What’s in your gym bag can say a lot about you, including what kind of workouts you do, how often you go to the gym and what your particular needs are for your body. We asked our Gold’s Gym Brand Ambassadors to share their gym bag essentials.

Haley Johnson’s Gym Bag

Haley Johnson (@haleybabycakess) from San Antonio, works as an active duty nurse in the Army. She carries a mix of items essential for her workouts and self-care: extra shoes, her Apple watch for monitoring her heart rate, Versa Gripps, hair ties, face wash and moisturizer, ankle cable connectors, mascara, pre-workout supplements and headphones to keep her in the zone. “I sometimes bring my weightlifting belt for heavier lifts, and, of course, I always carry a water bottle,” she says.

Maurice Monroe’s Gym Bag

Maurice Monroe (@mo_z1lla) from San Antonio, is one of the our 2017 Gold’s Gym Challenge winners. “I pack items so I can not only feel good but also smell good,” he says. His bag includes a shaker cup for his BCAAs or protein formula, a jump rope, a waist trainer, headphones, a toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant, a razor and a hairbrush. He loves the waist trainer because it helps with his posture, especially during his workouts, and it makes his body “look more sculptured.”

Chloe Campos’s Gym Bag

Chloe Campos (@fitgirl_felicity) who lives in Greenville, South Carolina, uses her bag to stay inspired. Along with a towel, hair clip, scrunchie, lotion, headphones, water bottle, Muscle Milk, Bang energy drink and snacks, she brings a motivational book and uplifting notes that she writes to herself every day. “I love writing myself affirmations to take with me,” she says. “They are always a great reminder that I can do anything.” Her secret gym bag tip: “I like to put an air freshener inside [not pictured] to take the sweat stank away from my gym clothes. It works, and my bag smells great.”

CJ Finley’s Gym Bag

CJ Finley (@thriveonlife) from Austin, Texas, likes to use his bag as an “arsenal” to attack the day. Along with foam rollers, he makes sure to include his water bottle and SuperSeed food since his “No. 1 rule is to always have food and water.” CJ also packs his AirPods, portable phone charger and Joby phone stand so he can make sure his equipment is not only charged, but with him at all times. “Reducing stress is one of the things we all should be focused on,” he says. “Being nimble with a small bag and my supplies works great for that.”

Jerica Bornstein’s Gym Bag

Jerica Bornstein (@jericax) is a researcher and Ph.D. candidate in Austin, Texas. Her bag is filled with a lacrosse ball, foam roller, bands, Beats headphones and a water bottle. “They all improve my workout in some way, whether that’s with mobility, giving me some jams to listen to or a little extra loving or work on leg day,” she says.

Chef Roro’s Gym Bag

Chef Roro (@chefrorosworld) from Washington, D.C., always packs products to fuel his body for all his workouts. This includes vitamins, a caffeine-free pre-workout supplement, and XTEND BCAAs, for recovery. “I pack glucosamine, chondroitin and turmeric supplements because glucosamine and chondroitin help keep my joints healthy and turmeric has anti-inflammation properties,” he says. Roro is always on the go, so having everything he needs in his backpack is important. “My bag always has my essentials for a great workout or just to stay on track with my nutrition and fitness goals,” he says. “In today’s world, you have to be prepared for the unplanned.”

Emily Knopf’s Gym Bag

Emily Knopf (@em.knopf) from College Station, Texas, likes to keep it simple. By packing resistance bands, a pre-workout supplement, a water bottle and her FitBit, Emily has everything she needs to crush her workout at Gold’s Gym. “Staying hydrated can help optimize your energy during a workout, so that’s why a water bottle is important to me,” she says. Emily always packs makeup wipes and deodorant in her bag as well, since it’s important to her to keep up with your hygiene while you’re at the gym.

Joanna Rohlf ‘s Gym Bag

Joanna Rohlf (@ohhjojo) from Washington, D.C., always carries five things in her bag: a lifting belt, wrist wraps, barbell clips, resistance bands and a water bottle. “My lifting belt helps reduce stress on my lower back when performing heavier lifts or compound movements like a squat and deadlift,” she says. She also carries barbell clips because, as she puts it, “Sometimes trying to find a clip around the gym is a workout in itself!” she says.

