Fitness Stuff You Didn’t Know You Needed

Starting your fitness journey can sometimes be an overwhelming endeavor with all of the Pinterest posts of hot asses, cut abs, and glammed up models. Most can be confusing when they start involving macros, calorie counters, and Hiit. If you don’t know what some of those things are, that is ok. There are endless options for exercises and workout plans. You just need to pick what works for you. Some of the items that I have discovered that really worked out well for me have mostly been little things. No giant machines. No yoga mats.

 

The first thing that I recently discovered are fitness resistant bands. These. Are. Awesome. They give you a serious work out if you are intimidated by some of the machines or doing free weights. I just pop on one of these right above my knees in the aerobics room and do all of my leg and butt exercises. Umm, talk about serious leg and glute soreness. There are endless moves you can use these for and the ones I got have a booklet that comes with them with examples. Keep an eye on reviews that talk about them snapping. The first pair I bought snapped really quickly. The new ones I have are amazing and they don’t roll down my legs like others do.

 

I think a lot of people have these but it always helps to use as a reminder. Getting a Blender Bottle can be really helpful in keeping yourself hydrated but doing it in a different way each time. Many use these to be able to quickly mix up some protein right after a workout. I personally use it for another mix that I will mention in a bit. You can get these in various sizes and colors and they really are handy to have.

I mentioned above of another item that I use with my Blender Bottle. I just recently discovered the amazingness of BCAA’s. Branch Chain Amino-Acids. These are what Gatorade wish they were. I drink this throughout my workout and sometimes while I eat my lunch if I am feeling sluggish. The best part is that they taste AMAZING!

Examine.com has a good description of what BCAA’s are and what they are used for.

Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) refers to three amino acids: Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine.

BCAA supplementation, for people with low dietary protein intake, can promote muscle protein synthesis and increase muscle growth over time. It can also be used to prevent fatigue in novice athletes.

Leucine plays an important role in muscle protein synthesis, while isoleucine induces glucose uptake into cells. Further research is needed to determine valine’s role in a BCAA supplement. Supplementing BCAAs prevents a serum decline in BCAAs, which occurs during exercise. A serum decline would normally cause a tryptophan influx into the brain, followed by serotonin production, which causes fatigue.

BCAAs are important to ingest on a daily basis, but many protein sources, such as meat and eggs, already provide BCAAS. Supplementation is unnecessary for people with a sufficiently high protein intake (1-1.5g/kg a day or more).

There are so many different brands of BCAA’s that you just need to find one that works for you. If you are worried about making sure it tastes good, I would DEFINITELY try the Scivation Xtend BCAAs. I get the Mango Nectar, but I know that all of them taste amaze-balls. 

 

The next item is a bit more expensive, but I don’t know that I would keep working out if I didn’t have it. The Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor is absolutely vital for keeping an accurate track of your calories burned while you worked out. It has a strap that goes under your boobs and it keeps track of your heart rate and calories burned for a specific time. You put in place your weight, gender, height, and age to get the most accurate data possible. Much cheaper than an Apple Watch in my opinion….

Some people need to track calories or keep a food diary in order to know what goes in and what goes out. The app MyFitnessPal is exactly that. You track your food searching from thousands of entered food items and you can track your exercise as well to see a surplus in calories. This is free on Android and iPhones.

The last thing I want to share is not a product but a Youtube channel. There are so many fitness people on Youtube and you need to find one that you just click with. I recently found her and for some reason her quirky personality just has me enjoying her so much. Her name is Whitney Simmons and I have linked her Youtube Channel.

What are some of your can’t live withouts for keeping you on track?