You ever get to the point where you’ve been away from fitness for long enough that you’re just getting antsy to move? And your body starts to crave fruits and veggies? That’s been me these last few weeks. (Side note: our parents warned us about the veggie cravings. Never believed them until I was an adult.)

After coming back from the states, it was a mad rush to catch up with everything from being gone. It was manic! So I took a break from fitness and eating well to focus on literally everything else, and I’m telling you – my body was feeling it.

So of course, I’ve swung the pendulum the other way! If you follow my social media, you’ll probably have seen that I signed up for half-marathon in October (yikes). And I’m back to my weekly yoga practice (well, as weekly as it can be with the race weekends dotted in). I also combine this with BBG on my cross-training days, though I’m not rigid with doing three strength-training days a week. 

So after a month away from fitness and health – including two glorious weeks of eating my favourite US foods – I’m back on the health and fitness track and feeling so much better for it. #endorphinsmakeyouhappy #happypeopledontkilltheirhusbands

Totally appropriately, I’m writing this blog post after smashing a run this evening, and it made me want to share what’s really helping me feel my best. Let me know in the comment section what helps you feel your best, too.

Gymshark Flex High Waisted Leggings

There are few things that fuel a power workout quite like the right pair of leggings. You know the ones. The ones that sit on your natural waist. They don’t ride down. They wick sweat. And they make you look goooood. These are those leggings. And they’re so reasonably priced. It’s definitely worth checking out their other goods as well.

I’m also partial to a company that has a great story. This one? Nineteen-year old Ben Francis started Gymshark in his garage with a screen press and now runs a £100 million business. Now that’s gym-spiration. 

Apple Watch

In the tech category is my Apple Watch. I was absolutely that person who – before I was gifted this watch – said, “I would never use an Apple Watch. It’s just a glorified heart rate monitor.” My goodness, how wrong I was. (Apologies to anyone I ever said this to.)

This thing keeps me phone-free on my runs and walks, plays music to my wireless headphones, tracks my mile splits, and yells at me if I’m sitting down too long. I also love that you can specify your own move goals to fit with your lifestyle and aspirations. I didn’t know I needed all this data about my health and workouts, but now that I have it, I’m not sure how I lived without it.

Bikini Body Guide by Kayla Itsines

I’ve done BBG from Beginner’s week 1 through week 12 once before (with two 1-week breaks due to busy schedules), but I decided to pick it up again as my cross-training without the time-specific restraints, like having to do it all in a certain number of weeks.

I prefer the downloadable PDFs because I’ve paid just a flat fee to be able to use 28 weeks-worth of training guides. You can also sign up for the Sweat App and get access to these workouts plus hundreds more from other trainers. I love the training program because it’s HARD but it’s only 28-minutes of torture. I feel like I’ve really accomplished something after each workout, but it’s short enough I know I can do it.

If you’re wanting to try it out, Kayla offers a sample workout on her website, and Pinterest is filled with tons of sample workouts. 

Press London Weekend Reset + Morning Ritual

There are some times when I’m just too busy to eat anything other than pre-made foods that require nothing more than microwaving. Instead of relying on frozen meals or fast food, I turn to Press. If I can see these times coming, I set up a delivery from Press London for their Weekend Reset.

This is a two-day juice and soup “cleanse” of sorts (though I absolutely hate that word). Instead, I use it as a meal service that gives me a variety of pre-made juices and soups. I combine this program with a bit of “real food,” like their Morning Ritual protein powder (mixed with almond milk and a frozen banana for a smoothie) and fresh fruits and veggies to up the calorie count. It makes me feel energized and ready to tackle whatever my schedule has brought me those two days.

SOS Rehydrate

I’m a long-time SOS devotee from back in Martin and my IndyCar days. It worked then and it works now for rehydration, particularly for hot days or long workouts. We’ve also used it for hangover recovery, in case that’s your thing.

It has three times the amount of electrolytes as the average sports drink with only 10 calories. I’ve tried Berry and Citrus, and Berry is by far my favourite though it seems that they’ve come out with three new flavours. 

Shirt and leggings: Lululemon. Running shoes: New Balance.