Julieta Bautista’s Gym Bag

Julieta Bautista (@julie.bautista.fit) from San Antonio, Texas, is driven by music. She always has wireless headphones in order to “get in the zone” and keeps a spare pair in case her other ones die. Along with carrying branched-chain amino acids, lip balm and Sweet Sweat workout enhancer, she’s never without her bands. “I add them to my workouts for increased intensity, especially for glute and leg day,” she says.

Izzy El-Ubaydy (@izzyelubaydy) from Austin, Texas, likes to travel with his necessities when he hits the gym. “I’ve got a couple of books and journals,” he says. Bringing journals helps him declutter his brain and create structure in his workouts. “I use my Polymath planner to schedule different workout styles for different days”. Being organized gives Izzy peace of mind that he’s maximizing his workouts. He also never leaves home without a shaker bottle. “It’s great for water throughout the day and for a protein shake and other micronutrient powders”.

Lauren Garufi (@eatingbrofood) from Washington, D.C., sticks to the essentials when she hits Gold’s Gym. This includes a water bottle, Optimum Nutrition amino energy powder, headphones and a wet bag. Lauren also likes to pack a snack to fuel her pre- and post-workout. Her go-to choices: on-the-go applesauce and a protein bar. Another item she always includes is a phone charger, in case her phone battery is low and she wants to listen to music. And finally, Lauren always packs baby wipes. “They can help if you don’t have time for a shower,” she says.

Von Stanley Gossi (@zj.vonstanley) from High Point, North Carolina, teaches Zumba at his local Gold’s Gym. He always carries his laptop so he can play his favorite Zumba tracks in his class. When he’s working out on his own, he uses his wireless headphones to stay motivated. Recovery is important to Von, so he keeps his Hypervolt massager and IcyHot pain reliever in his bag. “I like to relax my muscles before and after my workouts or classes,” he says.

Tim Welsh (@everydayFitGuys) from Dallas, keeps a mini-gym in his backpack. It’s full of reversible grips, pull-up bands, core sliders, leg bands and a jump rope. He likes to have everything he needs to make the most out of his workout. This includes having a good playlist for a good workout session, so Tim packs his Bluetooth headphones and will jam to a playlist from GOLD’S AMP™ or Spotify. And he never forgets to pack his towel. “Any good Fitfam lifter knows that a clean gym is a happy gym,” Tim says.

Post-workout soreness can be the result of trying a new activity or increasing the overall intensity level of exercise. It’s a message from your body — one that must be respected, says Gold’s Gym Fitness Expert Robert Reames.

“It’s a signal that you’ve used your muscles differently, that you’ve challenged them,” Reames says. “But it’s important to know what is happening in the tissues when you feel sore.”
Muscle soreness after working out means you’re feeling microscopic damage to the muscle fibers, he says. But don’t worry: The tiny tears in the tissues are nothing to be alarmed about. In fact, Reames thinks of them as positive, even necessary.

“Post-workout soreness is a large part of the mechanism of muscle development,” he says. “The microscopic damage occurs, and then the muscle’s repair mechanism kicks in, building the muscle back stronger.”

Pushing yourself without going too far

People new to physical activity might think sore muscles indicate that they did too much, but even regular gym goers can experience soreness after a slight change in their regular fitness routine — like selecting the next incline level on the treadmill or adding a few more pounds of weight on resistance machines.

However, if your muscles are so sore that you’re barely able to move, or if you feel pain in other parts of the body, you’ve probably pushed yourself too far.
“If you increase weight while doing squats, you’ll feel sore in your quads, hamstrings and glutes,” Reames says. “But if you feel a tweak in your knees or hips, or a pain shooting from one of those joints, that’s beyond muscle soreness.”

Workouts designed to increase strength and endurance should be tackled at a slow, steady pace. Soreness will lessen as you progress, indicating that the muscles are strengthening and ready for the next level of exercise. However, if you notice soreness persisting or pain in your joints, consult with a health care professional before continuing exercise.

Recovery from post workout soreness

For general strength training, Reames recommends a rest period of 36 to 48 hours between workouts that target the same areas. While back-to-back targeted workouts won’t hurt you, giving sore muscles time to repair and strengthen themselves will help improve their performance.

