As the semester continues, active Keene State College students are putting on their workout clothes and getting themselves motivated to go to the gym.
However, many of these fitness junkies have a different idea of what to wear while working out.
KSC senior Remi Chiovaro said, “Some people wear old baggy t-shirts and others wear really expensive clothes to exercise in.”
Chiovaro said she works out every day and has always noticed a difference in what people wear to the gym.
“It’s so interesting to see what everyone chooses to wear. It’s like dressing for anything else in life. Some people try to be extra fashionable and spend lots of money on gym clothes and other people just don’t care,” Chiovaro said, “The nicer workout clothes can get really pricey.”
Sophomore Kaitlyn Powers is among those who enjoy splurging on more fashionable workout clothes.
“I love dressing for the gym. I usually just wear leggings and a tank top when I go, but I spend a lot of money every year to get the nicer brands,” Powers said, “I see other girls wearing Nike and Adidas a lot. I mostly wear Lululemon because I think it fits best for working out.”
According to their website, Lululemon is a “yoga-inspired athletic apparel brand” founded in 1998, but Chiovaro said it has only recently been made popular for college students and young people.
“Lululemon is huge now, but it kind of just came out of nowhere,” Chiovaro said, “Everyone wears their workout clothes and leggings with their little symbol on it. It’s all really expensive, but they fit nicely.”
Powers emphasized that the fit of her gym clothes is important to her.
“You want something that is easy to workout in and looks good too. I think that’s different for everyone,” Powers said.
KSC senior Tori Folk agreed that people wear what they feel most comfortable in.
“Working out isn’t a pretty sight in general so sometimes people might want to dress a little bit nicer,” Folk said, “I know I like wearing brighter colors and not too many layers because I know I’ll be sweating a lot.”
Folk said she sees a lot of trends in women’s gym clothes.
“Girls love wearing bright leggings with lots of patterns, headbands, tops with patterns on them or bright sports bras,” Folk said.
Chiovaro said that her gym attire makes her more motivated to go and actually work out.
“I get so excited when I buy nice gym clothes. It honestly makes working out much more appealing to me and it definitely motivates me to go [to the gym] more,” Chiovaro said.
However, Folk said there’s a large difference in what women wear to the gym versus what men wear.
“From what I can see, I feel like girls spend much more money on gym clothes than guys. I think guys can just pull off wearing old an old t-shirt or something like that when they’re working out,” Folk said.
Folk said she thinks this is a double-standard.
“Girls are kind of expected to look good even at the gym and guys can just wear whatever they want,” Folk said, “I’m sure they spend money on their gym clothes too, but it’s different.”
Senior Elton Purvis, who said he spends a lot of time at the gym, agreed there is a difference between what men and women wear to the gym.
“I mean, everyone dresses how they want to dress at the gym. Some of it is for comfort and practicality, but I know a lot of girls who put thought into it,” Purvis said, “Guys can kind of just put on a cut-off t-shirt and a hat and just go.”
Purvis said he sees a lot of men at the gym with the sleeves cut off their t-shirts. He said he believes this has become a sort of trend in the exercise world.
Chiovaro said she believes there is a double standard with how much skin can be shown.
“I saw a guy at the gym last week who was legitimately shirtless working out. Like, you’re not allowed to do that but no one really questioned him,” Chiovaro said, “I’ve also seen girls wearing crop tops or sports bras while they’re on the treadmill and everyone kind of looks at them like they’re crazy.”
Chiovaro said she does not believe it’s appropriate for too much skin to be shown while working out.
When it comes down to it, Purvis said that people just choose to wear what they’re comfortable in.
“What you wear to the gym should be based on what you feel best sweating in. Not everyone likes the feeling of certain materials so I think everyone chooses what they feel best in,” Purvis said.
Stephanie McCann can be contacted at smccann@kscequinox.com
