How to get ready at the gym

If you missed part I: How to get ready FOR the gym, you can check it. Meanwhile, we’ll pick up where we left off…You were just stepping out the door to go to your car.
But wait! You need to make sure that your gym bag is stocked with everything you’ll need. 
YOUR GYM BAG:

I’m pretty low-maintenance, but I still need a lot of stuff to get ready. I like bags that have separate compartment like this:
  
But you can also use a soft sided duffle-style bag like my gym-going buddy, Janetha is holding, and have smaller bags to group things together.
 
Everyone is different but this is what I have in my bag at all times.

• Deodorant
• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Hair gel
• Brush
• SUNSCREEN!!!
• A Padlock (if your gym doesn’t have those number lock thingies)

• Plastic Flip flops for wearing in the locker room and shower (You don’t want fungal infections!)

 
(I keep my flip flops in a plastic bag in my gym bag.)

• Hair tools (optional): Flat iron, blow dryer, curling iron etc.

• Makeup if you wear it
• MORE SUNSCREEN!!!

 

• Spare tank top and skivvies (because one day you’ll forget to bring a pair. Don’t ask me how I know. Or better yet, do ask Allie, about when she came to visit and dropped her undies outside Gold’s gym somewhere in Venice.

THE ACTUAL WORKOUT:
When i lock up my stuff and head for the gym floor I take 3 things with me:

1. Water
2. Towel
3. My Mini Gym bag which contains:

• My ipod
• My phone
• An energy bar in case of energy 911
• My lifting gloves (to protect my princess hands)
• My ‘critical’ wallet containing my driver’s license, money etc. I watch it like a hawk and it’s safer with me than in the locker I’ve been told.
• Random pieces of blank paper and a pen in case you need someone’s autograph (kidding)
• Earplugs! I figure that I’ll be attending group exercise classes until I’m approximately 95 years old, so I need to protect my ears every bit that I can.

(But, why are these for women?)

AFTER THE WORKOUT:
You’ll remove the bag with your clean towel and exchange it for the dirty clothes you just soaked. You’ll also exchange the sweaty shoes for the flip flops. Sneakers go on top so they don’t get soaked in your sweat. Put on your flip flops first!
Please tell me that I don’t need to remind you not to sit your bare booty on the bench?
Dawn your towel…Look hot doing so:

(someone was cold- hee)

You’ll put your shampoo and conditioner into another bag (preferably the one housing your clean clothes) and go take your shower. Why? Sometimes, there is no shelf upon which to set your shampoo/conditioner and I get the creeps putting anything on the floor. You can hang the bag over the door or a handle if necessary.

(Make sure someone double-checks that you have everything you need)…

(…but ideally, leave your kitty/doggy at home)
 
(Note: I’ve tried toting ‘trial-sized’ shampoos/conditioners and find that my entire life revolved around refilling tiny bottles. I finally gave up and went for ‘normal’ sized bottles: much easier! Plus I figure if I’m going to do sumo squats holding 50 pound weights, I can definitely handle the extra 16oz bottles going in and out of the gym.)
Now, sip your smoothie so that you can replenish your glycogen stores…

Finishing up:
You have now showered, and changed, and primped and foofed. You are looking stunning and you are not starving because you gulped your shake or ate an apple. You will leave the locker room looking like a bag lady because you will have:

• Your gym bag (with your mini gym bag inside)
• Your (much lighter) cooler bag
• Two or three bags of stinky, wet, dirty clothes and towels

It seems like a lot, but for you, it’s child’s play because you are strong as an ox. Now you can shop that sale they’re having at Gold’s, just like Janetha did:

After you Leave

• When you get to your car, remove your sneakers from the plastic bag and let them air out. You’ll be very happy you did this.
• When you get home later, your gym clothes/towels will still be wet, so you’ll need to hang them to dry before putting them in the hamper, or they will smell like dead fish. Again, you are not to ask me how I know this.
• If you are doing laundry immediately, there is no need to hang your clothes out and no risk of your house smelling like a beach with Red Tide.

Q: Have you ever had a gym mishap like leaving wet gym clothes in the trunk of your car for two months (not that it happened to me), Do you have other suggestions? Will you ever dare shower at the gym again?