What We’re Loving This Week: Run Shorts, Weighted Backpacks, TRX, and Clif Bars

We’re actually triathletes and athletes here at Triathlete, so we spend a lot of time using gear, nutrition, recovery tools—basically doing all the things triathletes do. And right now, just like you, we’re spending a lot of time trying to make do in the current situation.

Every week we round up the things we’re actually using and loving in our regular triathlon lives. Here’s what we’re loving this week.

Coeur Riviera Fitted Run Short

Like most triathletes, I’ve upped my run mileage significantly in the past few weeks. I typically rotate through several brands of running shorts depending on what’s clean, but the new fitted run shorts from Coeur Sports catapulted straight to “favorite status” right out of the box. The fabric is perfectly compressive on even the longest run, and the 5-inch inseam is the ideal length for comfort and coverage. But the real winner? Pockets—SO many pockets! I can stash a phone, collapsible water bottle, and a full marathon’s worth of gels without any jostling (or embarrassing wardrobe malfunctions).

– Susan Lacke, contributing writer

TRX Home System

I’m sure I’m not alone in pulling every piece of exercise gear out of the closet over the past month. I bought this TRX Suspension System 10-plus years ago and, while I used it quite a bit at first, it has mostly collected dust in recent years. Before the pandemic, I had been going to Orangetheory Fitness regularly as a means of making myself do some strength training. They use the TRX quite a bit in their programs, so I was grateful to find it in the closet recently and put some of my knowledge to use. The system looks a bit intimidating, but because it’s all based on your body weight and you control how hard or easy you want to make it (generally, moving closer to the TRX will make it harder), I think it’s way more beginner-friendly than anything you could do with a dumbbell. You can also get a total body workout using only this piece of equipment. Just make sure you’re using a solid door. I tried to do it in a bedroom and just about ripped the door off. Moving to the garage door has worked fine.

– Liz Hichens, senior digital editor

EmPack

You would think these days looking at my backpack in the corner would bring tears to my eyes. ‘Oh, the good ‘ole days, when you could hit the road and be on any trail you wanted.’ Different times call for different tears, though. The Empack is now bringing me tears of pain and exhaustion, which I know my pain cave has enjoyed seeing again. This pack doubles as a weighted training pack—and some of the workouts I’ve done at home with have kicked my butt, strained my legs, and ripped my arms. It’s a barbell, dumbell, and kettlebell all-in-one. The model I have fits two reservoirs, with others fitting up to four reservoirs. Each reservoir holds 15 pounds of water or 21 pounds of sand. I am somewhat of a gym rat, so I went the sand route. The pack is built tough, made to be thrown around. When travel restrictions are lifted, this will also be my new best friend (don’t tell my girlfriend). Allowing me not to miss training days while on the road. #lifesaver

– Thomas Erny, senior designer

Chocolate Mint Clif Bars & Chocolate Chip Z-Bars

If I’m being honest, the real thing I loved this week was discovering we had been “cellaring” a number of nice bottles of wine—ie. storing them in the closet and forgetting about them. But you can’t use wine to fuel workouts, or at least you probably shouldn’t. When it comes to training, I’ve pretty much always existed on varieties of Clif bars and, with my training down, I might normally feel silly continuing to eat so many of them. But I don’t. In general, I don’t do coffee or really a lot of caffeine period, yet every morning I eat a chocolate mint (caffeinated) Clif bar. I’m not saying this is amazing nutritional advice, I’m just saying it’s fantastic. In an attempt to order food online and avoid the store, I also accidentally ended up with nine boxes of Clif’s chocolate chip Z-bars. I know this things are really for kids, but they’re just so tasty. I have them for a snack while working from home and I microwave one (or two), put some ice cream on top, and call it a chocolate chip sundae.

– Kelly O’Mara, editor-in-chief