How the right gym attire can enhance your performance
When the time comes for you to buy new gym gear, you could understandably be tempted to just buy whatever looks good hanging up in the store or displayed in the online product listing. However, you can’t afford to entirely overlook the practical aspects of wearing this clothing for workouts.
Alas, even attire that initially feels good can be left feeling a lot less so once you’ve worked up a sweat in that garment. So, what performance benefits can the right workout wear bring?
It can help to prevent injuries
If you lose many potential workout hours to injury, what you choose to wear when exercising could be to blame. Wearing running shoes of the wrong size, for example, can lead to blisters, shin splints and injuries to feet and ankles, Shape implies.
Human performance expert Nick Harris tells Harper’s BAZAAR he advises donning “good quality compression wear”, as it “increases circulation and blood flow to the heart, delivering much-needed oxygen to working muscles” and “helping to improve power, endurance and recovery”.
It regulates and controls your body temperature
You don’t want to exercise in clothing that easily absorbs sweat and retains moisture. You should look for light and breathable pieces; “sweat-wicking” is one magic term you could sometimes see used to describe the right kind of fitness fabric.
One such fabric is polyester, through which sweat evaporates, CNET points out. Therefore, polyester can help to prevent sweat accumulating on your body and making you feel damp and heavy.
It can make you feel more confident
The term “enclothed cognition” might not immediately ring a bell, but it refers to a psychological phenomenon where simply slipping into certain clothing can imbue its wearer with enhanced positivity and confidence. In essence, when you look good, you can feel good, too.
It’s no wonder that this can translate into performance gains – as the wearer could go into their workouts while feeling ready to conquer challenges that previously seemed unassailable.
It can help to prevent skin problems
While you probably look forward to your workout leaving you with a healthy glow, you also probably don’t expect that glow to emerge during the workout itself. Rashes can erupt when you exercise, but the real culprit for that issue could be, at the time, wearing fabrics irritating to the skin.
It’s another reason for you to wear light, breathable attire – as, otherwise, especially intense exercise sessions could too easily see your sweat glands clog up and cause an itchy heat rash.
It’s potentially a motivating factor
Few things could make you eager to get out to that gym quite like buying a new piece of workout clothing you would love to show off there. It certainly helps that mirrors are hardly in short supply at gyms, giving you many opportunities to admire your body and the clothing covering it.Whether you would like to shop for new shoes or undergarments or peruse an online selection of tracksuits for women or men, you can do so while feeling renewed excitement.