Reader’s Request: What’s in the Bag?
Hi guys! Hope you’re having a fabulous Friday! <3
I thought today would be a lovely day for a reader’s request and thought this was a fun one:
From Brittany:
I’ve always wanted to see is what do you bring to the gym every time (ipod, water bottle, towel.. etc) and also any beauty products to use after the gym so i don’t smell all sweaty in class! (things like dry shampoo.. deodorant)
So here’s my gym bag of justice.
Since I left the business professional job thang a couple of years ago, I usually meet up with friends or train clients after my workouts. (I used to go straight from the gym to work) For this example, let’s pretend that I’m meeting friends for a casual breakfast after my gym sesh 😉
A lil disclaimer: my gym bag was a freebie but everything inside is stuff that I bought with my own dinero. I’m not sponsored or paid by these companies in any way- I just like them 😀
The goods:
Cosmetic schtuff,
-Hair glossing cream (Freddrick Fekkai is my fave and they have the mini bottles at Bath and Body Works)
-Moisturizer (Juice Beauty tinted with SPF)
-Mini shampoos and conditioner
-Deodorant
-Face wash (LOVE Korres right now)
-Rockstar dry shampoo
-Mini lotion and leave-in conditioner
-Mineral makeup (from Targizzle)
-Brush
-Eyeshadow
-And samples of body wash and scrub
A tip: samples are your friend! I hoard samples from Sephora for gym and travel purposes. Stash mini samples of perfume, cosmetics and body care in your gym bag- perfect one a one-time use and this way, you won’t have to bring a full bottle and get to try something new!
Hair schtuff,
-Straightener and blow dryer
*I don’t always wash and blow dry my hair after the gym—I’ll put my hair in a high bun, take a shower, and then spray dry shampoo, brush, quick blow dry and run a straightener through it. Good as new 🙂
Food gear
-Sun Warrior in a baggie with protein shaker cup
-Water bottle
-Spry gum
-Larabar for an emergency snack (whole grain wrap with ab, or hummus and veg is great too)
-Goo in case I take a class and then want to do weights or vise versa – to get in extra carbs
Clothes
-Just a pair of shorts and top with flip flops and a purse
-Fresh unmentionables (not posting those on the blog… that’s weird, haha)
I think that’s about it!
Am I forgetting anything??
Any tips for changing or packing for the gym? Favorite post workout products? One of my clients takes what she calls “airplane baths” when she’s in a hurry—she uses baby wipes to towel off and changes for work super fast. She always smells lovely, too 🙂
Hope ya’ll liked this reader’s request post! Please send requests my way, fitnessista at gmail dot com, subject: Reader’s Request
Enjoy your night!!
xoxo,
Gina
72 Comments
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I have the same stuff in my gym bag! Maybe even more! I usually have to go frm teaching group fitness to class- so I have to clean up as best as I can!
Q-Tips!!!!!!
I just wanted to say I have been reading your blog since March/2009,it was actually the first health food blog that I read and I just love it! You’re real and TO ME you’re the epitome of healthy (because everyone has their own idea of what healthy is). I have learned so much from your blog and I love how you’ve made eating healthy and working out a lifestyle and not something that seems like a life of deprivation or obsession. You inspire me everyday and I just wanted you to know that.
Keep up the awesome work!!
shay,
thank you so much for your sweet comment- it means so much to me!! i’m saving this one to read when i get a not-so-nice comment 🙂
thank you so much for reading my little blog and for making my day <3
xoxo
Thankfully I usually just go straight from the gym to home so I don’t have to take any of this stuff with me. How does all that stuff fit in your bag??? 😉
You have a very organized bag. I try to do the same and end up bringing a lot of stuff to the gym, sometimes duplicate and at time full size products. Ugh!
Seventh Generation Baby Wipes are good for a quick spruce up, they are unscented and very gentle. I like that I am not sticky after using them like some wipes I have used.
I always carry extra ponytail holders and hair clips, they always seem to get lost.
I’m super nosy, so I looove these kinds of posts. Does that make me a creepster? Haha!
After reading your blog for six months I finally broke down and ordered the Zumba DVD set. The only classes in my town are at gyms, and I can’t justify the membership to myself when I have free access to our base gym (which is super tiny, so no classes). Should be here tomorrow and I’m super excited!!
not creepy at all- i’m nosy too 🙂
i hope you love the zumba dvds!!!
I think you usually take a magazine or book to read when doing your cardio?
YES! thank you, totally forgot that one!
