advance. At least a day before training. If, five minutes before you have to leave, you discover that the sneakers you were counting on have shrunk and become too small for two years on the mezzanine, that the flip-flops were left at the dacha, and the portable travel hair dryer blows but does not heat, then The nerves you lost while getting ready for the gym cannot be compensated by any training. Neither aerobic nor anaerobic.

Pack your bag in advance. Wash everything you need to dry it. Try on everything you take to make sure it fits. Check your shampoo to make sure you don't run out in the shower. Let your gym bag be ready the day before.

Bath items

Most normal gyms have showers. Sometimes there is also a sauna. Showering is very relaxing after a workout, but the most important thing is that you can go home clean.

Take shampoo and shower gel with you, although if you are not particularly picky, you can take at least a bar of soap with you. I think there is no point in explaining why they are necessary. Don't forget to take a washcloth with you (preferably with handles), because... it will give you a good soap on your back. Your muscles, after training, will be clogged with blood, and reaching your back will be very problematic.

You also need to take flip-flops to wear when you take a shower! I would like to emphasize this! It is necessary! Otherwise, you may “catch” a fungus. This thing is very serious and not pleasant. When I served in the army, our not-so-clean colleagues caught this infection. The legs looked terrible! Not counting the itching, burning and a bunch of other unpleasant bonuses. In general, flip-flops are a must!

Don't forget to bring a towel with you. It's not very pleasant to dry yourself with a T-shirt. Also take clean underwear with you. Everything is clear here too.

So:

• Shampoo, shower gel (soap);
• washcloth;
• Flip-flops;
• Towel;
• Underwear;

Dehydration

Be sure to have a supply of water with you. Preferably - without gas. At least a liter with a body weight of 50 kg and at least one and a half liters with a weight of 75 kg. Dehydration is dangerous. Water is necessary for the cells of our body to receive nutrients and remove waste products.

Today, many nutritionists recommend drinking 2-3 liters of clean water per day, and under load the need for water increases. When you first visit, you don’t know whether there is a cooler in the hall or what the quality of the water is, so don’t torment your body with thirst - take some water with you.

It is better to take a bottle with a special “sports” flip-up lid, the so-called “nipple”.

What to take to the gym

Cloth

Everything here is not complicated, but there are a number of points that make sense to focus on. I wear a T-shirt and shorts. A T-shirt, preferably made of cotton. It absorbs well and does not restrict movement.

In general, clothes should be, first of all, comfortable for you, as well as clean! When you exercise, your pores become enlarged, and dirt from your clothes trapped in them can cause breakouts and breakouts. Believe me, this is also a very unpleasant thing.

If it’s cool in your gym, then at the beginning of your workout, you can wear a sweater, because... It is better for the muscles to be warm.

• T-shirt or tank top;
• Jacket (if it's cold);
• Shorts or sweatpants;

Shoes

Let me tell you right away, no slippers without socks! It looks funny, firstly, and secondly, it is by no means safe. Heavy objects are constantly being carried in the gym, and they can accidentally fall on your foot at any time. And it’s also not very pleasant to touch your little finger on the edge of the exercise machine, for example. Therefore, I recommend that you wear comfortable sneakers and socks. Wearing shoes without socks is, at a minimum, unhygienic.

• Sneakers
• Socks

Scuffs and irritations

Recommended clothing for classes is shorts and a T-shirt. Many girls wear knitted leggings to the gym. In order to avoid abrasions and ensure comfort during exercise, these clothes should absorb sweat well, dry easily on the body, and wash effectively. Modern manufacturers of sports equipment understand this well. They recommend clothing made from mixed fabrics. For example: cotton – 75%, polyester – 15%, elastane – 10%.

For the first session, if you are not ready to invest immediately, you can use regular cotton. I strongly recommend avoiding “naked” non-specialized synthetics. Sweating can become uncontrollable and cause a lot of trouble.

Sports assistants

Now we will talk about those accessories that can make your training much more convenient and safer.

