Gear For Class

What To Wear & Bring

So you’ve been training with us for a little while now. It’s more than likely that you’ve noticed that there are some trends in the gym. Certain people wear funky looking shoes to class, on rope climb days athletes wear high socks. You’ve likely also seen that some members wear the same knee sleeves your grandfather used to wear when we squat. 

So let's take a deep dive into what are the training essentials, and why you might consider picking up some additional gear for your gym bag. Are all the below items necessary? Certainly not, but they can add to your experience if you so wish to invest in these products. 

WHAT TO WEAR?

Comfort is key in class! It’s really up to you! Whether you prefer long and loose clothing, or tight fitting and short, we don’t care. Just be sure that what you are wearing allows you to move through full range of motion and feel comfortable. 

Quality Shoes! So what is a quality shoe? It doesn’t have to be a LALO, REBOOK, or NIKE shoe, although we are big fans of these cross trainers. However your training shoe must be A) an indoor shoe [meaning it is clean] and B) it should allow you to run, jump, lift and climb with comfort. Here are a few great options:

LALO TACTICAL SHOES

NIKE METCONS

REEBOK NANOS

NOBULL TRAINERS

Find what works for you! As long as it's safe to train in, comfortable, and clean! We will take it. Each shoe has its pro’s and con’s. While the LALOs are a great all around shoe, they don’t hold up well for rope climbs. While the Nanos and Metcons are great for almost everything, they aren’t always the most comfortable to run in. And while the NOBULLs are about as good of looking as a training shoe can get, they tend to have some durability/comfort issues. 

Olympic Lifting Shoes? Sure, we love using lifters. If you’re serious about Olympic Lifting, you can and should get lifters. But if you’re just here to get fit and have fun, you don’t need them. If you’re ready to purchase some, talk to our coaches and we can help you find the right ones. 

The reason that we use lifters in the gym is two fold:

1. They have a heel lift in them, which makes it easier to squat deeper

2. The have a stiff sole, which can give you more stability when lifting heavy weights

WHAT TO BRING

Aside from the basics of comfortable clothes and proper training shoes here are a few other considerations. 

Water Bottle! We are in the country, and if you’re not used to well water then you might want to bring your own! As ours may taste a little funky if you’re not accustomed to well water. We know it’s not the most convenient, but hey that's country living. Our solution: if you’d like, we also sell drinks at the front desk!

Sweat Towel/ Yoga Mat If you are a sweater, a real go getter, bring a towel, or mat to do your burpees on trust us it helps! 

NICE TO HAVES

In the next section we are going to go over nice to haves. These are items that are by no means essential, but can add to your experience in the gym.

Skipping Rope

Here is the deal with skipping ropes. We have plenty of them at the gym. But they are kind of like a pair of sneakers, in the sense that you’re skipping rope molds to you, or maybe its the other way around and you mold to the skipping rope. We are not sure which, but either if you’re serious about learning to perform double unders we recommend getting your own skipping rope. 

Here are our favourite brands:

3rd Place - Northern Light (Available In Kanata at Fitness Depot)

2nd Place -  Rogue Fitness (Solid Middle of the pack rope)

1st Place -  RPM Skipping Ropes (The Mercedes of skipping ropes)

Knee Sleeves

Knee sleeves are a great tool for warming up your knees before squatting, Olympic lifting, or any sort of lower body activity. They're also a great tool for lunges to keep you from scraping your knees, and they also help when we do rope climbs from burning your shins. So if you find that you get knee pain when squatting, or you just want a little extra support and your lips than a knee sleeve is a great addition to your gym bag.

Rogue Knee Sleeves

Wrist Wraps

If you find that you get sore wrists anytime you take a barbell overhead, then adding wrist wraps into your gym bag is a great tool. It works by compressing the wrist joint and separating the bones of the hand from the bones of the forearm, which can get rid of irritation and pain when lifting barbells overhead.

Rogue Wrist Wraps

Athletic Tape

You've likely seen athletes at the gym taping their thumbs before lifting a barbell. Taping your thumbs is a great way to get rid of the irritation associated with the hook grip. So if you find that your thumbs are sore or beaten up after dumbbell or barbell work consider purchasing some athletic tape.

Soft Athletic Tape                  Regular Athletic Tape

Weight Belt

Lastly let's talk about weight belts. When  lifting heavy weights, such as a Max effort deadlift, or back squat. Sometimes the additional support provided from a lifting belt is a great tool to help you lift heavy loads safely. Consider getting a lifting belt for heavyweights, however we don't recommend athletes use them all the time, as they can become a little bit of a crutch if we don’t train without them as well. That being said belting up for heavy lifts can give you that little bit of extra support and security with heavy loads. 

Rogue Fitness Belts