Going to the gym for the first time can be scary, especially if you’re not sure what to wear. Here, sweatpants come as an incredible piece of gear to cover your body while still giving you a ton of freedom.
Some may consider sweatpants an odd attire choice for gym workouts, but they provide many benefits to reach your fitness goals.
So, can you wear sweatpants to the gym? Sweatpants are comfortable and flexible, allowing you to work on your sets without limitations. They also help loosen your muscles and joints to warm up and prevent injuries during your sessions.
While sweatpants trap heat inside and make you sweat, the fabrics of sweatpants tend to deal with moisture pretty well to keep you comfy.
Naturally, there are also a few disadvantages. Check out this article to learn the pros and cons of wearing this type of clothing to the gym. The same can be said about wearing hoodies to the gym.
Is Sweats Acceptable Gym Attire?
Sweatpants are an acceptable choice of clothing to wear at the gym. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a man or woman. Regardless of gender, you’ll get plenty of mobility to complete all of your leg exercises and proper workout.
There are other benefits if you wear sweats as opposed to yoga pants or shorts.
Reasons Why You Should Wear Sweatpants to the Gym
These are the main reasons why you should consider wearing sweatpants as part of your workout clothes.
- Covering up: Getting all of the attention is one of the biggest fears of going into the gym. However, wearing sweatpants is practical workout wear to prevent that. It will allow you to focus on your routines without worrying about other people looking at your lower body. However, if there are many reasons why people stare at eachother at the gym, and it’s not always a bad thing.
- Keep You Warm: Sweatpants are excellent at keeping you hot under a less-than-ideal temperature. They trap heat very close to your body, allowing you to warm up the muscles faster.
- Reduced Injury Risks: Since sweatpants can help you warm up the muscles, they can also reduce the risks of suffering an injury. This benefit is useful if you don’t spend a lot of time doing warm-up routines. Still, it would be a bad idea if you don’t warm up properly before working out.
- Ideal for Winter: Wearing sweatpants — and possibly a hoodie — is ideal during winter or cold weather. As mentioned above, this clothing will help you keep your muscles warm by retaining the heat.
Can I Workout in Sweats?
Yes, you can work out in sweatpants. This type of clothing is comfortable, flexible, and keeps you warm. If you dress with T-Shirts and sweatpants made with moisture-wicking material, you’ll get to finish your routines even after you start sweating.
Here’s a list of pros and cons to consider.
Advantages of Wearing Sweatpants to the Gym
This list explains how sweatpants allow you to accomplish your workout routines efficiently.
- Comfort: Unlike super tight fabrics, sweatpants give you the flexibility to move around freely. They’re suitable for most routines, too. You can try wearing XL or XXL sweatpants if you want to lift weights or do squats and pulls. Baggy clothing will give you more room, and the lower area of your back won’t get exposed. Plus, it won’t rip!
- Warm Muscles and Joints: Sweatpants keep these important parts of your body warm, allowing you to complete the workout routines safely. All of your muscles and joints will have better mobility to improve your performance and reduce injury risks.
- Moisture Wicking Fabric: When you work out, you’re going to sweat a lot. Sweaty clothing can be really awkward, more so if you have to walk back home. Luckily, sweatpants with moisture-wicking fabric keep you dry. For instance, sweatpants featuring fleece or cotton material are efficient at wicking away sweat to outer layers to keep you comfy.
- Toxins Release: Your body has to sweat to release toxins. Sweatpants are ideal for making you sweat and purify your body, especially if sweats don’t come easy.
- Improved Performance: By increasing blood flow after warming up your body, you get improved endurance and enhanced nutrient delivery.
Disadvantages of Sweatpants
These are the disadvantages you must consider before heading to the gym wearing this attire.
- Ripping Problems: A major issue with sweatpants is that smaller sizes may not be suitable for exercise routines. If you do squats wearing tight pants, chances are they may rip or will come down. Suffice to say, the last thing you want is your rear end exposed.
- Heat: If you haven’t worn sweatpants for working out before, it may feel too hot at times. Make sure to try them out first before taking part in intense routines.
Can Sweatpants Help Me Lose Weight?
Sweatpants will not help you lose a significant amount of weight. It’s a common belief that sweatpants increase body heat, allowing the body to sweat faster and burn more calories to cool you off.
However, the caloric expenditure is minimal. There won’t be much — if any — difference in your weight loss if you wear sweatpants while working out.
Extra caloric burn caused by sweatpants is negligible, temporary, but it can affect your exercises negatively.
Weight Loss Not the Same as Fat Loss
Weight loss isn’t synonymous with fat loss. When you use a scale to check your results, this accessory shows the total mass in your body.
That includes bones, muscles, fat, and even water levels. Using sweatpants will make you sweat and lose water weight only. Even if you’re losing water weight, fat will remain the same. So, you will most likely regain that weight back shortly.
Think about it this way:
Say you lose one pound during your training session because you’re sweating more. It’s quite likely that this one pound will return during the day when you drink water or eat a meal.
You’d be better off wearing comfortable clothing to reap all of the workout benefits by exercising longer and harder without hydration issues.
“There is no evidence that exercising at a higher heat load will increase the amount of fat one burns,” says Craig Crandall, director of the Thermal and Vascular Physiology Laboratory in Dallas.
There’s a lot of fascinating information about this topic. If you want to learn more, check out what the experts have to say in this article.
Plus, here’s a fine study done years ago but still respected to this day, which confirms that working out at higher heat loads doesn’t mean you’ll lose more fat.
Finishing Words
There you have it! Sweatpants for gyms explained, with pros and cons. As with everything else, it’s now your turn to decide whether sweatpants will adapt to your routines.
Don’t also forget to consider proper gym shoes, socks, and shirts — or hoodies — to complete your ultimate gym gear.
