What to Wear to the Gym: The Dos and Don’ts of Workout Clothes

what to wear to the gym

Do you know the importance of dressing the part for the gym? No, it’s not for your selfies. The right gym clothes will help protect you, ensure comfort and flexibility, and may even make your gym sweats not-so-terrible.

Yet still, many people make the same gym fashion mistakes. Whether they don’t wear performance-optimized clothing or just make bad fashion choices, wearing the right gym clothes is necessary to get the full benefits of your workout.

Are you wondering what to wear to the gym? And do you notice certain clothing makes your workouts harder? Continue reading and understand the do’s and don’ts of gym fashion.

Don’t: Wear Cotton Clothing

Do you love those 100% cotton shirts? Don’t wear them to the gym. Cotton absorbs more sweat than synthetic fabrics. Which means it’s more likely that bacteria will grow on your clothing.

Beyond the fact that this is disgusting, any open sores can invite bacteria in. This causes all sorts of fungal infections.

A myriad of fitness clothing lines, such as gym wear online, create their clothing with specific fabrics that won’t absorb as much sweat.

Do: Wear New, Fitness-Specific Sneakers

Wearing new sneakers is essential to your fitness performance. Your sneakers need to have cushion support, which decreases as you wear your sneakers. So much so, it’s recommended you replace your sneakers after 300 miles.

But not everyone tracks the number of miles they’re wearing their sneakers. How else can you know when your sneakers have had enough wear? Ditch your sneakers when the design wears out. The tread will also start to flatten.

Don’t: Wear Regular Bras

Leave your super expensive, padded and push-up bras for the club. This is an obvious fact.

But it’s easy to throw on one of your normal t-shirt bras to go to the gym. This is bad for your breasts. Women need chest support while at the gym — and not because your boobs bounce.

When your chest doesn’t have support, this can leave to chest pain. Especially if you have larger breasts. In severe cases, this can damage the breast tissue. Sagging breasts? No thanks.

Do: Wear Fitted Clothing

Sure, those tight yoga pants may make your butt look good. But it can severely restrict your movement, which may even cause injury.

Fitness requires movement. From a squat to a downward-facing dog, movement helps burn calories. You need to wear that right clothing that allows you to do the necessary movements and makes you comfortable while moving.

Too tight clothing can also restrict circulation, which is dangerous during fitness. This can cause pain and even difficulty breathing and light-headedness.

Keep in mind, compression and form-fitting clothing is the exception. Just be sure it’s not a size too small.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, too loose clothing could snag on fitness equipment. This can cause an injury.

Now You Know What to Wear to the Gym

When it comes to gym clothing, many people take the gym as a fashion show. Others just don’t know what to wear to the gym. Your clothing means as much to performance as anything.

Make sure your clothing is fitted and your sneakers are new. Avoid wearing cotton clothing and regular bras.

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