16 Gym Bag Essentials: Your Must-Have Checklist

Dr. Angela Seabright
Niccole LaDue

| 2 min read

gym bag essentials
One of the best ways to ensure that you hit the gym before or after work is to have your gym bag packed and ready to go. Packing a bag ahead of time will save you time and stress when you’re trying to walk out the door. If your bag is large enough, you can even pack for the entire week.
Although some of the items below may be no-brainers, you may not have thought of reusing plastic grocery bags for your dirty clothes or gym shoes. Use the checklist below to complete your gym bag.
  • Plastic grocery bags for dirty clothes and shoes.
  • Shower shoes – Flip flops work the best.
  • Extra headphones – There’s nothing worse than getting to the gym and not having your headphones!
  • Your favorite music player loaded with your workout playlist.
  • Lock for the locker room
  • Extra socks
  • Wearable health tracker
  • Water bottle
  • Clean towel
  • Deodorant
  • Face and body wipes – If there are shower facilities, pack travel size toiletries to save space.
  • Disinfectant wipes
  • Extra headbands, hair bands, and bobby pins
  • Fresh, clean clothes
  • Something small to eat such as a protein bar or bag of nuts
  • Bandages – you never know when you might need one!
What other gym essentials do you pack? Let us know your tips in the comment section.
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Photo credit: m01229

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