Fashion Smashion...Gym Edition

I never used to pay a lot of attention to what I wore at the gym. I used to wear those almost silky-feeling loose-fitting pants (with the stripes down the sides) and a baggy old t-shirt. As the weight came off and the pants started literally falling down as I ran/lifted/whatever, I made a bold switch to leggings. I remember pairing them with a long t-shirt, until G. the Meanie told me I shouldn't hide under a huge shirt and just be comfortable.

So I did just that.

These days, I wear cotton leggings that I buy in the workout gear department at Target. They are comfortable, I don't trip on them, and I can move on them without them moving on me. I run in them. I dead lift in them. I do Turkish Get-Ups in them. I have never risked exposing my underwear in them.

For the top, I alternate between fitted t-shirts, fitted tank tops and fitted long-sleeve shirts depending on what I'm doing and what the temperature is like. Even with a heating system, my gym can get pretty cold in the winter. All of my tops are cotton--well, I have a couple of those fancy-schmancy dry-wick running tops from races, but I don't like them.

As I've become more involved in the running community on Twitter, I've noticed there is a definite hatred of cotton among my fellow runnerds...even a certain derision aimed at the "newbies" who wear it. It kind of baffles me; I am not, by any means, a "newbie" runner. I am not uninformed. And I wear cotton all the time, for all of my workouts.

In talking with others, I know that some people have some serious chafing issues when they work out in cotton. That's fair enough; I don't. As I mentioned, I run in it every day, and so long as it is fitted and not shifting around on my body as I move, I'm comfortable. Even drenched in sweat on a cold day, I am not uncomfortable in my cotton workout gear as I begin the long, mile-and-a-half "active recovery" walk home.

So I don't understand why others make fun of those of us who work out in cotton. Or popular fitness blogs that post "What NOT To Wear At the Gym" posts, as though anyone should care what someone else chooses to work out in. I don't particularly understand running skirts, or the point of wearing a skirt at all when you've basically got running leggings underneath them, too. But I'd never make fun of someone for wearing one, as I have seen done to us cotton-wearing fools on many a fitness blog or Twitter.

Anyway, I'm all about comfort and doing what works best for the individual. For me, it's cotton gear. It's inexpensive, easy to launder, and it works for me.

A week or two ago. Cotton top, cotton leggings. The bra is not cotton.

A few weeks ago. Cotton, cotton and more cotton at the gym. The
70-pound dumbbell is NOT cotton. My trainer (in the mirror) has some
cotton, too.