Clothes in the gym
Clothes is an interesting subject. I rarely see it discussed in the training world, even on popular online strength or bodybuilding sites, where everything is discussed. I believe this to be rather odd, since clothes are actually a huge part of any workout. Wearing the right type of clothes to a training session can help a lot, for example by leading sweat away from key areas of the body, while wearing impractical clothes will ruin the trainee's training session completely. Therefore, it is important to discuss which clothes are a good idea to wear to the gym, and vice versa.
So, what qualities are desirable in gym clothes? Why do we even wear clothes? Besides the obvious embarassment factor that would result from not wearing any, clothes do provide the trainee with plenty of different benefits. First of all, as was previously mentioned, clothes provide the trainee with an ability to regulate his temperature. Excessive sweat can be lead away from the body. This is especially necessary for certain movements. Imagine doing a squat, but without a shirt. This might not be terribly difficult. Sure, it might hurt a little, since the bar will dig down into the skin. But after a while, the trainee's skin will have gotten used to the bar, and it will no longer cause problems..
.. Right? The thing is, anyone who has tried this in real life knows that squatting without a shirt is a horrible idea. After a set or two, the trainee will be sweating – at least if he is lifting any amount of proper weight. The result is that the bar starts to slide, and the trainee needs to engage the wrists to a larger degree in order to keep the bar in the correct position! This can cause all sorts of problems, for example wrist- or elbow tendonitis. Therefore, squatting without a shirt is never a good idea.
In certain sports, though, going shirtless is not seen as bad. In fact, it can be something desirable. For example, in weightlifting, it is very popular to perform the snatch without a shirt. The reason for this is that at no point does the bar come into contact with the body, except when it touches the hands. Therefore, not wearing a shirt causes no problems at all for an olympic snatcher.
In conclusion, clothes are more important than people seem to think. The next time you go to the gym, you should consider what you are wearing and why you are wearing it. Perhaps there is something you can optimize, like wearing a good set of sweatpants on deadlift day. Try it, I guarantee you will be positively surprised.
So, what qualities are desirable in gym clothes? Why do we even wear clothes? Besides the obvious embarassment factor that would result from not wearing any, clothes do provide the trainee with plenty of different benefits. First of all, as was previously mentioned, clothes provide the trainee with an ability to regulate his temperature. Excessive sweat can be lead away from the body. This is especially necessary for certain movements. Imagine doing a squat, but without a shirt. This might not be terribly difficult. Sure, it might hurt a little, since the bar will dig down into the skin. But after a while, the trainee's skin will have gotten used to the bar, and it will no longer cause problems..
.. Right? The thing is, anyone who has tried this in real life knows that squatting without a shirt is a horrible idea. After a set or two, the trainee will be sweating – at least if he is lifting any amount of proper weight. The result is that the bar starts to slide, and the trainee needs to engage the wrists to a larger degree in order to keep the bar in the correct position! This can cause all sorts of problems, for example wrist- or elbow tendonitis. Therefore, squatting without a shirt is never a good idea.
In certain sports, though, going shirtless is not seen as bad. In fact, it can be something desirable. For example, in weightlifting, it is very popular to perform the snatch without a shirt. The reason for this is that at no point does the bar come into contact with the body, except when it touches the hands. Therefore, not wearing a shirt causes no problems at all for an olympic snatcher.
In conclusion, clothes are more important than people seem to think. The next time you go to the gym, you should consider what you are wearing and why you are wearing it. Perhaps there is something you can optimize, like wearing a good set of sweatpants on deadlift day. Try it, I guarantee you will be positively surprised.