Legion Athletics: Science-Based Supplements Without the Fillers
Legion Athletics has built its reputation on formulating supplements with fully disclosed doses and no proprietary blends, which matters if you've ever been burned by a supplement label that hides exactly how much of anything you're getting. Their whey protein, pre-workout, and creatine lines are staples for people who want supplements backed by actual research rather than marketing hype.
If you're serious about training and want your supplement stack to match that seriousness, Legion is worth a look. Transparent labeling means you know exactly what you're putting into your body before every workout.
NPTA Personal Training Certification: Get Certified in Canada
If you're in Canada and thinking about becoming a certified personal trainer, NPTA (National Personal Training Institute) is one of the most recognized certification paths in the country. Their program is built to take you from fitness enthusiast to certified trainer with a curriculum focused on practical, real-world coaching skills, not just theory.
A personal training certification opens the door to working in gyms, running your own client base, or building an online coaching business. With gyms increasingly looking for trainers who are job-ready from day one, having a recognized Canadian certification behind your name matters.
Use my referral link and save 15% with code NPTAtrainitright when you enroll.
Honest Review: Callie's Personalized Birth Flower Duffle Bag and Makeup Bag
I'm a sucker for a good personalized gift, so when I got the chance to try two pieces from Callie, a personalized gifts brand, I went with a pink travel duffel and a matching makeup bag, both customized with my birth flower (November's is the Chrysanthemum) and "@trainitright" for the lettering. Here's my honest take on both, the good and the one thing that needs work.
The Duffle Bag
This one is a genuine win. The Personalized Birth Flower Nylon Travel Duffel Bag ($40 CAD) comes in pink with the November Chrysanthemum design front and center, and "@trainitright" personalized on it in pink lettering. Callie gives you 7 font colours and 4 bag colours to choose from, so you can really make it your own.
It's made from a lightweight, wear-resistant nylon that feels sturdy without being bulky, with multiple internal compartments so you can actually stay organized instead of digging through one giant pocket for your keys. At just over 14 inches long, it's the right size for a gym bag, an overnight trip, or just a bag you throw your everyday essentials into. The shoulder strap is solid and doesn't dig in, even when the bag is loaded up.
Honestly, this is the kind of piece I'd recommend as a gift without hesitation. It feels personal, it's useful, and the birth flower detail makes it feel thoughtful rather than generic. If you're stuck on what to get someone, this duffle checks every box.
The Makeup Bag
The Personalized Birth Flower PU Leather Makeup Bag ($26 CAD) came in the same pink, with the November birth flower design and "@trainitright" done in the third font option. Visually, this thing is lovely. The PU leather has a nice soft feel, the color is exactly as shown, and the wide-mouth opening design makes it easy to actually see what's inside instead of digging around blind, which is a small detail that matters a lot with makeup bags.
My one real complaint is the zipper. The wide-mouth opening is great in theory, but I found the zipper itself difficult to work with, it took more effort than it should to open and close smoothly, especially when the bag was full. For a bag I'm reaching into daily, that's the kind of friction that gets old fast.
The Bottom Line
The duffle bag is a clear favorite and one I'd genuinely recommend as a gift, personalized, well-made, and practical. The makeup bag has the color and the personalization right, but the zipper needs to be smoother for daily use. If you're deciding between the two, the duffle is the safer bet, but if you love the birth flower design as much as I do, the makeup bag is still worth it for the look alone, just go in knowing the zipper takes a little extra patience.
Train It Right,
Alicia Bell BSc Kinesiology, IFBB Pro, Performance Coach
Revieve Superfoods: A Simple Way to Round Out Your Nutrition
For anyone trying to close the gap between what they eat and what they should be eating, superfood blends are one of the easiest tools to add to a daily routine. Revieve Superfoods is built for exactly that: a simple addition to smoothies, water, or your morning routine that helps fill in the nutritional blanks a busy schedule tends to leave behind.
It's a good fit for anyone who wants a straightforward, no-fuss way to support their daily nutrition without overhauling their entire diet. Add it to your existing routine and let it do its job in the background.
Discount code: BEL3862730
Why Nuudii's Perfect Tee Is My New Everyday Go-To
I am always on the hunt for pieces that actually earn a permanent spot in my closet, not just something that looks good on a hanger. Nuudii's Perfect Tee is one of those rare finds, and I have been wearing mine on repeat since it landed in my rotation. I love it, it is genuinely one of the most comfortable tees I own, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants an easy, no-fuss layer that still looks polished.
What Makes It So Comfortable
The Perfect Tee is made from Nuudii's signature double-layer Butter Knit fabric, and it genuinely lives up to the name. It is opaque, soft, and has enough structure to hold its shape without ever feeling tight or restrictive. It hugs without squeezing, which means I can wear it from a coaching session straight through the rest of my day without once thinking about adjusting it.
What really sold me is that it is designed to be worn completely on its own, no bra required. It gently embraces your natural shape with just the right amount of hold, so you get that clean, put-together look without adding another layer underneath. For anyone who lives in athleisure or just wants one less thing to think about while getting dressed, that alone makes it worth it.