Gloves

In sports stores you can easily find gloves for sports. It would be better if they were specialized. As a rule, such gloves will either be made of thick material on the palms or leather. It will be more convenient if they have their fingers cut off. Your hands will hardly get wet.

Gloves help prevent calluses, as well as slippage during various barbell/dumbbell rows, pull-ups, etc. Calluses don’t bother me much, so I don’t use them, although I used to have them, a convenient and sometimes necessary thing.

Wrist belts (traction)

They will help you if you are already working with fairly heavy weights. When our hands can no longer cope with the load, this does not allow us to perform the exercise with the correct technique. The grip weakens, and we try to finish the exercise as quickly as possible, without achieving high-quality muscle failure of the trained muscle.

It’s the traction that will help correct the situation! These are elastic strips of dense fabric (preferably soft) that are wrapped around the hands and bar, thereby disabling the forearms from the work. This way you can focus on the right muscles. They cost about 250 rubles, so purchasing them will not be difficult for almost anyone. Progress will go faster with them!

Many people believe that this way we won’t be able to pump up our forearms enough so that they don’t look dystrophic. In my opinion, this is all nonsense. Because The muscle groups of the forearms are not large in size, and in any case they are loaded in exercises where deadlifts are not needed, and I’m not complaining about the size of my forearms.

I have a cool article about how to pump up your forearms. Read it if interested.

Weightlifting belt

A very necessary thing! As a rule, they are available in gyms, but it’s always “strained” with them! It's very annoying when you're already warmed up, you need a belt for the next exercise, and they're all busy. Not nice.

It looks like a thick belt with a thickening at the back, under the lower back. It holds the muscles of the lower back well, which prevents them from tearing and keeps the internal organs in place.

It is needed for exercises such as: deadlifts, deadlifts, bent-over barbell rows, military presses, etc. The exercises are incredibly effective (since they are basic), but at the same time dangerous, so it’s better to protect your back. Loosen the belt between sets to restore normal circulation.

Small towel

Sometimes this is a very necessary thing. Especially when you come up to a bench or exercise machine after someone, and there is a puddle of sweat there. It’s not very pleasant to lie down on such a bench, even in a T-shirt. It helps a lot when you need to wipe sweat from your forehead, for example. It will also help you when you are already working with fairly heavy weights, as a pad for your shoulders. Also, do not forget to wipe the bench after yourself, so that no one will look at you later because of non-compliance with the rules of good manners.

Preparing the gastrointestinal tract for training

1-2 hours before, you should eat well and provide your body with “ fuel ” before training. Why exactly 1-2 hours ? The fact is that the digestive system needs time to digest food. If you eat in 15-30 minutes , it will simply be difficult for you to train and you will feel heaviness in your stomach.

As already mentioned, in 1-2 hours, you eat mainly protein-carbohydrate foods , including vegetables, rice, potatoes, meat, fish, salads, juice, fruits. If your body type is prone to gaining excess weight , then eliminate (reduce) the consumption of fast carbohydrates if possible, and vice versa, if you have a fast metabolism, you need, in addition to everything else, to load up on sweets (for energy).

Before the workout itself, usually 30 minutes before it, athletes drink pre-workout complexes , BCAA and other sports nutrition in order to prepare their body and nervous system for intense physical activity.

In turn, newcomers to the gym, especially those who are just about to go there, are not recommended to take these sports supplements, for a very simple reason: your body is not yet accustomed to specific strength loads , has not entered into the training rhythm.

Work out for 3-6 months without using sports supplements in your diet, and then you can and even need to take them to achieve better results .

Healthy eating when working out in the gym

First day at the gym... Fears, worries, what to take with you and how to behave on the first day?

There's a first time for everything, but when you go to the gym for the first time, it's a little scary. How to set yourself up so that even the very first workout is positive?

So, the very first and most important thing that everyone who is going to the gym needs to remember is that you are not person number 1, not a superstar or a president - no one will pay attention to you , everyone around you has their own program, their own set exercises and your goal. Of course, if you don’t break the machines and do exercises with absolutely incorrect technique. But even in these cases, they are unlikely to laugh at you - rather, they will offer help or explain what to do. Remember a simple truth - everyone once came to the gym for the first time, some were fat, some were thin, but no one came here perfect. Therefore, every person who comes to study already deserves respect, he has already done a lot - he realized that he was imperfect, admitted it and went to work on himself. This is the first step to victory.

