Empty Your Gym Bag
My stuff
Training Program
If you're not bringing a journal or program with you I won't even take you seriously. Training is all about progression and pushing yourself. How the hell can you do either if you just "go to the gym to work out"? Under Armour Boxers, Shorts I've experimented with many different brands but have always come back to Under Armour. I wear the extra long boxer briefs so they don't ride up on me while I'm lifting. (Much to other people's dismay, I still end up sticking my hands down my shorts to adjust them a few times during my training session.) The shorts are awesome and feel…fresh. That's the only word I can think of to describe them. "No-show" socks Because you look like a jackass if you wear knee-highs. I looked in every single fucking athletic store for another pair of Nike Free's but was told they didn't sell them any more. So I headed to the World Wide Web and found out that I could actually design my own pair. These shoes are incredibly comfortable, lightweight, and look rather badass if you ask me. Sleeveless cotton shirt I don’t wear Under Armour shirts because the bar slips if I'm doing any type of squatting movement (especially front squats). And I cut off the sleeves for functional purposes. (You thought it was just to show off my arms, right?) When you're training your upper body and you have a significant pump, the last thing you want is the sleeves to pinch the hell out of your armpits as you try to do cable rows. Trust me. I never used to be a huge proponent of lifting straps and opted to train my grip strength on most of my heavy movements. However, since I can't use chalk without getting yelled at, I usually lose my grip half way through the set. So I bought a pair to help me on some heavier deadlift variations. (If I ever catch anybody using them for freakin' lat pulldowns, I'm going to slap them, though.) There are shaker bottles and then there are Blender bottles. This is something I wish I would've thought of and made millions of dollars. It's got a wire whisk ball that helps break down and mix your powders. And they come in cool colors. Mine's green. Guess why. Two unmarked, brand-new, unreleased Biotest supplements Because I'm cool like that. (Sorry guys; they should be released fairly soon.) If I'm training with friends, I can usually leave my I-Pod at home; they supply more than enough motivation and noise. Exception: heavy squats or deadlifts. But when I'm by myself I need to listen to something other than the crappy music playing over the gym speakers. I use the shuffle exclusively for training. I put heavier, fast-paced music on and clip it my shirt. Perfect. Not shown: assorted Superbands Whether I'm doing X-band walks, other mobility drills or adding resistance to pushups or deadlifts, Superbands are fun, relatively inexpensive, and rewarding tools. (You can also randomly strangle people, though I wouldn't recommend it. Unless they used lifting straps for lat pulldowns. Then strangle with pride, my friend.) So what's in your gym bag?
My bag is similar to yours:
Great article Nate. Here is my inventory check (note: don't neccessarily have all in my bag on the same day, it depends on my routine that day)
Is it because green is your last name or because DeNiro said "geniuses pick green" in Meet The Parents?
NMate, you ever tried one of those climbing "chalk shots". No mess, no fuss. I use mine at commercial gyms all the time and never had a complaint.
Adidas Combat Speed wrestling shoes (also no longer available..ha HA!)
I keep things minimalist:
@Jon
Nate,
haha that sounds just like my bag;
I have 1-2 gym bags on the go at any given time, combined they contain...
Surge mixed in a bottle carried in.
Nate,
@Nate-I pretty much only use the Valslides for Mountain Climbers and reverse lunges. When I do the Mountain Climbers on the Valslides, I feel like Usain Bolt.
Focus mitts and gloves..I have a partner I work with and we do JKD focus mitt drills sometimes...although lately (last 90 days) we've strictly been working on Target Focus Training...unquestionably the most effective "use of violence" I have EVER seen in 22 years of martial arts training.
http://www.altrec.com/black-diamond-equipment/multipack-chalk-shot
Which Nike Free do you use the 7.0? Or they did away with those recently i think and now have a trainer and runner instead of 3/5/7
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COMMENT RULES: Critical posts are fine, but if you're
rude I'll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment
text and please use your personal name or initials and not your
business name, as the latter comes off like spam. But most of
all, have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to
Tim Ferriss for the
inspiration.)
