Essential Fitness Gear for Fitness Pros

Essential Fitness Gear for Fitness Pros

Fitness trainers have one thing in common with their students: a need for good-quality workout gear and accessories suited to the activities that they will engage in the most. Here are some of the essential basics that will serve you well as you’re training others and round out your training tools to help your clients.

Timekeeping device
You need a clock to time your sessions and it’s likely that you’ll have a use for a stopwatch as well. Look for a durable, water-resistant, shock-resistant timer with the functions that you require for training. Depending on your preference, you can get one to wear on your wrist, around your neck on a lanyard, or clipped to your clothing. An accurate wall clock that’s synched to your portable timer device can also be a useful addition to your training facility.

Sound system
Music is an important part of many types of fitness classes for good reason. It helps set the mood and pace, provides motivation to keep moving, and spurs performance. Music players for working out run the gamut from portable, battery-operated docks for MP3 players to studio-wide systems with wall-mounted speakers in every corner. Pick whatever works for your needs and budget, knowing you can always upgrade later on.

Appropriate footwear
You’ll probably be spending a lot of time on your feet, so make sure you choose your own footwear with the same care you recommend to your students. Make sure you match your shoes to the activities you’ll be doing and don’t forget to select good quality athletic socks as well.

Activity tracker
Your clients aren’t the only ones who could use the extra motivation of knowing how much activity they do in a day. Track your steps and watch your progress with one of the many personal activity trackers on the market. Not only will your familiarity with the functionality help you explain the devices to your clients and help them interpret their stats, but you will also be able to keep tabs on your own activity levels and tweak them as needed.

Resistance bands
These inexpensive elastic bands can be used for exercises designed to enhance flexibility, strength and muscle tone. They’re a standard Pilates tool, but you can incorporate them into any workout. Because they’re very portable, you can throw them in a gym bag to aid your clients’ workouts outside your usual facility.

Exercise ball
Also known as stability balls or Swiss balls, these inflatable plastic balls are great for core workouts because the balance required to utilize them engages back and abdominal muscles during the workout. This is another reasonably-priced accessory you can introduce into your training regimen to aid your clients in getting fit.

Foam roller
A foam roller is an invaluable tool to have available to combat post-exercise soreness and fatigue. It’s worth the investment to have a firm, good-quality foam roller on hand and be able to instruct your clients in its use for releasing tight, sore muscles.

Tennis balls
Hand in hand with the foam roller, keep some tennis balls handy for targeting tight, painful spots in the muscles of the hips, calves and hamstrings and upper back (between the shoulder blades). Place one in a sock for easy repositioning and don’t forget that they are also useful for rolling under sore feet.