Well, I knew this was going to come up eventually, and I can’t say that I’ve been looking forward to having to discuss it. As somebody who has been struggling lately to get into shape myself, and writing about various exercises, diets and nutritional topics as I explore the myself, I knew that eventually I was going to have to talk about what to wear. Here’s the problem, I am certainly no expert on fitness clothing and activewear. The truth of the matter is, in all honesty, I am no expert on clothing in general.
The thing is, I’m one of those people that doesn’t really even notice what other people are wearing, unless it is particularly evocative or patently absurd. For the entirety of my adult life, being a writer who works from their home, I have kept my entire wardrobe rather simple, consisting of simple T-shirts, shorts and flip-flops. Not being a social butterfly, I’ve never needed clothes that impressed, nor have I needed to conform to fashions, so I know nothing of them. That said, I do believe that this might actually give me a unique and useful insight for people, when it comes to things like what to wear during exercise, because I dress not for fashion, but for practicality and comfort, and comfort during exercise is a unique concern.
Let’s talk about this a little.
Why do people wear what they do during exercise?
When we think about what people wear during exercise, we usually envision form-fitting things like sports shorts, yoga clothes, and the like. Some people actually consider this kind of wardrobe rather provocative, and I suppose on the right person, it certainly can be. This can make a lot of people very uncomfortable with wearing such things, and I can understand that. I wouldn’t personally be too terribly worried about being perceived as anything provocative in such clothing, but him extremely averse to tight clothing for comfort reasons, and I certainly haven’t the body for that sort of thing anyhow, and am sure that no one wants to see that.
But there’s a reason that these clothes are designed this way. Form-fitting clothing don’t rub against the skin, moving in unison with the skin instead. This prevents chafing during exercises, which is something that I have to contend with given my usual wardrobe. The skimpier versions of gym clothes like this also allow maximum cooling, as it lets sweat do its job.
These clothes are also fabricated from fabrics and materials designed to wick in brief, so they tend to be loose-knit nylon, cotton or some sort of equivalent polymer synthetic. This allows for sweat to continue to do its job even in areas that are covered.
I’m like you, and I’m not comfortable being seen in such things!
Okay, so let’s say that you are not uncomfortable with tight clothing as far as how they feel, but you really don’t want people talking at you inform-hugging stuff, or you’re like me and don’t feel like you have the physique to be seen in them. Well, first of all, I am aware that being ashamed of my body will trying to get into shape is kind of a silly thing, but something that I’m not interested in working on. You should, however, if you suffer from self-esteem issues like this.
That said, when it comes to fitness clothing and activewear, you can wear something over it if you like. As long as form-hugging materials are in place between the skin and shirts, shorts or the like, then they won’t cause the problem that those clothes usually do. I would do that, were I comfortable with things hugging me as far as how they feel.