A woman should never be without an accessory

I am both happy and proud to share that after almost a year away from lifting, due to injury and then surgery, I am back at it! My husband has started us both on a new 8 week program to switch things up for both of us. We are only on day three, but it has been great to be back at a gym with weights in my hands. It has also been helpful and rewarding to have a gym partner like him with the knowledge, passion, and skills he has obtained over the past few years.

Last night the gym was BUSY. There were roughly 25 people working out in the weight room and only one of them had two X chromosomes – Me. (Now where you may think this blog is going with the conversation of women and weights can be saved for another day.) Instead, I am going to share with you some “girly” gym accessories to keep you looking your best while working on looking your best so you can proudly rock your workout knowing you can keep up with the guys!

Whether you go to a nail salon, or do your own at-home manicure, let’s face it – we all cherish the length of our manicure. When I pay, I want my moolah to be worth it. And when I do it at home, I want my time of wiping off all the extra polish from my cuticles because it looks like a 3 year old painted my nails, worth it.

A pedicure typically consists of buffing and cleaning up the bottom of the feet while a manicure never buffs the palm of your hands. Lifting weights for long period of time with heavier weights and metal bars can cause some serious callus action on the hands. My husband thinks it is great – after all; keeps his hands looking manly – gross. I on the other hand would prefer my hands to stay soft and womanly.

SOLUTION: lifting gloves. They come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors but they are basically fingerless gloves that cover where your hands will meet the dumbbell or barbell to prevent callusing. They are also an affordable fix – I almost always see them at Marshalls ranging between $6-12.

Anyone else hate that awful kink you get in your hair after putting it up in a ponytail or wearing a thing hairband around your head? I DO! Especially for the fact that I do not wash my hair more than twice a week, screwing up a newly washed and blow dried head of hair that took me a half hour to tame is really a way to ruin my day. Meet my new best friend.

These hair ties and head bands started being trendy with the Yoga, Pilates and Barre world since their workouts tend to involve less jumping around and slower more precise movements. Well, a lot of lifting exercises don’t require you to move more than one body part at a time, so embrace away!

Too good to be true? Well maybe a little. I did 15mins cardio last night after some bicep/tricep work and the headband didn’t stay on as well as my usual ones, but I didn’t mind fixing it a few times to save me the trouble of fixing my hair too much afterwards.