Warming Up

As they say on Game of Thrones (constantly), ‘Winter is Coming’ and, with this in mind I decided to invest in some new work out gear.

I’m usually very reluctant to spend money on gym clothes because I tell myself that it doesn’t matter what I look like, I don’t bother showering before I train in the morning so new clothes won’t make much difference, that looking cool wont help me push myself and that the items get worn so often and get washed so much that they wont last long enough to warrant the splurge.

But then I thought about it and realised that I spend a lot of time in the gym. I usually train 5 or 6 times a week and on the odd occasion where I’m wearing a new t-shirt and feel like I look the part, I genuinely do work harder. Plus, it has started to get chillier over the past few weeks and my usual t-shirt, shorts and hoody weren’t doing the trick on my walk to and from sessions.

So I invested in some new bits and now I feel like Usain Bolt, Tom Daley and Mike Tyson’s love child.

{This photo is staged: if you watch my videos you’ll know that after running the London Marathon earlier in the year, I have damaged my knee and can’t run anymore. Plus, I’m probably doing it completely wrong}.

{If you look at my face here you can see the concern for my knee. Anything for the shot though}.

Anyway, here’s what I’m wearing:

I’m fairly certain the Nike ‘Aeroloft’ jacket was created with the aid of at least a little witchcraft; It’s incredibly light whilst also being super warm.

As far as I’m aware, the shorts don’t have any magic involved; they are just normal shorts. Once you find the length (mine have an inside seem of 8 inches which works out at just above knee height) and fit that suits you the rest is easy. I did decide to opt out of the meshy-pants-inside business though. I knew I would be wearing leggings under them and the more tight layers you wear around that area, the more uncomfortable you’ll be.

My tee is from the ‘Primeknit’ range at Adidas which was designed for temperature management and comfort. Really though, I just liked the dip-dye effect.

I have had the Bose ‘SoundLink’ wireless headphones for a long time and for me, they are the best ones around. I didn’t opt for the noise cancelling upgrade because I wanted them to be as light possible. They sound great and are the most comfortable headphones I’ve tried.

Finding the right leggings was a bit of challenge because I don’t train outside so I didn’t want anything that insulates too much because I would boil when I started to workout in the gym. Instead I wanted something to take the edge off on my walk in but provide enough support to my legs (and bad knee) when lifting, so I opted for the Nike Pro Hypercompression in grey.

On my wrist is the Fitbit ‘Charge 2’, which shows your heart rate (and what that means in regards to burning fat or endurance etc), step count, tracks your exercise, tells you your cardio fitness level, links to your phone to tell you when you have a call or text and even teaches you how to breath. It’s more intelligent than most people.

Finally my new Adidas ‘NMD R1’ which are so light and comfortable, I’ve been wearing them around house.

All in all, I’m feeling very pleased with my new purchases and I’m sure that within a week I will look like I should be on the cover of Men’s Health.

Once I’ve fixed my knee.

Thanks for reading,

Jim.