Many girls who have never been to the gym and have watched enough on YouTube believe that there are no overweight girls in the gym - everyone is perfect, beautiful in tight clothes, makeup and almost wearing heels. The reality is that people come to the gym to work out, not to get acquainted, to work on themselves, and not to try to impress. Figures and builds are completely different. Basically (in 90% of cases) girls wear leggings or tight sweatpants, sneakers/sneakers and T-shirts/T-shirts to the gym). I don’t see anyone in low-cut tops and panty shorts, thank God. It’s nice that girls understand that the hall is a place where you DO NOT need to show off. Such an appearance distracts even me from training, let alone men...

My advice to you is to start training in the clothes that are most comfortable for you , in which you feel confident and comfortable. So that you don’t think about how this or that clothing fits on you, so that you are not afraid to bend over or raise your hands - nothing should fall out of nowhere. The best thing invented for the gym is a sports bra. I really like Puma - a durable and comfortable piece of clothing. “Tightens” the breasts and prevents possible problems with sagging. Shoes for exercising in the gym must have flat soles, please pay attention to this. Raising the shin when working with weights is undesirable; it is only necessary when running for shock absorption. Choose clothes for the hall that you like and that lift your spirits; you shouldn’t buy all black—you’re not going to a funeral service. Allow yourself some brightly colored shoelaces or a T-shirt if you like that kind of thing.

Be sure to keep your hair tied up and please do not wear perfume before your workout. One day there was a girl running next to me on the path who generously doused herself with the Insolence aroma. I almost suffocated.

It is advisable to take with you to the gym:

• Gloves - will help you avoid the appearance of calluses and in which dumbbells and bars will not slip. You can buy it at Decathlon or Sportmaster.

• Wristband – we wipe off the sweat with it. We wear it when we plan to do cardio.

• Water – many people take water with them, despite the fact that it is often available in gym coolers. I also take my own water, in which you can pre-dilute l-carnitine or BCAA. We definitely drink during training. We breathe and sweat a lot, so it is imperative to replenish our water supply.

• A training diary is the most important thing. There is nothing funnier than a restless person who randomly walks around the gym and does something incomprehensible: first he torments one exercise machine, then another. He has no circles, no approaches, the training turns out so-so - nothing. A training program is a must; without a program there is no result. Of course, in the first month and a half, it’s difficult to remember all the exercises, all the weights you did last time, so we line a notebook and write down the entire workout. Exercises (name), sets (how many), repetitions (how many) and weights (kg). Why are we doing this? Firstly, you can always look at the notebook first and see what to do next. Secondly, you can record all the training information there and track your progress.

Don’t forget that you will have to wash up in the gym after training, so you should also bring a change of clothes, underwear, a towel and slippers with you. You also need to provide yourself with a comb, deodorant and shower product, which is preferably suitable for washing your hair and body (so as not to carry a lot of bottles with you). L'occitane has such a product, and there are also plenty of them on iherb (in the category of children's products).

So, you have prepared for everything and finally come to study. Do you have a basic program for working with weights that you created yourself/downloaded/watched on YouTube? There is a 90% chance that this program will not suit you and will be too complicated. It is very advisable that at the first training session the technique of performing the exercises is explained to you. If you think that you looked at YouTube the day before and remember exactly all the nuances, you are very mistaken. As soon as you approach the exercise machine, you are overcome with uncertainty, and now you are already sitting on the exercise machine and are afraid to do the exercise at full strength, since you are not sure of the correctness of its execution. The first training session with a trainer will give you confidence, you will understand how to do what, this way you will get used to it faster, because you will be in the company of an experienced person. There is nothing worse than coming in with no idea what to do and leaving, thinking that you didn’t understand anything and spent your time aimlessly. Don’t be afraid to take a trainer for the first few training sessions - you personally need this; doing so is logical and correct.