I’m on a college campus, so usually I just stash extra clothes in my studio locker or just head out from my apartment to the gym. It seems like you are either going to class or going to work out at my college, so walking around all sweaty isn’t looked down up. It’s probably the other way around.
So. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I personally don’t need to carry around the gym bag. But I love your ideas of small things I can stash in my backpack. I love the idea of baby wipes. I am constantly seeing friends, sorority sisters and classmates on my way back from workouts so that would be really nice to have.
How does that all fit in that bag?? That’s awesome, that bag is very deceiving! I always stash things in my bag for after the gym to freshen up if I’m not going right home! Great post 🙂
yup, it’s a lot bigger than it looks! there was still extra room in there 🙂
Good idea about the sample size bottles — that has never occured to me!
I’m lucky that I live 1 mile from my gym, so I don’t need to do much there, just change shoes and have water/snack ready.
I too cannot believe all that stuff fits in that bag! Are those bags in your opensky shop?
yup they’re right here! http://shopopensky.com/fitnessista/buy/live-well-360-the-core-medium-grey-w-red-accent
love this post! thanks!!
Ooh, I really liked this post! And the sample sizes in the bag is a great idea. 🙂
That picture is deceiving because the bag looks tiny for all you carry! Either that or it’s an optical illusion 😉
I can walk to my gym in about 5 minutes (which means I almost have no excuse not to go!), so I usually just bring water and my iPod since I shower at home.
Great post! Thanks. Sounds like you have a heavy bag to carry with all of that stuff in it!
Love that bag and I see one of the new Larabars, very jealous.
Did you do a review of this bag somewhere that I missed? I have the Lululemon Elite laptop/gym bag and it’s great, but I’m thinking of a possible upgrade in my future despite the fact that my middle name should be el cheaperino.
Anyway, I liked this post a lot – I’m a total creeper!!!
how do you like that dry shampoo??? I have been wanting to try that brand!!
love it!
Omg, that dry shampoo used to be my absolute favorite as well, it has the best smell. However, if you want one that has a less grainy feel to it, Ojon dry shampoo is where it’s at. You can get it at sephora and I think it is roughly the same price. Just don’t take it in an airplane. Totally screws up the aerosol.
i LOVE ojon- i have a mini bottle that i use, too. it smells AMAZING
If I don’t have time to wash my hair I sprinkle baby powder in it. It really helps to absorb any moisture so that I don’t need to worry about my hair looking oily 🙂
I normally pack a “quick” bag or a “serious” bag. My serious bag has about the same stuff….when I really need to clean up because I am a SERIOUS mess :). My quick bag normally will just have some good-smelling hand sanitizer, deod, and wet wipes when I’m just gonna run and errand or two or come back home.
I really like that bag!
And I never ever have showered at the gym. I am just weirded out by it, and I even worked in a super nice one. But I do load up on beauty products and try to make my sweaty self look better. 🙂
I need a gym bag! I usually just stuff clothes and a water bottle into my backpack and call it a day. I also need a shaker so I can make insta-smoothies after strength training in case I have to go directly to class or something.
I like to put my shampoos and cosmetics in a gallon or quart ziploc baggie. That way they don’t spill/contaminate my other stuff when they are wet. Great post, BTW. I love seeing this type of stuff!
Catching up on your blog! Thanks for sharing the contents of the gym bag (just bought a new one!)! I had a laugh today at all of the ‘junk in my trunk’ and am considering a post on what a fitness instructor’s car looks like! No room for groceries in my trunk!
Holy crap that is so much stuff. that’s pretty much why I work out at night after work.. all I carry around is my gym clothes, sneakers and socks and I feel like it takes up my whole bag!
I love the samples tip!
What a fun post! Where do you get your dry shampoo?
my friend ashley got it for me- i think she got it at a beauty supply store
I love that gym bag!!!!
Freddrick Fekkai – Rocks my world! Love that stuff!
Hi Gina! I have *never* heard of dry shammpoo before! (gasp!) What exactly is it? And when do you use it? Thanks chica!!! 🙂
-Laur
omg girl it will change your life. when you don’t have time to wash your hair you spray it at the roots, brush, and it absorbs all the oil- your hair feels clean and smells amazing
Holy heck! How have I not heard of this?? Would make my mid-day workouts MUCH easier 🙂 Thanks chica!!
i love that bag! so cute…now i just need a gym membership so i can take it with me 🙂
Holy crap that’s a lot of stuff in that bag! I typically don’t shower at the gym – I’m just not a fan. Too much stuff to cart around. So I’ll definitely bring baby wipes, deodorant, change of clothes, and flip flops if I’m going somewhere afterward.
