Starting before I was Ready provoked my search for finding what’s necessary to get through my #Thirsty30Body journey. It was when I made the conscious choice to get fit and take the initiative, I learned how frequently I should think about my health, small tasks I could include throughout my day to motivate me to remain active, and the essential tools that will assist me on this quest. Today I’ll be sharing the essential tools I use for reaching thirsty 30.
Last year, I trained at Hero Fit with only my gym attire, which was an old work T-Shirt for Baltimore’s HFS Alternative Rock station, a pair of navy blue sweatpants, and a cheap pair of easy slip-on tennis from Wal-Mart. I quickly learned that that wasn’t enough gear for this journey after attending class for 2 weeks. I needed to invest in my health, fully. As mentioned before I started Thirsty 30 Body on a mission to strengthen my will-power muscle. So I thought of registering for Hero Fit as enrolling in an expedited college semester because the program was in total 12-weeks (if you didn’t meet the initial 6-week challenge to lose 20 lbs of 5 % fat.) I already bet money towards joining so I equated investing in fitness attire and equipment similar to preparing for college coursework, like buying the textbooks needed for class.
I’ll keep it simple. What was beneficial for me to have last August at the start of Thirsty 30 Body Challenge as tools for getting ahead were all of the following that still remains essential tools in mid-progress. These are items that anyone could have lying around and don’t require you to go out of your way to purchase.
Perfect Pair of Tennis Shoes (or prepare to be barefoot)
So this is a little embarrassing. My shoes completely came off in Bootcamp class while working out. It’s because of the cheap shoes I decided to workout in weren’t being my friend at the moment. A couple of mountain climbers into the routine, my shoes started sliding off my heels. I had to take my shoes completely off in front of a class of about 20 people to finish the routine. When two of those people walk up to me suggesting where to buy some good tennis, I sort of thought maybe my feet stank? Reality settled in that nobody wants to see the feet of a stranger even if they’re decked out with 90’s Nickelodeon cartoons. Tennis is the first essential tool to have towards Thirsty 30 Body.
I scrolled through the Nike online store in search of the perfect shoes for HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training), which was the majority of the workouts conducted in Bootcamp. Shoes suited for this kind of fitness training is what I felt best in investing. After I purchased tennis for HIIT, I also used them while participating in 5K walks such, as the Black Light Run, and even some free local Zumba classes hosted at a neighborhood elementary school. The shoes are good for most activities. Get a pair of great HIIT tennis and your feet will thank you. Maybe even your Bootcamp class, too.
A Sports Bra or Compression Shorts
People with extra cushion can attest to their bodies willingly flopping everywhere when they’re being active. So when working out during Bootcamp I spent 4 weeks struggling to breathe because my breasts kept hitting me in the face every time I did jumping jacks in Bootcamp class. Lawd, all my life…!
The other heavily blessed women in my Bootcamp class sympathized and pointed me in the direction to where I could purchase a sports bra suited for a woman of large breasts. Amazon was the spot. While I was at it, I made sure to get some yoga pants and compression shorts to hold the rest of my cushion together. These are all beneficial for anyone looking for that extra help during high-intensity workouts that sometimes makes us too jiggly for our liking. Compression attire is the next best essential equipment to have in your weight-loss journey.
Fitness Watch (Tracker)
Have you ever tried tracking your steps or your workout activity using a fitness watch or fitness tracker on your phone? It’s the perfect way to help form personal accountability and builds a view of individually-tailored goals. Almost all smartphones come equipped with fitness apps used for tracking physical activity, heart rate, and daily steps. I use the stats in fitness apps to give me a visual of my progress over time. It helps to keep track of the habits I already have and highlights things that need improvement.
Mi Band 4 by Xiaomi Technology is the fitness tracking watch I use for monitoring my physical activity. The band cost me less than $50 and has a battery life that expands pass 15 days. That’s this watch’s valued features. The watch comes with a Mi Fit app for download to a smartphone that tracks all progress using your personal profile. You also learn your progress measured amongst thousands of other Mi Fit users, which is beneficial for the competitive folks. It doesn’t have the full functionality as many popular smartwatches, like FitBit or Apple Watch. I like that because I believe it limits the multiple notifications and distractions that could occur using either of those smartwatches. Mi Band and Mi Fit are simple and straightforward with keeping its fitness features catered as a priority. That’s perfect for me for keeping focused on my physical activity.
Google Fit is a great and free app to download if your phone doesn’t have a fitness tracker. I would say it has all the generic functions you’d want to use for starting off and very similar to Mi Fit in having the same exercise tracking features.
Lose It App
I’m an active user of the Lose It Calorie Tracking App community since my college days when I used to live off bags of popcorn from the University convenience store telling myself that eating fiber from the popcorn would give me the energy to get through mid-day lectures. In turn, eating popcorn just made a lot of noise during class.
Lose It is a calorie counting app with“the goal of helping members reach a healthy weight by providing them with the tools they need for success.” Users can set goals, track meals, learn about the foods they eat and reach their goals to set new ones to build towards a healthier lifestyle. I use it mainly for calorie tracking. It has definitely been a challenge to use the app. But after spending literally 8 years using Lose It, I can say I now have a habit of calorie counting that Lose it has contributed to making healthy eating a lot easier.
In the next coming weeks, I’ll share on Thirsty 30 Body series a more in-depth Lose it App walkthrough of how I use the Lose App as a tool for meal planning and calorie counting.
Excellent workout attire such as a good pair of training shoes and compression pants are essential for your training uniform. Fitness trackers and calorie counters are essentials for keeping all your logistics in order. These are 4 tools that’ll always be great items to have at all stages of your workout journey. They’re all affordable and readily accessible at any time in your process, too. So the pressure for getting them can be very low, but the benefits of having them still remain.
What other essential items do you think are good tools to have during your weight-loss journey? Feel free to leave your essentials in the comments below.
