Your Cart is Empty
Athletes know that to get the best out of themselves and their exercise, there are certain items, accessories, even pieces of equipment essential to providing consistency in their training and performance. To help newer athletes improve themselves, here are essential items every athlete needs for success.
Hydration is king, and a water bottle is your chalice. Athletes should always have a good, durable water bottle with them so that they always have easy access to water. Sipping water constantly throughout the day is a great way to stay hydrated and keep your body energized. A water bottle is also crucial during a workout, as it allows you to stay hydrated without skipping a beat. A good athlete knows that a water bottle is second only in importance to their wallet, if only because they need their wallet to buy the water bottle.
Athletes will often experience soft tissue aches, pains, and injuries that come with the growing pains of improvement. To combat this, many athletes will seek out what is known as a sports massage, a massage that targets specifically the areas athletes most often feel aches and pains to try and soothe that soreness. A more convenient option, however, is a foam roller. Available in travel sizes, these rollers are fantastic at eliminating tight spots with a process called self-myofascial release. Self-myofascial release is applying pressure by using your own bodyweight against the roller to simulate the benefits you’d get out of a proper massage. With a foam roller loosening up your body and eliminating aches, it serves as a good way to prevent injuries.
Obviously, you’ll need a way to carry around all your gear! An athlete will want a good, durable gym bag suitable for enduring the wear and tear that comes from travel. While durability and ample size is the priority for moving around and protecting your things, you should also seriously consider the carrying comfort of a gym bag. If your gym bag is painful to carry around once a bit of weight is added to it, you’re exposing yourself to the risk of sores and aches if your bag weighs on your shoulder for too long.
Yoga mats are considered essential items every athlete needs because they will incentivize you to properly stretch and warm-up before starting a workout or heading into a game. Stretching plays a large role in preventing injuries and even in recovery. Yoga mats are also easy and quick to put down, for the sake of convenience, while offering enough cushioning that athletes can perform more core-intensive circuits like planking without hurting their arms on the hard ground.
If you’re having trouble getting yourself motivated to work out or get psyched up for a game, headphones are a great item to have on hand to put on your favorite music and get yourself all riled up. Alternatively, headphones allow you to tune out unwanted noise for greater focus or elicit other feelings like relaxation. Headphones are a lifesaver for making travel easier or pushing yourself to go further and try harder during exercise routines. They’re portable, you won’t be bothering anyone, and they offer a bit of entertainment during exercise such as cardio where you’re often left alone with your thoughts as you run or walk – and no one wants to be left with their thoughts.
While similar to headphones in function, earplugs are more ideal if you’re having issues with sleep. If you have to sleep in a noisy environment, such as a teammate snoring, earplugs are able to tune out the noise without inhibiting your ability to get comfortable. Earplugs are small and easily portable, but should you lose them, earplugs are widespread and it’s easy to get your hands on a fresh pair almost anywhere.
Regardless of sport or exercise, every athlete needs a good pair of shoes that provide comfort and support, whether they be in the midst of exercise, traveling, or in a competition. A good, reliable pair of shoes should be durable against the elements of nature so that your feet are well protected. Furthermore, shoes without good support and comfort can lead to injury, aches, and even complications to your feet, such as flat-feet or athlete’s foot. Your tennis shoes have the duty of keeping you on your feet and at your best for as long as possible.
When the weather is bad or something is preventing you from working out such as, say, a pandemic, then a great investment for you to make is in some home gym equipment. Cardio equipment such as the Inspire fitness cardio strider is recommended because it’s convenient to use and will give you a chance to get your blood flowing even on your days off. Home gym equipment is also ideal if you keep a busy schedule so that your workout conforms to your schedule rather than the other way around. The convenience and ease of a home gym will even aid in motivation, as you don’t feel like you must go out of your way just to get to the gym.
Whether you’re traveling for a competition, a medicine travel kit is essential as a preventative measure. By having medicines and basic first aid supplies at hand, you’ll be able to address and curb any emerging illnesses or injuries before they have a chance to get worse and potentially affect your ability to perform. Simple medicines like Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen are easy to get ahold of at any drug store, and if you have any allergies, this travel kit is an ideal way to stare and carry them with you.
With COVID-19 still a threat, you likely won’t be doing much traveling, but keeping your travel-kit on you with extra masks and hand sanitizer is vital to keep you healthy during such a turbulent time. Prevention will always be the best form of treatment.
Comments will be approved before showing up.