gina where did you get the shirt and shorts (and okay, the flipflops too..)? haha so nosy
shirt is express, shorts are guess and flip flops are from lucy 🙂
LOL – this is like what US Weekly does in their magazine – “what the latest celeb has in their purse” ;)…I read Lauren Conrad’s recently. But yours is MUCH better than lipstick 🙂
Hey Gena! loves seeing what you carry around to the gym–i don’t carry nearly as much stuff..but then again, i dont train clients or anything like that either.
i’ve been reading your blog for a while, and just “came out” to the blogging world..and was even inspired to start my own healthy living blog with my best friend! its a slow start…
http://www.standingintadasana.blogspot.com
i absolutely love your bag, and you can fit ALL of that in there too? I need that kind of bag asap! haha
😀 The “airplane bath” would have been my tip!! I always have babywipes with me – I try to buy the ones that you can also use for your face! So if you want to head home but have to take public transport and need to hurry so there’s no time for a shower (but you did a great sweaty class and absolutely canNOT hop on the bus the way you are – and smell 😉 – right now) – take two baby wipes, one for the body, one for the face! There you go!
For hair: In winter hats are your friend; during all the other seasons I put an alice band or something like that in my hair.
Put on a straight, confident face – there you go! 😀
And yes, I would need my old gym membership back to use those tips again *g*
Thanks for sharing what’s in your bag! I don’t have a gym bag yet, since I don’t have a gym to go to. But when school gets back in session I’ll have to find one, and now I have ideas for what to put in it.
Woah that bag holds a LOT more than it looks like it can fit! I need something like that for when I go to the campus gym after classes! I’m in the market for a new bag since the zipper on my Lulu bag broke. 🙁
Great tips, thanks for this!
xo
Kris
Wow, that’s a lot of stuff to carry around! At least you are always prepared….unlike the time I was going from gym to work, and realized in the change room at the gym that I had forgotten a bra. And there was no time to go home and get one. And nowhere nearby to buy one. And I do not have the kind of body that I can go without a bra in public…. Needless to say, I left really early from work that day 🙂
I always carry baby powder in my gym bag….and an old(er) ipod in case I want to zone out with some tunes. Another staple for me is a notebook/pen to track what I do or what I want to do…
Whoa, you’ve got a lot of stuff! I definitely couldn’t be as organized as you are!
The only thing I add is probably some reading material. THere is nothing like reading some Food Network mag while working it on the elliptical!
Hey Fitnessista ~ Long time lurker here to tell you I really enjoy your site. We have virtually nothing in common (I’ve lived my whole life in MN, work full time, am in my 40s, have four children), other than our quest for healthy living.
I wanted to email you, but couldn’t find your email addy (am I really *that* blind??). Anyway…question about your dogs…what breeds are they? Have you had them since they were puppies? Can you devote a few posts to your fur babies?
Thanks much!
hey girl,
thanks so much for reading my little blog! i’ll add a puppy page to the “about” page- bella is a maltipoo and viesa is a shiba inu 🙂
Cool post! Brittany had a good idea. 🙂
“Face wash (LOVE Korres right now)”–I am ALWAYS in the market for new face washes. Well, I do have a Lancome that I love but it’s so expensive that I have sworn it off, but god, I love it. Anyway hair…I NEVER wash my hair after a workout. First, I only wash it twice a week, or maybe 3x/week but never daily. Omg no way, my hair couldnt take that! I also don’t sweat tons other than in the summer so it’s not really too gross LOL. But I just spray it with a little body spray and call it good. Body spray is TRULY my friend. I keep it stashed everywhere and it’s so light that it’s not like I’m dousing in perfume and grossing out everyone around me..just freshening up.
Airplane baths? I call it my “poor man’s shower” and do it all the time.
I sound like such a scuz ball in this comment, but whatever, keepin’ it real.
Oh and if you ever have kids, your gym bag will include awesome snacks and activities that you can pull out at the drop of a hat to keep a child occupied. That is, one you get them potty-learned. Til then, it will contain diapers, wipes, creams..and will take over your bag LOL.
🙂
<3 the idea of this post!
Where do you get the rockstar dry shampoo and do you like it/find it useful?
…I have heard about dry shampoo, but wasn't sure if it was worth it or how it works!
Thanks,
Samantha
my friend ash got it for me at a beauty supply store- i think you can get it online, too! i love it 🙂
thanks! i’m deffinitly going to try it!!
Wow! That’s a lot of stuff to fit in a bag..but it all looks so compact! xx
Oh fab post, really interesting! x