Fitness

Products for a Successful New Year

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Practical Products

It’s that time of year again! 2017 is coming to an end which means it’s time to start thinking about our 2018 resolutions! The #1 new year resolution is to lose weight and get fit! Unfortunately, it’s also one that most people tend to forget about rather quickly! In order to keep you from doing that, I’ve compiled a list of the top products that will help you have a healthy 2018!

These aren’t gimmick, quick fix products. They’re practical things that you may not have thought of. In my experience, the easier we can make “staying healthy’, the longer we’ll be able to do so without falling off the wagon! I’ve made all of the titles clickable so you can easily view them!

Nutrition (Meal Prep/ Water)

When it comes to losing weight, eating right is numero uno! It doesn’t matter if you work out all of the time if your diet is crap. You simply can’t outwork unhealthy eating habits. Most people also don’t drink enough water which can have quite a few negative effects. Here are some products that will make it easier than ever to stick to the program!

  1. T-Fal Grill – This is my go to for cooking chicken! Living in an apartment can make grilling almost impossible. The T-Fal is not only an indoor grill, but it has special settings for each type of meat. If you cook steak it will tell you when it’s rare to well done and everything in between! You’ll know that your chicken (or fish) is cooked properly. Sprinkle some grilled chicken seasoning on it and you have your protein for the week! It’s SO easy!
  2. Greater Goods Food Scale with Nutritional Calculator – Now that you have your protein cooked up, it’s important to separate out portion sizes. You can measure out 4, 6, 8 oz. of chicken, whatever amount you need at each meal. The neat thing about this scale is it comes with a book full of codes for each food (fruit, veggies, meat, etc…) that will tell you the exact macronutrients! It’s literally the coolest thing ever invented. It takes all the trouble out of counting macros which will make it easier to stick to the plan and reach your fitness goals!
  3. Fresh Prep Meal Prep Containers – This is one of those really basic items that come in totally handy when it comes to sticking to a meal plan. If you have your meals pre-packaged, ready to go, you have a much better chance of sticking to the diet.
  4. 3 Drops of Life Water Bottle – Water is of huge importance to the human body, especially when it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, most of us don’t drink enough of this magical liquid! We track our diets and we track our workouts but do we usually track our water intake? We should! This water bottle will track it for you!

Fitness Apparel

Having the proper workout attire is crucial to having a great workout. You need clothes that are both durable and allow full range of motion. It’s even better when functional clothing is adorable, too!

  1. The ODODOS Pocket Yoga Pants – These are great and pass my “fingernail” test! What is that you ask? Ladies, you probably know what I’m talking about… There’s nothing worse than realizing your pants are see through! These ones are made of non-see through fabric. Another plus, and the reason I added these to the list is because they also have pockets! This is awesome because you don’t have to worry about where to put your phone. It easily fits right into the pocket so that you can enjoy your workout while listening to your favorite music.
  2. Hicober X1 Bluetooth Wireless Headphones – Now that you have your pocket pants, you can utilize your wireless headphones as well so that nothing gets in the way of your workout! These headphones not only sound great with noise cancellation technology but also are guaranteed not to fall out of your ears!
  3. Ladies Yoga Burnout Tank – Okay, so you don’t “need” this… But you want it! I have a bazillion funny workout tanks, there’s no such thing as too many!

Self Myofascial Release and Flexibility

Warming up, foam rolling and stretching out are NOT something to be neglected guys! Most gyms have a foam roller or two available and other flexibility equipment. In case your gym doesn’t, I wanted to show you some relatively inexpensive SMR and Flexibility products.

  1. PowerPro 2-in-1 Foam Roller – This foam roller is really neat because it has both a tougher outer roll that gives more of a deep tissue massage as well as a softer inner roll that’s a bit gentler. Why foam roll? Our muscles develop knots/adhesions that can lead to injury and imbalance if left untreated. Foam rolling is a form of massage that will help release those knots, speeding up the healing and recovery process, post workout. A foam roller is great for larger muscles like hamstrings, quads, glutes, lats, etc…
  2. King In Town Massage Balls – Like Foam rollers, these massage balls hit pressure points which release muscle tension and relieve tightness. They’re great for smaller areas like the feet and neck.
  3. The Original Stretch Out Strap – Do you stretch? I hope you do. If you find stretching difficult, it’s probably because you don’t foam roll! This Stretch Out Strap makes it so much easier. It’s safe and effective; a great option for beginners. It’s extremely important and beneficial to stretch after foam rolling. Once your muscles are warmed up and relaxed, stretching gets a lot easier! Better flexibility will allow for better workouts.
  4. MiroPure Touchscreen TENS Unit – I don’t own this but I want one SO badly! This is the top rated at-home TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) unit and the one that I would buy. It’s used for pain relief. The TENS unit uses a low voltage electrical current to ease nerve pain. When I used to go to the chiropractor for my sciatic pain they would use this on me and it was awesome! I highly recommend it if you have sciatic pain or any other nerve pain. It sounds complicated but it’s so simple and so helpful!

The Main Event

There are so many benefits to working out. Not only will you look great, but you’ll become more energetic. Exercising increases positivity and happiness as well. Here are 2 products that can help!

  1. Fitlosophy Fitbook – It’s important to track progress. There are many applications you can use on your phone to track progress but if you’re old school like me, you’d rather write it down. You don’t need anything fancy, but the Fitlosophy Fitbook is awesome for several reasons. It allows you to track your workouts, food and progress.
  2. Bowflex SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbells (Pair) – So this is mostly for those of you that don’t belong to a gym, although it’s always helpful to have dumbbells laying around. You never know when you might get the urge to workout! Anyway, all you really need is your body and a good set of dumbbells. You want something relatively heavy, not too easy. I love these dumbbells because they go just over 50lbs a piece. For most ladies, that’s more than enough. You can work your whole body with a pair of dumbbells which is why these are crucial for a home gym.

Look how far you’ve come

So you might have a scale to weigh yourself, but that’s not the only way to track your progress. My favorite way to track weight loss/ muscle growth is with circumference measurements.

  1. APUXON soft tape measure – In order to track circumference measurements you need a tape measure. In order to do this you choose a spot on your body and stand completely relaxed. It helps to have someone do it for you so you get the most accurate measurement. I usually would measure my female clients around the hips, waist, and bicep. Measuring a female’s chest is often inaccurate due to bra padding. I would measure my male clients around the waist, chest and bicep. Once a month is the goal, but you can do it every other week if you’d really like.
  2. EatSmart Precision Digital Scale – So if you don’t have a scale, this is the top rated one on Amazon. I don’t want anyone to obsess over their weight. You don’t need to weigh yourself every day. The best way to get an accurate reading is to weigh yourself 3 days in a row, right after you wake up. Take the average of those 3 days. This scale is not complicated to use or understand and it already comes with a tape measure for circumference measurements! How cool is that?

Here’s to a healthy new year! Do you own any of these products? I’d love to hear what you think. I didn’t list anything “gimmicky” because gimmicky items don’t actually help you. Don’t let yourself be fooled by them. I want you to be able to reach your fitness goals. It’s going to require a lot of effort and dedication but these practical products make it as easy and stress free as possible. If you need some extra help putting a workout plan together I’d be happy to help. Just click HERE.

This is your year! You’ve got this!

Until next time…

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I'm an NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Corrective Exercise Specialist. I worked in a gym setting back in Florida for over 2 years, training one-on-one clients and leading group fitness classes. I absolutely loved it, but once we moved across the country to Colorado, I decided to take the opportunity to pursue a slightly different career! My obsession with exercise and love for writing collided, which is how I became a fitness lifestyle writer.

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