“In a long-term fitness plan, you want a rotation of targeted areas and full-body workouts,” he says. “If you focused on the lower body one day, focus on the upper body the next. If you cycled one day, do something on the treadmill the next.

“Variety is the goal. With a comprehensive fitness plan, muscles will recover faster, be stronger and perform better.”

Hydration is another factor. Drinking an adequate amount of water and electrolytes (see our salt tip) helps speed up recovery time by removing toxins that can occur in sore or cramped muscles, replenishing your body and lubricating your joints.

According to the National Athletic Trainers Association, these are general recommendations on how to hydrate before and during workouts:

• Two to three hours before workout: 17 to 20 fluid ounces of water or sports drink
• 10 to 20 minutes before workout: 7 to 10 fluid ounces
• During workout, every 10 to 20 minutes: 7 to 10 fluid ounces

Foam rolling, stick rolling and even massage are also active ways to help the muscles recover. Reames does it after every workout.

“You’re setting up your body to be in much more optimal shape for your next workout,” he says. “If I drive my car for 100 miles, I fill up the tank and check the oil before I put it in the garage. The next time I want to drive, the car is much more ready for action than if I hadn’t done that.”

If you’re trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, it all begins with a healthy grocery list.

As the saying goes, you can’t out-exercise a bad diet. If you’re making over your approach to health and wellness, it makes sense to start with grocery staples you’ll return to again and again.

Gold’s Gym Wellness Director Connie Cheng recommends putting these six healthy items on your grocery list to give your fridge and pantry a new look.

1. Whole wheat bread

“Substitute white flour grains for whole grains to increase your fiber intake, which will make you feel full longer,” Cheng says. “Whole grains are also a source of B vitamins for energy and contain some omega-3 fatty acids for anti-inflammation.”

2. Plain yogurt

“This has the same taste profile as sour cream,” she says. “Swap it into any recipe you make that uses sour cream, or, if you want to add protein, use Greek yogurt instead.”

3. Mustard

“You want to make healthy foods taste good, and mustard is low in calories. Use it as a condiment instead of mayonnaise.”

4. Avocado

“This is another mayo substitute for your healthy grocery list,” Cheng says. “If you’re craving the fat content of mayo, avocado is a healthier source. It’s still calorically dense, however, so limit your daily serving to one-fourth of an avocado.”

5. Canned beans

Add these to a salad or use them as a side dish for a quick, easy way to add protein and fiber, which will help keep you full. “If you’re watching your salt intake, rinse the beans before serving,” she says. “It will remove 30 percent of the sodium.” Try black beans in Latin and Caribbean recipes for a bit of sweetness; kidney beans for a firm texture that will hold up well in soups and chili; or navy beans, which will absorb the flavor of the dish.

6. Frozen fruits and veggies

Fresh produce picked and eaten in its peak season is best. But when that’s not possible, frozen can be a great alternative. “If foods are frozen as soon as they’re harvested, they may have more nutrients in them than fresh produce that has traveled from far away to end up in your local store,” Cheng says. You can easily add fruit to oatmeal, yogurt and smoothies. For veggies, check the ingredients to make sure only the vegetable is listed and that no sauces have been added.

Make healthy eating easier

Once you’ve stocked your kitchen with healthier options, make a few adjustments to get the most out of them.

You want your healthy foods to be easily accessible and simple to prepare so you’re more likely to eat them.

Frozen produce and canned goods, for example, are ready to cook and can be stocked in your freezer and pantry at all times. But if you prefer fresh produce, consider buying precut items to avoid waste.

“If you consistently throw away fresh veggies because you can’t get through them quick enough before they spoil,” Cheng says, “either go home and chop them up first thing to make them ready to use, or buy them already cleaned and cut, and place the containers where everyone can see them.”

Consider buying meals from the prepared foods section in the grocery store, too. Cheng says to choose healthy options with few processed ingredients (read the labels); keep several in your fridge and stick them in the oven when you want to eat — no additional preparation required. “Don’t think you have to make everything from scratch,” she says.

“If stocking healthy prepared foods will help you make good nutritional choices, then there’s nothing wrong with that.”

The increased availability of packaged and processed foods has made it easy to reach for quicker and more convenient meals and snacks. The choices seem endless.

