GQ Editors Reveal What’s In Their Gym Bag

There’s no one right way to pack a gym bag. Some have resistance bands in two lengths and wrist wraps in two weights. Others can’t quite remember the word for “resistance band” (“thigh strap thing”—me) but definitely have one in their LeSportsac. We asked GQ staffers to unzip their bags and walk us through the contents. Read on for a full inventory of what we’re schlepping to work out.

Alyssa, Wellness & Grooming Director

1. This is my third pair of Nike Pegasus Trailrunners, which I find transition well from the gym to the dirt trails around L.A. Not pictured are the flimsy but flat sneakers I wear when it’s time to face the barbell.
2. My water bottle is from Goodbye Press and reminds me of a very funny pseudoscientific book my friend owns called The Hidden Messages in Water, which theorizes that our thoughts and words can change water molecules for the better.
3. Papa & Barkley 1:3 Releaf Balm is a crazy-potent weed salve that vaporizes muscle soreness the second you put it on. Sometimes I’ll apply it after an especially gnarly workout to get ahead of the situation.
4. I keep a few electrolyte packets in my gym bag (which I bought from the American Apparel on 4th & Broadway in 2012) for a post-run recharge. I lean citrus-flavored, so stuff like Cure’s blood orange and Moon Juice’s mineral-rich Mini Dew in Pomelo.
5. My deodorant of choice is Salt + Stone’s Bergamot and Hinoki, which is elegant, earthy and not too fragrant.
6. These “Perform Better” resistance bands are colorful, ultra-durable, and always make my crab walks a challenge.
7. I bring my Le Labo Basil hand gel to sanitize post-hand weights. It reminds me of my herb garden.
8. I’ll roll these cork balls along my spine during a post-workout stretch as a little treat. They come in large and small sizes so you can really get into all the nooks and crannies of your back.
9. On a recent trip to South Korea I swung by an Olive Young (which is their version of Sephora, but on steroids) and grabbed a few lip balms. This one from Torriden is smooth, hydrating, and scentless.

Mick Rouse, Global Research Director

Earlier this year, I traded out the backpack I used to carry all my gym gear with in favor of one of the JW Anderson x Uniqlo tote bags, which is the perfect size for all my must-haves. There’s the obvious stuff, like my water bottle, Beats earbuds, and gym shoes (they’re actually the Nike Vapor 11 tennis shoes; I didn’t love them on the court but have found them to be a nearly perfect workout sneaker). I like to keep mints or gum handy to pop in before I start my workout. Something about the mintiness helps get my mind right. And all it takes is one ACL tear for you to never go to the gym again without some resistance bands. Then there are the post-workout essentials: A David protein bar if I’m not heading home right away to make my own shake, some OffCourt body spray for a quick refresh, Reigning Champ’s perfect quarter zip, and a hat just because.

Ian Burke, Senior Commerce Editor

I love lifting heavy—my wrists, however, don’t. That’s why I’ve got two pairs of wrist wraps: a lighter 12-inch pair that I wear when I squat to take some pressure off the joints, and a stronger 18-inch pair to give some extra support when I’m benching. I also have some extremely worn-in 5mm sleeves that I like to wear when I squat to help keep my knees warm and give me a little pop out of the hole (a.k.a. the bottom of the squat). Oh, and that chunky-ass belt is from Pioneer, which in my opinion is the best in the game. They’re made in the US (and made for life) and have the option of a “Pioneer cut” hole spacing, which lets you dial in your tightness without wrecking up the strength of the leather.

Cara Schacter, Associate Editor of Grooming and Style

• Travel-size Old Spice deodorant in Pure Sport
• Allday Dry Mouth Spray in Mild Mint (because I take Vyvanse and Wellbutrin, which I fear reduce salivary gland output)
• Refresh Tears eye drops (I wear contacts)
• Saline nasal spray (I broke my nose when I was three by running into a doorway and my airways haven’t been ideal since)
• Vaseline
• Horchata flavored electrolytes from TikTok Shop
• The Love shampoo and conditioner made in Italy by Davines (their NouNou shampoo uses tomatoes from Puglia)
• Hair Dance’s dry shampoo made from oatmeal, olive, and rice (this, I don’t like due to the tapered squeeze nozzle dispensing too heavy a flow)
• Hypochlorous acid (for my face but also to sterilize my phone)
• Daryl’s Bars’ Vanilla Pumpkin Spice flavored Performance Protein Bar
• A Korean face cream with 5% urea (r/skincare says,“sloughs off dead skin cells”)
• sodium sulfacetamide-sulfur cleanser (prescribed by my dermatologist and decanted into a container originally from ORA—an acupuncture chain in Manhattan that sells Traditional Chinese Medicine-inspired dried fruit snacks—hence the the lid saying: “Apricot to center the energy”)
• Azelaic acid (prescription)
• Crystallized Lime by True Citrus
• Dry brush (long strokes toward the heart supposedly drain your lymphs)
• Lululemon G-string
• Wired headphones (only used to send voice notes from the treadmill because for some reason I always sound like I’m underwater when I use my Bose Ultra Open Earbuds)
• Mochi candy
• Wide-toothed comb
• Mason Pearson Pocket Boar Bristle Brush
• Spurs: Nietzsche’s Styles by Jacques Derrida (to read while I “12-3-30”—a “viral treadmill workout” wherein you walk at 3mph at a 12 percent incline for 30 minutes)
• old New Yorkers (see above)
• Adidas slides (shower shoes, that I stash in a drawstring pouch that came free with a silk scrunchie).
• Sugar-free Ricola lozenge in Black Licorice
• Texture Takedown Skin Smoothing Body Butter by Bliss (with 10% AHA and squalene to fight so-called “chicken skin”
• Off-brand Starface pimple patches
• Tweezers (for normal plucking purposes but also to peel pimple patches off their sheet without crumpling the star’s little arms)
• Sudocrem, a British diaper rash cream I dot on blemishes not suited for a star patch
• Dr. Jart+ SPF 30 with Centella Asiatica Extract
• Gua sha
• Three contact lenses
• ZitFix
• Weighted thigh strap thing (in strength level Strong)

Gabe Conte, Senior Web Producer

My gym bag is probably the most prototypical powerlifter’s gym bag—inside I have knee sleeves, wrist wraps, and a lever belt, plus some specific flat and grippy shoes for powerlifting. Alongside that, we have a very broken phone tripod to record my lifts, a phone charger, some cheap headphones I bought at the airport, and migraine medicine. The funniest thing I have in here (that I’m so sure nobody else here has) is an anti-slip baking mat, which I use so I can get a good arch in when I’m benching.