I have never had a real gym bag (on my to list of things to buy for 2016), so I’ve been using a cute little Lululemon bag that a friend gave me ages ago. Luckily, it is just about big enough to fit everything I need. For those new to the gym and working out, I wanted to show you all the top 5 things to always keep in your gym bag – these 5 items are always in my gym bag and because I love you guys and recently hit the 2 year anniversary of Honestly Fitness, I wanted to do a giveaway so that 1 lucky reader could win all of these items! Giveaway rules at the bottom of the post 🙂

1. Bluetooth wireless headphones

Making the switch from earphones with wires to wireless bluetooth headphones was one of the best fitness decisions I have ever made. I honestly have no idea how I used to do workouts, such as Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide, without these. I used to have to hold my phone while doing workouts, or tuck it into the pockets of my workout pants. I had tried using those straps where you put your phone or iPod into but I never liked them. They always came loose and I was perpetually paranoid that my phone would fall out of them!

These Meeaudio headphones have a cute little pouch that I keep them in so they don’t scratch against the other items in my gym bag. I really like this particular brand as the sound quality is great and they do the job. Much cheaper than Beats by Dr. Dre headphones and look just as good in my opinion. They are currently on sale from Amazon and are 50% off!

2. Anti-perspirant

I always go to the gym really early before work (since before 6am, yuck) and because it’s so cold, I bring along my huge snow jacket. After I workout, my underarms are rather sweaty and gross, and so I use this dry spray antiperspirant from Dove. It’s cheap and really light-weight, which is handy considering how tiny my ‘gym bag’ is, and I like that it goes on dry as opposed to being all sticky.

If you’re the type of person who goes to the gym and showers there before heading to work, having an antiperspirant is even more of an essential item for your gym bag to keep you smelling lovely and staying dry all day.  

3. Jump Rope

I am obsessed with this jump rope and with jump rope in general! Ever since I discovered Michael Olajide Jr. (who is personal trainer to Adriana Lima and other VS models), I have been buying jump ropes from his company Aerospace. I’ve had both the rainmaker and the blizzard, the blizzard jump rope has weighted handles, and I love them both. I bought the blizzard jump rope after my trusty rainmaker jump rope of 2 years broke!

I like keeping a jump rope in my gym bag because you can use it as a quick warm up or to do HIIT cardio. It packs a killer HIIT cardio session and even just 10 minutes of jump rope gets me dripping in sweat. It’s a fantastic workout to help burn fat, target your lower and upper body and increase your endurance.

4. WOmen’s Gym Gloves

I am a huge fan of weight-lifting (no, you will NOT bulk up ladies) and invested in some gym gloves early on to avoid getting calluses on my hand. Not only do they hand protect my hands when I am gripping heavy weights, I kind of just feel extremely bad ass as well! Whenever I finish my warm up and put on my gym gloves, it is time for business!

I haven’t experimented with a wide variety of brands that produce gym gloves but I really like these Harbinger ones – I’ve been using them for 3 years and they are still going strong! You can find similar ones by clicking here.

5. Closed Loop Resistance Band

While all forms of resistance bands are awesome and allow you to get a great workout in, I personally like and have been using the closed loop resistance band a lot. I always keep it tucked into my gym bag in case there’s a day I feel like doing some extra and targeted butt exercises. I like to use a medium tension band but they come in easy and hard, so there are variations for all fitness levels.

I really like to do tube knees and band walking using the closed loop resistance band to activate my glutes before a leg workout. I found this cool workout from Vogue that incorporates those two moves!

gym bag essentials Giveaway Rules

To enter into the giveaway to win all 5 of these amazing gym bag essentials, all you have to do is follow me on Instagram (@honestlyfitness), like this photo and tag 2 friends. That’s it! So easy and you ca enter multiple times, but you need to tag an additional 2 friends in new comments. To get a bonus entry, simply leave me a comment below and let me know what you think of my gym bag essential picks – PLEASE ADD YOUR INSTAGRAM NAME! I will check and make sure you entered there as that is your ‘official’ entry.

The winner will be chosen randomly next Monday – good luck my lovelies and thanks for your amazing support!

Honestly yours,
Alice

Thank you for all of your support! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest and don’t forget to subscribe!

In the spirit of transparency, this giveaway is being sponsored by Edelman.