But in 2018, the American Heart Association found that this sort of “variety” hasn’t been good for us. That’s because a lot of these types of food add calories without nutritional value.

So what kind of variety is good? Try an assortment of seasonal, fresh fruits and vegetables. These foods can be eaten with the seasons when they are at peak nutritional value.

“It’s great to integrate fresh produce into a fitness lifestyle,” says Kritikaa Agnani, a Gold’s Gym registered dietitian.

The three benefits of fresh produce

The AHA affirmed that we need to return to the nutrition of simpler times, putting a focus on natural foods like vegetables, fruits, meats, seeds and nuts — all of which contain a mix of vitamins and other nutrients.

Why eat fresh produce? Agnani says there are three main benefits: “They taste better, they’re cheaper, and there are more nutrients in fruits and vegetables that are in season.”

Taste: During the shipping and storage process, produce can lose its flavor. When a piece of produce is picked, however, it’s usually at its peak of flavor.

Cost: Prices for in-season produce tend to be lower because there’s an increased supply.

Nutrients: As produce sits on a shelf or in a packing crate, it can lose nutrients and overall nutritional value. In other words, the closer you are to the time and place the fruit or vegetable was picked, the more it offers your body.

“Eat a variety of colors,” Agnani says. “The colors show the antioxidants.”

Antioxidants, which are found in the body but also in fruits and vegetables, help repair and protect damaged cells in our body that can lead to cancer and other diseases. Also, fruits and vegetables don’t just improve your body — they can improve your mood, too.

Get to the peak of produce season

Produce comes into season at different times throughout the year. A number of fruits and vegetables are at their best in late summer, but depending on where you live, produce can be in season at different times. The rule of thumb is to purchase fresh produce while it’s in season and try frozen produce when out of season.

Here’s a list of what’s in season and the primary nutrients these fruits and veggies have to offer.

• Blackberries: vitamins C and K, manganese
• Blueberries: vitamins C and K, dietary fiber
• Broccoli: vitamin C, dietary fiber
• Corn: vitamin C, B vitamins, magnesium, dietary fiber
• Cucumber: vitamins A and C, potassium, manganese
• Green Beans: vitamins A and C, iron, folate, dietary fiber
• Lettuce: vitamins A and C, potassium
• Melons: vitamins A and C, dietary fiber
• Nectarines: vitamin C, carotenoids, potassium
• Peaches: vitamins A and C, dietary fiber
• Plums: vitamins A, C and K, dietary fiber
• Raspberries: vitamins C and E, manganese, folate, dietary fiber
• Tomatoes: vitamins A and C, niacin
• Watermelon: vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber
• Zucchini: vitamins A, C and K

Here’s a rundown of benefits from those different vitamins and minerals:

• B vitamins help your energy levels and cell metabolism.
• Vitamin C boosts your immune system and helps cardiovascular health.
• Vitamin K helps your blood and bones.
• Manganese improves bone health and reduces inflammation.
• Dietary fiber helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure.
• Potassium regulates and helps with muscle strength
• Iron is an important part of our red blood cells and can help reduce fatigue.
• Folate is a B vitamin that helps make blood cells.
• Niacin is a B vitamin that helps break down carbohydrates.

Maybe you’ve reached a plateau in your workout. Or maybe your fitness goals seem to stay just out of reach. You’ve heard about “muscle confusion” and think that might be the answer to your problem.

Jeff Monaco, director of education for Gold’s Gym, sees people get that idea all the time. But the phrase “muscle confusion” leads to a lot of, well, confusion. Before you do anything, he says, you need to understand what muscle confusion really is, and what it could mean for you.

Clarity on muscle confusion

When you train, your body adapts, Monaco says — to lifting weights or doing cardio or any kind of training. Your body is a highly adaptable machine, and through repeating the same movements, it will start hitting plateaus and you’ll stop seeing results. People think that’s when you need muscle confusion.

But the idea behind muscle confusion is that you change your training at certain intervals to avoid plateaus.

The term “muscle confusion” first became popular with branded workouts that offered different ways to stay out of a rut by constantly changing your routine. It was used to sell the idea of constantly changing your workout to confuse the muscles and avoid plateaus.

