My ‘New Me’ Shopping List
I know that you don’t technically need to buy anything to lose weight, reach a personal goal, or spend time on self-care, but I’ve always found that having a reminder on my wrist, a new pair of running shoes, or even a water bottle for the gym will encourage and inspire me to keep going and get me off my bum.
I also want to mention that this isn’t a sponsored post. I am, however only using products from the Altitude-Sports catalogue. This is simply because they’ve got a great range, the best customer support and prices. I’ve worked with them before and would love to again, but right now, we’re just good friends.
Smart Watches & Fitness Trackers
“Time to get up”, “stretch”, or “just take a few more steps and you’ll meet today’s goal”, says the watch. Fitness trackers and smart watches go from the very basic pedometer and clock to offering contactless pay, voice to text messaging, and maps. The more complicated they get, the more often you’ll need to charge it, just like your phone.
Personally, I like a balance between a watch and a mini-phone on my wrist, but here are a few options to choose from:
Fitbit Alta HR
Water resistant, easy to use, your steps, heart rate, and can track your exercises with the smartphone app.
Fitbit Versa Special Edition
The latest watch from the Fitbit family has NFC (tap your watch to pay for things) a bigger screen, apps, music storage to play through your bluetooth headphones, and so much more.
Polar Vantage V Premium GPS Multisport
This is more for the pros. It will give you a thorough analysis of your sporting prowess, with graphs, smart calories, and metrics. Metrics!
Spartan Sport Wrist HR Baro
This is an incredibly well built watch and has the brains to match. Again, it’s more for the pro sport audience than the gym-goer, but it’d really help encourage you to take it seriously.
Spartan Sport Watch product page
Timex Metropolitan+ Gift Set
This looks like a regular watch but is actually pretty smart under the surface. It blends the functionality of an activity tracking band with the look and feel of a traditional analog watch. The unique fourth hand tracks daily steps, distance and percentage to goal right on the dial. The Metropolitan+ uses Bluetooth technology to connect to the Timex App on your phone that tracks daily activity, including steps, distance and calories burned. The phone app stores your data so you can access and analyze it at any time.
Timex Metropolitan + product page
Running Shoes
Saucony Men’s Ride ISO Running Shoes
After I ran a few 10kms and a half marathon I’d earned my blisters. I was a proper (very amateur) runner. However, I was tired of limping to the finish line. I went to my local Running Room and they suggested Saucony and the sales assistant told me all about the brand and why they were the ones I needed. Wow. Why didn’t all shoes feel like this? They supported my feet and I had all my toes at the end of my next race. Awesome!
Saucony Ride ISO shoes product page
Hoka One One Men’s Clifton 5 Running Shoes
Whether you’re running, walking, lifting weights, or any other activity, you need to make sure your shoes fit your feet. Talk to your sport-specialist equipment store and get fitted. They make all the difference.
Sperry Top-Sider Men’s Cold Bay Sport Ice+ Boot
Of course, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s still very much winter and if you’re in Canada like I am, it’s either snowing or raining. These Sperry boots will keep the socks you got for Christmas nice and dry when you’re getting your steps in.
Underwear
SAXX Underwear Men’s Vibe Boxer 3 Pack
Let me tell you about Saxx underwear. They are amazing and they’re the first ones I look for in my top drawer. Since they spent a long time writing their own copy, I’m just going to paste it here: “They’re made from an ultra-soft blend of viscose with a touch of spandex for improved stretch. They also features Saxx combination of a thicker, moisture wicking waistband paired with an ergonomic front pouch that provides just the right amount of support, while also having a fly for convenience. These highly breathable boxers have durable 9-panel construction, comfortable flatlock seams, and comes in the long john style fit, making them perfect for everyday wear.”
In brief (get it?), they’re the best. That’s why I’m not even going to mention the other brands. Sorry, other brands!
There, I think that’s probably a pretty good place to start. Just add a shirt and some shorts on top of your underwear, shoes, and smartwatch, or you’ll be asked to leave the gym.
Whatever your new year goals, consistency and fun are key. Keep going and make sure you love what you’re doing.
Good luck.
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