In general terms about the first training sessions: it will be difficult. In the first two, I would probably recommend that beginners without general physical training exercise without weights - just understand the technique, everything will hurt anyway - mark my words. And there is no need to immediately grab the barbells the first couple of times and also hang pancakes there. Do squats with dumbbells or in Smith with an empty bar, do lunges, exercises for your arms and back (if they are weak) first do them in machines, and not with free weights (with dumbbells), machines allow you to influence the muscle more precisely, while you don't have to try to keep your balance and your hands won't shake as if you were holding dumbbells. In general, at the beginning, coordination is not so good, so I advise you to start training on simulators - it’s easier. The most important thing is to follow the technique from the very first lesson. BREATHE CORRECTLY. Always exhale with effort.

Regarding music and phones in the hall - I personally am not against listening to my own music on the track, and not what is being played in Europe+ or in the playlist that will be played in your hall. The only thing is that between approaches and exercises you don’t need your phone at all - don’t catch crows, be concentrated on the training. Our task is to feel the work of the muscles, while performing the exercise with the correct technique, and not just do it anyhow to put a tick in the diary.

A classic workout should consist of 3 parts (or 4) - a cardio warm-up (10 minutes on a treadmill, ellipse or bike), the workout itself (45-60 minutes), a cardio session after the workout (20 minutes), a cool-down (stretching). Please do not neglect stretching from the first days, and then the recovery of your muscles will be faster and more painless. Thus, be prepared for the fact that training, including all changing clothes, will take you about 2 hours. 6-8 hours per week. Remember that this time is an investment not only in your figure. By visiting the gym you gain self-confidence, self-esteem, you become stronger in many ways, more disciplined and responsible. This morning I overheard two women talking in the locker room. One of them has been going to the gym for three years and her comment was: “My only regret is that I didn’t start working out earlier.” And you know, I have exactly the same thoughts.

I’ll probably write more about the training program for beginners separately. In the meantime, I’m waiting for your opinions and comments, as well as questions and suggestions for new topics for posts.

For the future

Actually, a training bag is not the most essential attribute of your first visit to the gym. It’s good if you have it, but the first time you can go with a couple of plastic bags. In the future, when you start going to the gym regularly, you will definitely have it.

In addition to the things you collected for your first visit to the gym, a comfortable, spacious bag with a shoulder strap and side pockets will contain important and necessary things. Athletic accessories: specialized gloves, wrist straps, weightlifting belt. Accessories for the pool and sauna: swimming cap, swimming trunks or swimsuit, felt cap for the sauna. Skin care products: soaps, gels, creams, masks and scrubs. There might even be room for an MP3 player with upbeat music.

And definitely for the training diary. Without him - nowhere. For training to be effective, you need to record basic data. First, the load parameters: weights, number of repetitions and approaches. Secondly, performance parameters: body weight and volume. So a training diary, if not the first time, then the second, is a must. This is necessary, among other things, to determine levels of stress that are safe for health.

Optional but useful things

I have listed everything that will make your classes useful and correct. Now let's make a list of what will make your stay at the fitness club enjoyable.

• Player /headphones. In general, covering your ears in the gym is not very safe, especially if you are a fan of strength training. But if you mostly do cardio exercises, such as running on a treadmill or pedaling, you can download music or an audiobook. It is desirable, of course, that the headphones do not get tangled under your hands. The right music helps you endure monotonous activities and sets the pace for your workout.
• Gadget for counting calories . A useful thing to know how much excess has gone today. Seeing how slowly the numbers change, you are unlikely to want fast food or a bun next time. Plus, such gadgets can measure blood pressure, record time and show the number of steps. It's a small thing, but it's nice!
• Bring your own equipment to the gym if you don’t trust what you have. I sometimes take my own rug with me because someone else’s one confuses me with the look and smell.

Read how to dress a girl for the gym.

Do you think I forgot to add anything to the must-have list? Maybe girls have something to add to this checklist? I'll be happy to read your comments. Leave your reviews and don't forget to subscribe to the blog!