Heading back to the gym soon? I’m not going to lie, I never stopped going. My private training gym, The Fort in NYC, managed to stay open throughout most of 2020. To be safe, I adopted hygienic rituals every time I stepped into the gym or out. I continue to do this as numbers have returned to full capacity. It’s hard not to forget the year we endured or how easy it is to catch covid, so I’ve put together a short list of 3 products I use and highly recommend for keeping your fitness routine extra clean.
The 1st Must-Have Accessory: Fitness Gloves for strength training and weight lifting that can also double up as protection from bacteria on shared fitness equipment. I've always used hand protection for fitness because I have very sensitive skin that reacts to the sweat of others, so this wasn't a huge change for me. But finding gloves that are fashion-forward and give you full-hand protection can be tough. Especially the kind with grip and padding needed for high intensity fitness, heavy lifting and CrossFit type classes. These are the 2 styles I use from Props Athletics and StrongNation. I alternate between them and love them.
Soft and stretchy fabric gloves from Props Athletics with colorful grip across the palms.
Strong and tear resistant gloves from StrongNation which can be put through the roughest workouts but also survive the washing machine. They're normally available on the StrongNation by Zumba shop page, but I found a size small HERE! You can also write the StrongNation team and find out when they'll be coming out with more. But anything in the same vein as this, I highly recommend! If you still can't find them, please email me directly from the contact page.
The 2nd accessory is a Hygienic Yoga Mat: made by Koru Mat, a mat that does not roll into itself causing the practice side to be tainted by the floor/ground side. When you think about how standard mats roll that way, and really think about it, it starts to gross you out. The Koru Mat is ideal for outdoor workouts, intended for yoga and pilates (mind-body movement) but I find it usuable for any kind of workout! I've used it for a lot of my quarantine at-home workouts (both indoors and on my terrace). And now, I'm taking it with me to group fitness events and all the outdoor yoga classes that are finally starting to pop up.
I made a video about how it works below for you to see. Let me know if you have any questions about it.
It's availble here on KoruMat.com or here on amazon.
And this video is just a fun thing I created for instagram using a freeze effect while playing around on myb Koru Mat. I wanted to share it so you could see how the mat works well with these poses.
The 3rd accessory is called Active Skin Repair: I know this one seems akwardly thrown into the mix but I assure you it isn't. For me, it's been 100% a life saver. Active Skin Repair is a first-aid product and anti-bacterial solution made from medical grade ingredients (like the kind they use in hospitals) to keep your skin clean and protected from irritation, inflammation and further injury.
It's uses are endless but specifically for fitness, the ways it can be used are:
- For spraying on the face before and after masking up during workouts to prevent breakouts.
- For tending to chafing, irritation, cuts, scrapes or any kind of irritation or injury you might acquire while working out hard.
- To keep you current injurings protected during fitness (like a new piercing or tattoo). This is what I use mine for the most. Bacteria find those spots that are healing and during a pandemic, they can become your target zones.
Active Skin Repair comes in a spray and a light liquid get. You can get here on their website or on here on amazon.
Thanks for reading my tips and please leave a comment with the accessories that are keeping your workouts SAFE as we continue to survive this pandemic while maintaining our fitness routines.