Choosing the best workout clothes

Finding the right clothes for the gym, your home workouts, for playing sports, or simply your daily exercise can become a daunting task with the abundance of options on the market today. When purchasing workout clothes, there are several points to consider and quite a few factors to take into account. 

The right workout clothes aren’t just about mental support or a motivational booster, but they help enhance your performance, protect your muscles, and function as an indispensable asset to your workouts. 

We know that the market is filled with tons of different options, and at times it can be overwhelming trying to find the best workout clothes for you. To this end, we have prepared a detailed guide on how to find the right workout clothes for your specific needs.

How to choose the best workout clothes for you

Obviously, there’s no “one solution fits all” — each and every one of us has their own needs, requirements, and preferences when it comes to activewear, be that the style, the fit, features, fabric and everything in between.

Figure out the different quality standards

As with every physical product, different quality standards come into play, which you need to understand before making any purchasing decisions.

That said, you don’t have to be an expert to be able to check if a piece of clothing is of decent quality. 

When it comes to workout clothes, you should always do a scrunch test and check if the crumbles disappear quickly and easily. You should also stretch the fabric and test its durability and elasticity. If it loosens and doesn’t return to its original fit, then you should skip that one.

If there are buttons and zippers, always make sure that they work without any issues and that the finishing is good. Look out for neat stitching with tight seams and covered zippers. 

Pick the fabric of your choice 

There’s an abundance of different fabrics available, each with its own features, feel, and fit. It’s not a marketing sales trick when they say that the fabric matters and better fabric makes for better workout clothes.

There are various fabrics with different features and unique pros and cons:

Synthetic fabric

Synthetic fabrics are pretty much ubiquitous when it comes to workout clothes. Usually, clothing that falls under this category is made from cotton with a percentage of synthetic materials like spandex, polyester, nylon, acrylic, neoprene, etc.

That said, not all these materials are made equal. As a rule of thumb, you should steer clear of neoprene-based workout clothes. Neoprene is known to cause allergic reactions, rashes, and other skin irritations, which sometimes can escalate to more than a simple annoyance. 

Sweat Shaper’s entire workout clothing line is made from a unique blend of compression and polymer fabrics that are neoprene-free and offer an advanced thermogenic function to boost your sweating and create a sauna-like experience when wearing them. Sweat Shaper’s fabric is hypoallergenic and machine washable, offering you the best of both worlds, convenience, and performance. 

Cotton

You can always opt for cotton-based workout clothes, but they are far from ideal for exercising. While cotton is good for your skin and “breathes,” it will absorb all your sweat, keeping the fabric soaking wet hindering your movement as the fabric will feel heavy, and quite frankly, it will make a mess of the workout area - be that the gym or your home. When possible, try to stay away from workout clothes made from cotton. 

Pick the right fit

Picking the right fit for your workout clothes is crucial and, yet again, one size doesn’t fit all here either. 

Some prefer loose and comfortable workout clothes, whereas others opt for a more tight fit that hugs and compresses their bodies. 

While there’s no “right” option, you should always pick a fabric and fit that doesn’t get in your way while exercising. In general, we’d recommend going with a tighter fit rather than a very loose one. Sweat Shaper’s compression workout clothes are made from an elastic compression polymer blend that compresses your body, targeting problematic areas like your waist, upper thighs, and glutes and accentuate your physique, giving you an athletic look the moment you put them on. 

The benefits of compression fabrics go beyond visuals; Sweat Shaper has been designed to provide muscle support. It can improve your range of motion while keeping your muscles warm and injury-free.

How many sets of workout clothes do I need?

Admittedly there are so many different types of workout clothes out there that it’s hard to choose the absolute essentials, and usually, you end up hoarding too many clothes that fill up your closet space in no time.

Here’s a rundown of how many sets of workout clothes you need to have a full week of clean clothes if you exercise regularly:

Tops

It would be best if you aimed to have anywhere between 3 and 5 workout tops at any given time to make sure you’ll get through the week. It also depends on the number of workouts you do per week. 

Furthermore, it would help if you also considered whether you’re also working outdoors or not - meaning that you’ll also need a few long sleeve tops alongside your short-sleeve ones, especially during the colder months.

Bottoms

Again here, the rule of thumb is anywhere between 3 to 5 different pairs. Choose any length that suits you best. You should always opt for high-performance fabrics that are also machine washable to make your life easier

Sports bras

The number of your sports bras needs to follow the same rule, i.e., anywhere from 3 to 5 different sets will suffice even for the most active individuals. 

Socks

When it comes to socks, we’d highly recommend you have at least 5 to 8 pairs of socks handy at all times. Socks take a lot of beating and are extremely important, especially if you’re doing a lot of cardio like running, walking, or playing sports. It’s always advisable to take a second pair of socks with you when you’re about to exercise just in case they get wet; you need to change them immediately. 

With Sweat Shaper’s line of high-performance compression tops, leggings, and waist trainers, you’ll enjoy unparalleled convenience and athletic performance. Our expertly designed workout clothes are made from a blend of high-quality polymer fabric that’s neoprene-free, machine washable, and extremely durable. 

With our complete range of tank tops and waist trimmers for men and athletic tanks, waist trimmers, and leggings for women, Sweat Shaper is your one-stop shop when it comes to workout clothes.