Why It Fits My Life
Between training, coaching clients, and running around from one location to the next, I need clothing that keeps up without requiring extra effort. The Perfect Tee has a crew neck, hits right at the hip, and moves with a four-way stretch that makes it just as good for errands as it is for a lower-key day at the gym. It has quickly become one of those pieces I reach for without thinking, which is the highest compliment I can give a basic tee.
My Honest Take
If you are someone who wants comfort without sacrificing how put-together you look, this tee checks every box. It is part of Nuudii's Perfect Collection, alongside the Perfect Tube, Perfect Cami, and Perfect Tank, so if the tee sells you the way it sold me, there is a whole lineup built around the same idea: full-body comfort that still looks intentional.
You can check out the Perfect Tee and the rest of the collection at nuudiisystem.com.
Train It Right,
Alicia Bell BSc Kinesiology, IFBB Pro, Performance Coach
How I've Simplified My Hair Care Routine with Canadian Grace Oils
Every January I do the same thing: I look at everything cluttering my bathroom counter and ask myself how much of it I actually need. As a coach, I preach simplicity and consistency to my clients constantly, discipline is wealth, and that mindset does not stop at training and nutrition. It applies to self-care too. This year, that meant stripping my hair care routine down to the basics and leaning on oil-only products instead of a five-step system I was never going to keep up with long term.
That is where Canadian Grace came in. It's a Canada-based, oil-only beauty brand built around pure, high-performance oils, no water, no fillers, no synthetics. For someone who wants results without overcomplicating things, that approach just makes sense.
Why an Oil-Only Routine Actually Works for Me
Between coaching sessions, training, and everything else on my plate, I do not have the bandwidth for a complicated hair routine with ten different bottles. What I wanted was something simple I could actually stick with: a couple of pure oils, used consistently, doing real work instead of sitting on a shelf.
Here's how I've been incorporating a few of their hair oils into my routine.
Batana Oil for Deep Nourishment
I reach for Batana Oil as a deeper, once-in-a-while treatment, applied from mid-length to ends and left in before a wash day. It's a rich, traditional oil, sourced from the Miskito people of Honduras, and it's meant for exactly the kind of dry, over-processed hair that comes from constant heat styling and being in and out of the gym. A little goes a long way, so I don't need much to feel like my hair actually got something out of the treatment.
Rosemary + Castor Oil for the Scalp
For scalp care specifically, I've been using their Rosemary + Castor Hair Oil a couple of times a week as a massage oil at the roots. Rosemary and castor are two of the most talked-about botanicals in hair care right now, and doing a quick scalp massage with this before bed has genuinely become one of those small rituals I look forward to, less about the routine itself and more about the two minutes of just slowing down.
Argan Oil for Everyday Frizz Control
For daily use, their Organic Argan Oil is what I keep in rotation. A tiny amount smoothed over the ends after a wash keeps frizz down without weighing my hair down or leaving it looking greasy, which matters when I'm training the same day I'm trying to look presentable on camera.
The Bigger Picture
What I like most about this brand isn't just the products, it's the philosophy behind them. Canadian Grace was built around the idea that beauty routines don't need to be complicated to be effective, and that pure, simple ingredients can do more than a counter full of products with names you can't pronounce. That's a message that lines up with how I coach nutrition and training: consistency with the fundamentals beats complexity every time.
If you've been meaning to simplify your own routine this year, oil-only haircare is worth a look. You can check out the full collection at canadiangrace.ca.
Train It Right,
Alicia Bell BSc Kinesiology, IFBB Pro, Performance Coach
How I Fuel My Training Without Blowing My Grocery Budget: My Honest Take on Odd Bunch
If you have followed me for any amount of time, you know I talk about nutrition almost as much as I talk about training. Discipline is wealth, and that applies to what goes on your plate just as much as what happens in the gym. As a coach and IFBB Pro, I am constantly telling my clients the same thing: you cannot out train a diet built on convenience food. You need real produce, and you need a lot of it.
The problem? Grocery prices in Canada right now are no joke. Fresh fruits and vegetables are often the first thing people cut when the bill gets too high. That is exactly why I partnered with Odd Bunch, and why I have been genuinely excited to share this one.
What Is Odd Bunch?
Odd Bunch is a Canadian produce delivery service that rescues perfectly good fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste. We are talking about produce that got rejected for purely cosmetic reasons. A carrot with a bend in it. A pepper that grew a little too big. An apple with a small blemish on the skin. Nothing wrong with the nutrition, nothing wrong with the taste. It just does not look like the magazine cover version, so grocery stores pass on it.
Odd Bunch scoops that produce up directly from farms and delivers it to your door at a serious discount. You get a box packed with fresh fruits and veggies, you save money, and you keep good food out of the landfill. That is a win on every front.
Why This Fits My Life as a Coach and Athlete
Between coaching sessions at two locations, filming content, and my own training, I do not have time to wander a grocery store three times a week. Having a box of fresh produce show up at my door removes a decision from my week, and anyone who trains seriously knows that removing friction is half the battle with nutrition.
