I would be lying if I told you that my life is not revolved around fitness. I am in the gym literally every single day, whether that’s to workout, do personal training, coach CrossFit classes or film fitness related content for social media. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t workout every single day, I have my ”rest days” too. Currently I am using Thursday as an active recovery day and Sunday as a complete rest day. I am just trying to get some ”easy” running miles in on Thursday to add to my total of the week while stimulating blood flow and getting some movement in. The other 5 days of the week I do 2 sessions a day, usually a conditioning based (metcon) or running workout in the morning and a strength/Functional bodybuilding style workout later on in the day. These sessions take up about 2/3 hours each day, excluding warm ups. Now, with all of this training it’s nice have tools that I can use on a daily basis to make important things like recovery easier and better for myself. We as coaches get questions about what products we use all the time, so here is my list.

I am not saying that you should buy any of these products, I just want to share my experiences with them and why I use each one. I am in no way, shape or form sponsored by any of these companies (I wish) so there’s truly nothing to gain for me besides sharing my experiences.

Gymnastics grips

Now, I do have to tell you that if you don’t do any CrossFit style training you probably don’t need to know much about these.

During my CrossFit style workouts (Metcons) I spend a lot of time hanging, swinging and doing all sorts of things from a bar (a rig). In order to protect myself during kipping movements (a controlled swing that we initiate ourselves) I use gymnastics grips to keep my hands from ”ripping”, which can happen if your grip around the bar is too tight or if the bar is too dry. Let me be the first person to tell you that the ”fitness gloves” don’t work. They don’t work for a couple reasons, the main reasons being: most gloves are too thick so your grip is not as strong and you will get callouses no matter what you’re wearing anyway. I think the last part is a big reason why most people start wearing gloves but they simply don’t help against callouses, just embrace them so your grip strength improves and your hands will get stronger.

I am using grips from a brand called picsil and they’re working really well for me. My grips have 2 holes in them to put my fingers through, down the line I will order a pair that doesn’t have any holes but rather loop over the bar instead. I have been using the same pair of grips for over a year and half now and they are holding up really well. I would definitely recommend the brand.

Nocco, recovery/pre-workout drink

One of my favorite pre or post workout treats. I wake up between 4:30/5:00 every single morning, workout twice a day and sometimes work till 08:30 at night, that takes a lot of effort and energy out of me. Even though my energy levels are better than ever with my high fat focused nutrition; I can definitely use a pick me up from time to time. Especially since I don’t drink coffee, energy drinks that aren’t filled with massive amounts of sugar are hard to come by. That’s why I drink Nocco’s, they have completely eliminated sugars from their drinks, it’s all about caffeine, BCAA’s and vitamins. I like the company and the idea of trying to eliminate sugar from everyone’s nutrition so this matches up well for me.

protein powder/bar

Let me just start of by saying that I don’t buy protein powder just to put it in a shake, I like to mix it into my post workout oats, cottage cheese, protein sludge and the occasional protein pancakes. The protein bars are a part of my post-workout oats mixture as well, I like the crunchy taste in my foods and it being a protein bar is an extra benefit.

Currently I am using the Myprotein whey protein powder because their protein line is solid and their prices are pretty good too. For the time being I am buying protein bars from a brand called fulfil nutrition, they’re very low in sugars/carbohydrates in comparison to other brands.

CrossFit specific shoes

If you have experienced CrossFit in the past you know that normal sneakers or running shoes are not going to cut it. Our workouts involve running, weightlifting, gymnastics, powerlifting, climbing ropes, skipping and about a100 different movements You simply can’t expect to perform well with shoes that are not as versatile as the sport/workouts themselves. You need a solid pair of shoes that are at least competent in all of those different areas.

There are a lot of different brands out there that offer ”CrossFit or Cross training shoes”, I would highly recommend sticking with the bigger brands. In this case, they’re bigger brands for a reason, their shoes are better and hold up longer. The bigger companies include Nike, Nobull and Reebok, while Inov-8 and Under 

Armour are starting to make a name for themselves as well.

Personally, I am currently using the Nike metcon 5’s. I have been using these for the past 8 months now and they’re still holding up really well, considering what I put them through. Recently I bought a pair of Nobulls as well but I haven’t started working out in them just yet, so that review will have to wait for now.

Running shoes

My current fitness goal is to run a sub 1:30 half marathon, that means I have to put a good number of miles in on my feet. Although I have dedicated my life to fitness, I am definitely a newbie when it comes to running longer distances and the shoes that come with that style of training. I have spent a good amount of time researching different types of shoes for different types of runners and I finally put in an order for shoes that checked the boxes. I have to admit that for the first couple months of running longer distances, I was using some trail run shoes that I bought of Nike, while they served their purpose better than could be expected, I am liking these new road runners a lot more.

I am currently using the Saucony Freedom 3′. They’re quite comfortable while running and that’s super important to me. My running technique isn’t bad but good definitely be improved, which means that I ”heel strike” quite a lot (where you land on the entire foot rather than just the front part of the foot). Because of the heel striking it’s super important for me to feel comfortable with the shoes that I am wearing.

Weightlifting belt

I saved this one for last because I definitely don’t want to encourage anyone to buy a lifting belt. That might sound weird since I put it on the list, but let me explain. I have dedicated my life to fitness for the past decade and I bought my first lifting belt less than a month ago. In the past decade I have lifted 1000’s and 1000’s of kilos while creating my own ”belt”. By creating my own belt, I simply mean creating a strong enough core that you don’t need a belt. If we’re relying on a belt too much, we’re missing the chance of making our core stronger (which is obviously something we want to do) and it will become a crutch that is hard to let go off. While doing daily activities like picking up your kids, moving furniture or picking something heavy off the floor, you’re not wearing a belt either, so don’t spend money on something that’s not going to benefit you.

If you do decide to buy a belt determine what your goals are. If you’re trying to get into powerlifting, I would definitely invest a little bit more money for a proper belt. If you’re doing mostly CrossFit style training or any other style of training where you’re not just focused on lifting weights, I recommend buying a nylon belt. The nylon belts are versatile, easy to put on and take off during workouts and fairly cheap.

I am using a nylon belt from Rogue, they’re an awesome company that makes quality products over in the States. Their products are super high quality and will last a long, long time.

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