A Friday Full of Favorites!

It is finally Friday! I thought it would be the perfect day to share some of my favorite fitness products, whether that be clothing, accessories, or the gizmos and gadgets that I use to get me through the day. I absolutely adore cute gym clothes that no one else has. I like to find deals at Marshalls or TJ Maxx on tank tops, sports bras, and training tights that no one else will be wearing because yes I have shown up at the gym wearing my cute top from Target to have 4, yes 4!, other girls wearing the same one. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this but I like to be different! :) So here it is folks, my list of favorites!

• Versa Gripps- I like to feel the iron in my hands. I like when I have a callous from a grueling back workout. I get excited when I chalk up my hands before I attempt my pull-ups. But I also like knowing that the heavy weight I am about to pull is not going anywhere. I love my Versa Gripps and use them frequently! They come in all sizes and a couple different colors. They can be found here: Gripps.
  
   
• Jawbone UP 24- Curiosity killed the cat...just joking! But I am a curious person and I always want to know how active I am throughout the day, from the gym to work to cleaning the house. I monitor my activity as well as my sleep by my Jawbone UP 24. It is similar to the Nike Fuel Band or the FitBit but what I like about it is that I can simply open the app on my phone and it syncs wirelessly with my band revealing the amount of time I have been active, the longest time I was idle and even monitors how long I was in light sleep compared to deep sleep. 
  
   

• Foam Roller- I love to hate this thing. I pack my mini one around to in the back seat of my car so I know I always have it. I take it on road trips, especially long ones and I even have two more at home (one upstairs and one downstairs) to ensure I use it. When you lift weights, you tear muscle fibers and the outter covering (called the Fascia) can sometimes become adhered to the muscle itself (I will go more in depth on this at another time). These "trigger spots" can be quite painful and my legs have a tendency to feel mighty cruddy when I do not take the time to roll and stretch, especially since I am doing 2-3 heavy leg sessions a week. 
  

• Lululemon Pants- THESE ARE MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PANTS! Yes that is me shouting because I love them so much. They cost an arm and a leg (not really but kinda) however they fit really good, are very comfortable, can be dressed up :) and everyone that I have ever seen in these pants looks fantastic! The material very durable and if you do not dry them, they last for a very long time. I utilize gift cards and the outlet store or Ebay to score sweet deals on these suckers. 
  

• Smart Shaker- I love my Smart Shaker and I recently saw that they were selling them at Costco!! Woot woot! They are awesome for putting pre- and post-workout supplements in them especially when you are on the go like me, and pack all your stuff the night before or the morning of. I put my pre-workout powder in the main shaker compartment, my pre-workout pills in the next compartment and my post-workout powder in the last compartment. It fits perfectly in my gym bag, it cuts down on plastic baggie use (what I happened to do before) and it fits just the right amount of liquid in the shaker cup. 
  

Now it is time for a delicious recipe to kick start the weekend! This is one of my husbands favorite dishes and he tells me every time I make it that he could eat it every. single. day! I like to call it "Make-it-up-as-you-go" Quinoa Salad but for the purpose of today, I will call it "Mediterranean Quinoa Salad. It is super easy to make and like I said, you can really add any ingredient to your liking.