Here is how I actually use my box:
Pre training fuel. Bananas, apples, and berries are my go to carb sources before a session. Quick energy, easy digestion, no fuss.
Recovery meals. Roasted root vegetables and greens land next to my protein source after training. Micronutrients matter for recovery, and whole produce beats a supplement every single time.
Meal prep volume. When my clients tell me they are always hungry while cutting, my answer is almost always the same: more vegetables. A box like this makes it easy to add volume to every meal without adding much to the calorie total.
Smoothies and snacks. Anything that is getting soft goes straight into the blender or gets chopped for the fridge. Zero waste in my kitchen.
The Sustainability Piece Actually Matters
Roughly half of all produce grown never gets eaten, and a huge chunk of that is tossed for cosmetic reasons alone. As athletes we ask a lot from our bodies and from our food. Supporting a system that respects the work farmers put in, instead of throwing it away because a cucumber is curvy, just makes sense to me. You do not have to be perfect to be valuable. That goes for produce and it goes for people.
Get Your Box and Save With My Code
If you want to try it, Odd Bunch set me up with a code for my community. Use TRAINITRIGHT20 at checkout to save on your box.
The code applies automatically when you use that link, so all you have to do is pick your box size and check out.
Fuel your training, save some money, and keep good food from going to waste. That is a habit worth building.
Train It Right,
Alicia Bell BSc Kinesiology, IFBB Pro, Performance Coach
This post contains an affiliate link. I earn a commission when you order through my link or use my code, at no extra cost to you. I only partner with brands I actually use.
ISSA Just Launched a Menopause Coach Certification, and It's the First of Its Kind
Menopause has fully entered the mainstream conversation over the last few years, showing up everywhere from wellness brands to bestselling books to celebrity interviews. What hasn't caught up until now is the fitness industry itself. There has been almost no formal credential for the trainers and coaches women actually turn to when they're dealing with strength loss, shifting nutrition needs, disrupted sleep, and slower recovery during midlife.
ISSA (International Sports Sciences Association), a global leader in fitness and nutrition certification with more than 1 million certified trainers, just closed that gap with its new Menopause Coach Certification, the first program of its kind built to formally train coaches in women's midlife health. Demand made the case before the program even launched: the first course overfilled its waitlist, which tells you exactly how underserved this space has been and how ready coaches are to fill it.
What the certification actually covers
This isn't a surface-level add-on badge. The curriculum is built around the full picture of what midlife clients are actually navigating, including hormonal literacy across pre-menopause, perimenopause, and post-menopause, stage-specific exercise and nutrition programming, and how to help clients manage the physical, emotional, and cognitive transitions that come with this stage of life. It also covers integrating sleep, stress, and recovery into programming, and how to work alongside healthcare providers rather than in a silo.
For any trainer who has had a client mention hot flashes, disrupted sleep, or unexplained changes in body composition and realized they didn't have a real framework to respond with, this is exactly the credential built to fix that.
Why this matters right now
The fitness industry has spent years building content and marketing around menopause without building the actual training infrastructure to back it up. This certification is the industry catching up to its own client base. Women in midlife are one of the most underserved, and most motivated, client segments in fitness right now, and coaches who can speak to their specific needs with real expertise are going to stand out.
It's also worth noting who's actually signing up. Many of the coaches enrolling are midlife women themselves, turning their own lived experience into a credentialed second act. That combination of personal experience and formal training is a powerful one for client trust.
The details
Getting started is accessible: the program begins at $49 today, followed by 12 monthly payments of $53 at 0% interest, or $639 as a one-time payment. It's fully self-paced and online, finishable in as little as 4 weeks, and includes an open-book exam, ready-to-use client materials, and access to ISSA's network of more than 10,000 employers.
If you're a trainer or coach who wants to be ahead of a growing client need instead of catching up to it later, this is worth a serious look. You can check out the full program details and enrollment through ISSA here.
The Shoe Fairy: Competition Posing Shoes for Stage Day
For bodybuilding and physique competitors, posing shoes are a small detail that makes a real difference on stage. The Shoe Fairy specializes in exactly that, giving competitors a polished, stage-ready look to match their conditioning. Code: trainitright
Train Like a Pro: My Airbnb Experience Inspired by the FIFA World Cup
I'm partnering with Airbnb to host a workout experience built around the energy of the FIFA World Cup. Think community, culture, and the kind of high-energy training session you'd expect from a celebrity soccer trainer, minus the celebrity price tag. It's a hands-on session designed for anyone who wants to move like an athlete for a day, whether you play soccer or just love the sport.
This isn't a typical gym class. It's built for people who want to combine fitness with an experience worth remembering, especially with the World Cup buzz in the air. If you're visiting the city, hosting friends, or just looking for something different to do with your weekend, this is exactly that.
Spots are limited since it's an in-person, small-group experience, so book early if the dates work for your schedule.
Book your spot:https://www.airbnb.ca/experiences/6244180 | Code: ALICIA40 (please confirm this code is still active before sharing, as it was set to expire July 19)
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