Please welcome today's guest blogger, Luisa Kearney from LMKStyle.com. Luisa is a fashion blogger who knows a thing or two about the right clothes to wear for every situation. Take it away, Luisa!
New Year is often a time when many of us consider signing up to the gym, investing in a home workout package, scheduling in regular running sessions, and starting up other new and interesting activity sessions. With that said, it is time to start thinking about workout clothing because looking and feeling comfortable will instantly help you to feel more confident when embarking upon your new fitness regime.
As with all clothing, you want to find items that make you look and feel comfortable. Signing yourself up to an exercise class or the gym is a big step so if you want to make this new venture a success, you don’t want anything as silly as clothing to get in your way. You want to ensure that your workout clothing doesn't make you look/feel ridiculous, is comfortable for the type of exercise you will be doing, is practical for exercising, and offers enough support so that you are properly covered up and not going to split your trousers or reveal too much of yourself!
It's No Longer a Case of Looking Like "Barbie Goes to the Gym!"
Workout gear for women has drastically changed over the years. Nowadays, you don’t have to feel restricted to the "pink and girly", Lycra leotards and other unpractical, revealing types of workout clothing that were once the only available option for women. Today, you are not restricted to wearing pink and looking like you've stolen Workout Barbie's outfit! Not every woman likes pink clothing and even if they do, when it comes to working out many women prefer to sport more masculine colours, which has been proven to help women feel more motivated to work out and therefore more likely to achieve their fitness goals. It seems that these less-girly colour tones help to make women feel tougher, stronger and less noticeable when working out in public, which helps them to focus more on their results rather than on what they are wearing.
Fun Clothing = Fun Workout
If on the other hand, you love bright and bold clothing then there is a huge range of vibrant workout gear available to you. Workout clothing for women is available in a range of different colours, patterns, style and sizes, so you really are spoilt for choice. If you are not a fan of plain, dull-coloured workout gear then opting for brighter, bolder, patterned clothing will lift your spirits and make working out seem more fun – after all, the best way to make working out more effective and enjoyable is by making it light-hearted!
Do You Need Different Clothing for Different Types of Exercise?
You definitely need to consider the type of exercise you will be doing before choosing your gym wear! Here are three types of workouts that require very different types of gym clothing.
- Recommended HIIT Clothing
HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts involve lots of high jumps, fast movements, lunges and squats. You will need to wear either tight-fitting leggings such as yoga pants, or a short pair of shorts that allow you to comfortably jump high up into the air. Combat-style shorts are not a great match for HIIT workouts because they do not allow you to move freely and could easily rip mid-lunge.
- Recommended Zumba Clothing
Zumba is a fast paced Latin-style dance workout. You will need good footwear that allows you to move your feet quickly but nothing too slippy. As for clothing, you will need gym clothes that will allow you to squat, bend and shake about. Hip-hop dance clothing, such as lightweight tracksuit, leggings, t-shirts or shorts of a reasonable length work well.
- Recommended Yoga Clothing
Yoga involves intense stretching, as well as a lot of floor-based poses so you will need gym clothes that are very fitted but stretchy and clothing that will keep you covered up. Leggings and a fitted top are your best option for yoga, as they enable you to master all of the yoga poses but are not revealing or likely to cause a wardrobe malfunction mid-pose.
Thank you so much for your amazing post, Luisa!
If any other bloggers would like to guest post here on nicshealthylife.co.uk then just get in touch!