9 Gym Bag Essentials to Pack

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Let's face it—finding time to workout is hard. Even if you love to exercise as much as I do sometimes it feels like there's just not enough hours in the day between work, family, commuting, friends and sleep to fit in a decent workout.

I know that working out makes me look and feel 100 percent better all the time, but still I struggle with fitting it into my schedule. One day I decided to figure out what exactly was stopping me from getting in a workout.

Here's what I discovered:

  • Sometimes I really wanted to work out, but by the time I went home, changed, got my sneakers and got back to the gym that window of time was gone or I had totally lost my motivation.
  • Sometimes I had plenty of time to workout (my lunch break, an hour between work and dinner) but not enough to workout and make myself look presentable post workout.
So, I set about to better equip myself to solve these problems. These strategies and products are essential in helping me stay consistent with my workouts:

#1: Car/Office Workout Kits

If I suddenly find myself with a window of time to sneak in a workout I am 100 percent more likely to do it if I don't have to go home first to get my gear.

I learned to keep workout kits in my office and car so that I don't need to go home first before I get my workout in.

These Kits Include:

  • Worn out gym shoes
  • A workout tank with built in sports bra
  • Running tights or shorts
  • Cheap headphones

This is a great way to reuse shoes that are losing support, but are not quite ready for the recycling bin. Since you'll be using them less you can get away with keeping them for longer.

I've also learned that I just can't motivate without workout music. Having headphones stashed helps me stay motivated for a workout or even just a walk around the block.

My workout attendance has increased by at least one day per week since I started stashing these extra gym bags all over. I never miss an opportunity to sneak in a workout.

Essential Item: Nike Free Running Shoes. I constantly get compliments on how cute these brightly colored shoes are. They are also great for maximizing the foots natural range of motion, the closest thing you can get to exercising barefoot without actually having to touch the floor.

Best of all they are really light and foldable which makes stashing and storing them extra easy—they even fit in my purse.