1. PROTEIN POWDER
I’ve talked a lot about protein powder in some of my other posts about weight-lifting and healthy diet, but I’ll go ahead and let you know how much YOU NEED protein powder in your life again. Protein shakes are important because protein is used in the production of muscles, and delivering protein to the body right after working out (which makes micro-tears in the muscles) can help speed up the healing process so you can workout sooner and harder! Ideal Lean’s protein shakes are specially formulated for women. They help boost fat loss while maintaining muscle mass (which is the MAIN goal here!!). This is a great addition to any woman’s diet, especially considering that recent studies found that over 30% of women aren’t meeting their daily protein requirements! (source)
2. BCAA
I’ve also mentioned BCAA before in my post about my workout routine. BCAA shakes are essential to your muscle recovery. BCAA (Branched Chain Amino Acids) are naturally occurring amino acids that help increase muscle growth, decrease muscle soreness, reduce exercise fatigue, and prevent muscle wasting (source). IdealLean’s BCAAs have a unique fat-loss blend that helps you maximize muscle growth and fat loss–I’ve been drinking it for years and highly recommend. Plus, it tastes really good!
3. ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MACROS EBOOK
If you’ve read my post on my weekly diet, you’ll know that I count my macros. Tracking macros (macronutrients) basically means that I keep track of the amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates that I eat per day. Counting macros is better than counting calories because eating 2000 calories of junk food is NOT the same for the body as eating 2000 calories of well-balanced amounts of protein, carbs and fat for optimal fat loss. If you’re a newbie to all this, but want to learn how to track your own macros (a healthy diet is 80% of losing fat!), I’d recommend purchasing IdealFit’s Ultimate Guide to Macros–it has a tons of great information in there that can help you tailor your own diet plan.
4. SHAKER BOTTLE
This shaker bottle may just look like a regular water bottle with a weird spindly wire, but it’s SO MUCH MORE than that. You need shaker bottles to properly mix your protein shakes and BCAA drinks. This shaker bottle will become your best friend during and after your workouts. I recommend purchasing two–one for your protein shake that you’ll drink post-workout and one for your BCAA mix that you’ll drink during your workout. You really don’t want those two flavors mixing together LOL.
5. Multivitamin + Beauty Complex
Again, because diet is such a large part of getting fit and healthy, it’s essential to have a good multivitamin specifically made for women! IdeaLean makes a great multivitamin that promotes healthy, youthful looking skin, hair and nails as well as provides 100% Daily Value of all 20 nutrients that our bodies need. it’s basically a 2 in 1 magic pill for health AND beauty! You can check out exactly what’s in the vitamin, plus customer reviews here.
6. RESISTANCE BANDS
Alright, so we’ve got the essentials we need to nail our diet down, but what about our workout? If you’ve read my post on my weekly workout routines, you know that I’m big into weightlifting because it’s the best way to tone your muscles while losing fat and getting the perfect Victoria’s Secret Angel body (I wish!). Resistance bands are a great way to challenge yourself during your warmups for both leg/glute AND upper body day (I detailed some of these in this post). The great thing about IdealFit’s bands is they come with a little bag so you can easily take them to the gym with you or you can use them for quick warmups or workouts at home or outside!
7. FOAM ROLLER
I also talked about how I foam roll before and after every workout in my workout routine post. Foam rolling is so important because it supports muscle recovery after exercise (it’s also great for a good back crack!). This tiny foam roller is the perfect size for my house–I just stick it in the closet out of sight and can foam roll super quick if I don’t have time to do it in the gym after a workout. It’s also great if you do most or all of your workouts from home.
8. LIFT KIT
Last–but not least–a girl’s gotta have the right outfit for her workout. I’m not even talking about something that looks cute–but something that FEELS good and allows us to train to the best of our abilities. Idealfit has so many great “kits” designed for different kinds of workouts. My favorite is the Lift Kit because I love to lift (duh!). The tank top shows your arms and back muscles so you can properly view your range of motion and make sure you’re working the right muscles while you exercise your upper body, and the shorts have quick drying fabric and 4-way stretch so you’re range of motion isn’t limited while working your lower body (think: squats).