But, Monaco says, different programs use the term in different ways. “Some of them want you to change every day. Others want you to change every three days.”

It’s true that you don’t want your body to completely adjust to your training. But changing your training too rapidly can be counterproductive. Changing your training every day, for example, can lead to overtraining. “We’re not giving the body time to adapt to the training stimulus,” Monaco says.

If you lift a certain amount of weight, you are minutely breaking down those engaged muscle fibers to make them stronger or better able to do what the body calls on them to do. But if you don’t give the body time to rebuild, those fibers get broken down even further.

“From a personal perspective, you’ll be more sore, not recovering as quickly, unable to train at the same intensity and having to take more rest,” Monaco says. “The body is not recovering as quickly.”

The importance of rest

Another way people incorrectly apply the concept of muscle confusion is by simply intensifying their existing workout. When they hit a plateau, they’ll up the weight or duration to get more results. Bad move, Monaco says. When you do that, you could again be denying the rest that your muscles need to grow.

“Rest is a vital component to training,” he says. “It often gets overlooked.” Rest is key to exercise success.

Always listen to your body. The period of rest after exercise is when your body is getting stronger and your cardiovascular system is improving.

“We coach our trainers to perform an assessment about how the clients are feeling today versus previous workouts,” Monaco says. Simple check-ins like “How are you feeling today?” or “Did you rest after the last workout?” actually are important steps to take to maximize your progress.

If someone is still sore, trainers will work on flexibility and mobility training instead of pushing the fatigued muscles.

The need for assessment

Monaco sees a lot of people who are stuck in the same routine. “They just want to come in and do the treadmill at the same speed every day,” he says. He’ll ask about their results and their targets. After talking with him, they’re in a better position to reach their goals.

He has seen how different people’s goals can be, and how much they crave variety. But you don’t need to rely on muscle confusion for that — just change your workouts.

How to change it up

“Generally, one or two changes can yield great results over time,” Monaco says. “For each type of training, resistance or cardio, pick one or two variables to change in your training program periodically instead of just changing everything or randomly selecting a different workout each day.”

Changing one or two variables allows for better monitoring of your training program to understand what works and what doesn’t. When you change multiple variables constantly, evaluating your progress is difficult.

Resistance training variables

• How much resistance
• Type of resistance (machines, free weights, bodyweight, etc.)
• Number of exercises
• Number of sets per exercise
• Number of repetitions per set
• The order of exercises
• Time under tension (how long a repetition takes)
• Surface (stable vs. unstable)
• Bilateral movement vs. unilateral movement (for example, both limbs together or one limb at a time)
• Muscle groups worked together

Cardio training variables

• Intensity of exercise (measured by heart rate or perceived exertion)
• Duration of exercise
• Number of exercise sessions
• Type of exercise (intervals, long distance, etc.)
• Mode of exercise (run, bike, elliptical, rowing, etc.)

“The major thing to think about with training is that there’s no one way to do it,” Monaco says. It comes down to understanding how your body is responding to training and understanding the different variables and components of training.

“‘Muscle confusion’ isn’t effective enough as a term to address the underlying principles it’s trying to describe,” he says. “You need to make changes to your training on a regular basis. It doesn’t have to be every day or every workout, but the body does adapt quickly, and it’s important to assess and reassess so you can keep working toward your goals.” Workout changes should be made in conjunction with thinking about your sleep patterns and nutrition.

Depending on your current state of fitness, your body generally adapts to training stimulus about every four to five weeks, Monaco says. “So I would recommend making larger changes — altering more than one or two variables — to the phase of training at those intervals, while changing one or two of the variables within those training blocks.” The key is that there should be a reason to change them. The idea is that you keep changing until you’re growing.

The more conditioned you are, the sooner you hit plateaus because your body is already closer to its full potential. Check your heart rate, while resting and during exercise, to get a good indicator of how your body is doing. “The range for a healthy resting heart rate varies but is around 60 to 80 beats per minute,” Monaco says. A sign of potential overtraining is if your resting heart rate is increasing with training. Resting heart rate generally decreases the more conditioned an individual is.

“How your heart responds is indicative of how your body is responding,” Monaco adds. And there’s nothing confusing about that.