Comments for This Entry
-Small piece of paper with that day's programming written out with last week's numbers so I can ensure progression and a pen for writing shit down
-ipod shuffle with the new AC/DC album on it and v-moda in-ear headphones because:
a) the iphone ones are crap and dont fit in my ears properly
b) I dont like when people talk to me when I'm training
-pair of lifting straps for heavy barbell shrugs
-dip/chin belt for weighted dips and chins
-nike ID dynamic trainers with Canadian flag (I'm patriotic): best shoe I've ever owned and I've owned all the Nike frees since they came out a couple years ago.
-plain old shaker bottle with waxy maize and creatine because I'm trying something new
-Under armour microshorts and compression shorts because, like you said this is the best combination for training EVER.
-American apparel 50/25/25 track tee. Most comfortable shirt ever
-Always have my workout printed out for that day
-Ipod Nano
-Jump rope for cardio
-Valslides for Mountain Climbers
-Blender bottle for post workout shake-agreed, these are freakin genius, and agreed-why didn't I think of these.
-Gymboss interval timer. Perfect for Tabata's
-Tiger Tail: soft tissue work on lower body days. Feels great on the calves and achilles
-Manta Ray: for squats
heavy duty straps I got from EliteFTS
green (medium) jump stretch band
training log and ballpoint pen
focus mitts and bag gloves from Ringside
big cotton t-shirt, mesh shorts, boxer briefs, socks
digital stopwatch/timer
plastic bag to put the sweaty stuff in afterwards!
- Spiral one-subject notebook, with today's workout and the past several weeks workouts.
- 32 oz. Nalgene bottle filled with one brand new, unreleased Biotest product. Because I'm almost as cool as Nate Green.
- Lifting straps, only if rack pulls are on the day's menu.
- iPod Nano blasting either the "Loud Lifting Tunes" playlist or the "Melt Your Face Off" playlist.
Cell phone, wallet, and eyeglasses stay in the car, because I can live without them for 45 minutes. Though sometimes the lousy eyesight thing can be a pain in the ass, but I'm a trooper.
Dude, I gotta check out the new AC/DC album. My older brother had it and I heard a few tracks, but haven't had the full experience.
@JMJ
The Valslides are awesome tools; I should probably add a pair to my bag. What else do you do with them (besides lunges)?
@Andy
Both. :)
@ Darren
Nah, man, I haven't tried the chalk shots, but they sound great. Do you have a link?
@ Dave Hicks
Focus mitts and bag gloves? Are you boxing, doing bag work, or doing a MMA class?
@Chris
Doesn't it feel good to be on the inside? :)
Thanks for the comments, guys.
-Nate
The new album is no Lamb of God, but it's definitely catchy. It's sometimes nice to be able to decifer lyrics in a song while youre training.
hardcover pocket sized notebook
jordan shorts (im way to tall for normal shorts)
nike compression shirt and under armour loose fit t-shirt and tanks
shaker cup
biotest surge and metobolic drive
ipod shuffle with all the different music to get me pumped up check out my music selection at http://jowerstrainingsystems.com/blog/2008/10/10/what-gets-you-pumped-to-train/
Trx suspension system. Used to have blast straps
jump stretch bands
small bands for lateral walking and jumping
- 10mm Titan lever belt
- 3 squat suits, 2 deadlift suits, 2 bench shirts
- 2 pairs knee wraps, 2 pairs wrist wraps
- Blender bottles w. whey
- Ammonia tabs
- ECA
- a couple mini and super mini bands
- Asics wrestling shoes
- Dowin Olympic lifting shoes
- Adistar Olympic lifting shoes
- Rehband warm shorts
- Rehband knee sleeves
- my clipboard/pen
- camera and mini tripod
- Metal deadlift socks
Its usually a pretty full bag...
I'm a contractor in Baghdad and I train in a military gym, no bags allowed.
Metolius makes a type of climbing chalk designed to be non-marking so that people don't leave white crap all over the rocks. It comes in a pre-made ball that you could probably use covertly without anyone noticing. If I don't train at my own gym I lift at a powerlifting gym where I could probably sacrifice a goat without anyone noticing but I still carry it in my bag just in case. The stuff is called Eco Chalk.
http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/superchalk.htm
Craig
That should work.
They are a lifesaver.
office bags
Jon 5:23pm Oct 27, 2008