How Your Gym Outfit Affects Your Workouts
29 Aug 2022
Photo by Timothy
You could easily assume that what you wear to the gym will not have an impact on your fitness regime. However, the opposite is true! The clothes you wear when working out can definitely change the effectiveness of a workout, making it either better or worse.
How? Well, let’s find out…
Range of motion
Range of motion refers to how you move when performing exercises. Take the squat as a prime example. A proper squat that moves through its full range of motion will start with you standing tall, then descend into a squat position with your knees bent, going just below a 90-degree angle. Poor range of motion will mean you squat down to above 90 degrees before thrusting back up.
The clothes you wear can impact your range of motion and restrict your movements. Thus, you’re unable to get the full benefits of an exercise because you can only do half or three-quarters reps!
Comfort
Secondly, the clothes you wear will impact your comfort at the gym. If you work out in a thick hoody and some thick joggers, what do you think will happen? You’re going to feel incredibly hot and sweaty, which makes you feel super uncomfortable. Likewise, what if you worked out in jeans? Again, the feeling of the material is going to make you uncomfortable because it’s not breathable.
When you feel uncomfortable, you’re less likely to be motivated in the gym. Instead of focusing on your workouts, you’re focusing on finishing and leaving right away. In fact, you may even cut your workouts short because you feel so sweaty and uncomfortable. As a result, you’re never going to achieve your fitness goals – or it will take twice as long to reach them. The longer it takes you to see results, the less motivated you become, making it even harder.
What should you wear to the gym?
Obviously, you need gym outfits that allow for optimal range of motion and comfort. Consequently, there are a couple of key factors you should look for when putting together a workout outfit:
Flexibility
Choose items that are flexible and stretchy. Thankfully, there are loads of gym pants made from materials that stretch and allow you to perform full-range movements. The same goes for tops; you can find plenty that stretches and let you move around without any restrictions.
Breathability
Pick clothing items that are breathable and don’t make you feel really hot and sweaty. Again, most sports clothes are made like this – they help you remain cool while exercising, so you stay comfortable at all times.
That’s really all you need to look for. Find things that are flexible and breathable, and make sure you like how they feel. Generally, you shouldn’t wear things to the gym that weren’t designed for sports or working out. If you wear normal clothing, you could run into the issues mentioned earlier. Your range of movement is restricted, you feel uncomfortable, and this all leads to you not getting the full benefits of your workouts.
Cheers,
Big Daddy
If you are a PR agency or brand and would like me to review a travel destination, vehicle, restaurant, product or service, please send me an email at craig@bigdaddykreativ.ca
Craig Silva
Craig is a husband, a father, team leader, travel and food writer, senior youth group coordinator, designer, brander, community builder, volunteer, and social media strategist. Craig likes to travel, go camping, go on road trips, watch movies, build stuff, operate the grill, and sing with his band. Craig is a member of the Travel Media Association of Canada. In June 2017, PR firm Cision identified Craig as one of Canada’s top 10 most popular male bloggers in the parents and family space.
