Health

What’s in My Gym Bag: Personal Trainer Emily Newman on The Bag That Holds Everything She Needs to Train Clients while Staying Competition-Ready

Photo by Rhonda Moore.

Welcome to What’s in My Gym Bag, a look at what trainers, coaches, and other health and fitness pros around DC keep on-hand when they’re living out of a locker. What’s in your gym bag? Email me at kolsen@washingtonian.com.

Who: Emily Newman, 41
Does: Personal trainer at OneLife Fitness Skyline (17 years) and a health and nutrition coach (10 years)
Fitness Philosophy: “My personal approach to fitness has to do with what goal I’m focusing on. I’m currently 14 weeks out from my first physique competition of the season (in bikini), so my focus is on fat loss while retaining muscle massI’m focused on a combination of lifting and cardio, as well as my macronutrient intake (fat, carbs, and protein).

“As far as my clients go, most of them are focused on being fit and living their best lives. This means finding a lifestyle they can commit to and be consistent with. It’s all about what you can stick to long term, and having freedom within boundaries. True success isn’t what you can achieve in a moment—it’s having the ability to create a lifestyle that will keep you fit five and ten years from now.”

Here’s a look at her gym bag.

North Face Backpack

“It’s big enough to fit what I need, and small enough to be cute and not throw my back out (LOL). It has enough pockets for my keys and phone, and allows me to hold other things like a water bottle. I carry around a gallon.” Women’s Isabella Backpack, $85, thenorthface.com.

Lifting Gloves

“I find these help me grip the weights or handles on cables or machines. And personally, I don’t like having calloused hands.” Harbinger Women’s Pro Weightlifting Gloves in Pink, $16, amazon.

Beats by Dre Earphones

“I must listen to music or podcasts while I’m lifting or doing cardio. It motivates me, gets me feeling positive, and allows me to get into the ‘the zone.’ I particularly like listening to podcasts focused on the mind, body, or spirit. ‘Mind Pump‘ is one of my faves.” Powerbeats Wireless, $200, beatsbydre.com.

Sling Shot Hip Circle Band

“This band helps activate the glutes, abductors, and external rotators. It also aids in resistance for many exercises, like a deadlift, hip thrust, or squat, and can be used as a warmup before a tough leg workout to get the glutes activated. Hip Circle Band, $25, markbellslingshot.com.

Shaker Cup

“I drink BCAAs (branched chain amino acids) in my shaker cup as I’m lifting, which helps with my mental and physical performance. BCAAs are made up of three essential amino acids: leucine, valine, and isoleucine. While you can typically get enough through adequate amounts of protein, getting them from a drink has its advantages. These amino acids are particularly important for those who are concerned with muscle building or muscle maintenance goals. BCAAs help increase rates of protein synthesis, can be used as an energy source, help suppress muscle protein breakdown, reduce muscle damage, and lessen delayed onset muscle soreness. I prefer to use Gains in Bulk BCAAs because they’re unsweetened and have no artificial junk in them. I sweeten them on my own with lemon liquid stevia.” Classic Blender Bottle in Pink, $10, blenderbottle.com.

Kim Olsen

Kim Olsen ([email protected]) is a freelance writer in Alexandria.