My Fitness Capsule

For most of my life, I haven’t been very athletic. I have always been smaller and weaker than my peers. The most ‘active’ I ever got was walking or biking to and from campus.

After college I was very sedentary. I had an illness that caused a lot of fatigue and exercise seemed to make it worse. After my daughter was born, I enjoyed taking long walks in the forest, or going on short bike rides, but that was about it. The last couple of years I’ve really started to overcome my illness and have had the ability and desire to be more active. I was sick of getting winded doing normal activities and I wanted to be stronger.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

There is a helpful article on CNN I read this month about Seasonal Affective Disorder. This is something I deal with, especially since moving to upstate New York. Living near the Great Lakes means that our winters not only lack light but they are overcast, sometimes 7 days per week. The lack of light affects many people’s moods, (at very high lattitudes it can affect up to 10% of the population!) causing depression symptoms like fatigue, apathy, anxiety and insomnia. I already knew that Vitamin D supplementation is key. The CNN article also emphasized the importance of going outside first thing in the morning to get that first light of the day.

I started walking for just 20 minutes in the mornings and after a few days, noticed a huge improvement in my mood and energy level. I’ve been able to add in strength training, yoga and zumba. It became obvious very quickly that I needed to round out my fitness wardrobe!

Fit Capsule

What is a fit capsule? It’s a fitness capsule wardrobe, a small workout wardrobe with separates that you can mix and match. Many people who focus on capsule wardrobes like to stick to neutrals. I think you can mix and match whatever you’d like, as long as it coordinates. I never thought I needed a fit capsule, because up until recently I was mainly wearing leggings to run errands in. But once I started working out 5-6 times a week I was going through activewear clothing much quicker. I wanted to be intentional with new workout separates so that I could maximize wearing what I already had.

Thanks to The Styled Magnolia, I have several pairs of gorgeous floral leggings…but I lacked a coordinating solid tank. I decided to build my pieces with these ‘War of Roses’ printed Inspire Tights in mind:

I found the perfect solid activewear fabric from The Fabric Fairy to make this red Staple Tank. This dri-fit fabric is so comfortable and never sticks to me when I sweat.

I sized up for this tank and added a shelf bra with removable foam pads. It was necessary to lengthen the bands slightly to 94% (The instructions tell you the stretchiness and recovery of your fabric will affect the required band length).

The next item on my list was a pair of long black leggings. You can’t believe I didn’t have a pair of long black leggings? I know…they’re just not as much fun to model and photograph. This onyx poly spandex is a bit thinner than some of the mid-weight athletic fabrics I used lately and I LOVE IT! It’s very comfortable and soft. Next up on my cutting table is another Gaia Tank, made from the same onyx marl spandex.

I have paired the Inspires with my Valerie Rashguard, hacked with pockets in beautiful Italian Stardust.

I finally attempted Sarah’s back zipper pocket hack which you can find here, coincidentally in the same fabric. In an attempt to get my huge cell phone to fit, I also extended the length of the waistband by 3/8″ (where it meets the top of the leggings) and removed 3/8″ length at the top of the leggings pattern pieces. This is my third pair of Inspires and I’m rather annoyed with myself for not making this pocket sooner! I need to stock up on some 9″ invisible zippers so I will never be left without an excuse to add pockets.

My last new activewear piece is another pair of Inspire Tights in polartec powerstretch fleece. When I found this fabric I felt like it was a winter match made in heaven! It is smooth on one side and fleecy on the other. Despite its thickness I did NOT have to size down for these polartec leggings. They are great for my early morning walks. They are stretchy enough that I can wear them over another pair of leggings for warmth when it’s below 40 degrees.

This fit capsule has five pieces, but it coordinates with more items I have made this year, like my grey racerback tank:

I don’t think I blogged this one…it’s a Kwik Sew tank I also made in 2017 (blog post here). The grey tank goes with every pair of leggings I have.

My stardust Valerie Rashguard coordinates with my striped Clara Leggings and my ABP floral leggings:

And lastly, is my green Gaia Tank which will pair beautifully with my black onyx marl leggings:

I’ve got 2 other RTW workout tanks in heavy rotation, so in total I have 6 pairs of leggings, 5 workout tanks, and one long sleeved raglan in my winter fit capsule.

I’m really pleased with what I’ve been able to accomplish this year with my workout wardrobe! I am so blessed to be where I’m at with my health and hope I’ll be able to carry out my workout routine into 2020.