As lockdown number 3 is well and truly upon us, finding the motivation to get a good training session in can be tedious, especially on these dark winter evenings.
Here are examples of cheap gadgets and accessories to help you smash those fitness goals and monitor your performance.
The Nike training and running apps are excellent fitness apps to have installed on your phone. There is an array of workouts and runs ready for you whenever or wherever you are. Each workout or plan can be personally altered to your aims by giving you the tools, the motivation, and the accountability you need to reach your fitness goals.
One of the best purchases I made over the first lockdown back in March was a workout mat which I use for both working out, yoga and mindfulness. I bought mine from Sports Direct but if you can find an abundance of affordable mats with quick Google search. They come in a range of colours, textures, and types so you will be sure to find your perfect mat!
Skipping ropes are a budget friendly fitness accessory and a great addition to your workout routine. Skipping is not only an excellent warm up but you can also really challenge yourself by timing yourself and trying to get more skips in a set time and test yourself each week to meet different targets. You can also do different types of skipping and challenge yourself to do more skips weekly.
Resistance bands are a must have in your fitness routine with their total simplicity but extreme effectiveness. Their effectiveness is exemplified even more during lockdowns and when doing home workouts, although of course you can include them in your gym sessions too.
There are many different bands to choose from with different strengths and a simple google search will give you lots of options. My personal favourite is Grace Beverly’s, also known as Grace Fit UK’s, Shreddy bands. They are affordable, nice on the eye and come in all different strengths and levels to target, isolate, and strengthen your muscles. My Protein, USA Pro, Meglio and Freetoo are other excellent brands out there.
There is a plethora of fitness trackers and watches on the market now which are taking many peoples fitness journeys by storm. You are spoiled for choice with the fantastic array of brands and prices to choose from. Track your steps, workouts, sleep, heart rate, active minutes, and calories just to name a few features. The price range can be from about €30 to over €300 so there really is a tracker for everyone to kickstart your fitness journey.
I got a Fitbit Versa 2 watch for Christmas and I would certainly recommend it. It really pushes me to do some sort of exercise five days a week as well make sure I get my goal of ten thousand steps a day. I also find the sleep and heart rate monitors extremely interesting!