How do you shop for your workout / gym / training / running kit?

[ThickGrass]

I exercise almost daily for the last 17 years but only just realised that my sports kit is just an assortment of random Nike bits, mostly gifted by DH over years, some going back to our first year together, when I went for my first run. He is a life long athlete, and loves buying sportswear, and I got into fitness thanks to him.

But while I love my style and beauty, I have never considered this area as something to enjoy shopping for. I buy fresh socks and specific trainers annually, the rest is years old. Hand me downs from DD too. Literally, go swimming with a battered yellow Lidl shopper bag.

The other day I saw Melissa Murell, stylist, in Alo shorts and bra on YouTube, and it was like - how have I never bothered to look at the nice stuff for gym?

So, not sure where to start yet and how to best go about getting nice kit (sets?), so have ordered a Nike XS duffel bag in black as a starting point - good for swimming stuff and spin.

Any inspiration and brand or product recommendations are welcome, I just want to chat about it really.

It’s a really interesting post and I would start by saying you deserve nice exercise clothes!

I rarely buy things full price but I shop for things that are maybe last season so are discounted, a lot of sportsshoes.com or sportpursuit.com. As regards brand, I like Craft and UnderArmour but I’m not massively brand loyal like I am to Garmin!!

I do find browsing a bit overwhelming as there is so much choice so having an idea of what I want helps! If you want physical shops I’ve heard a lot of good things about M&S Goodmove.

But please, go buy yourself some nice things 😊

I get SweatyBetty for everything… to be fair, the store is at the end of my street and there are no other sportswear retailers in my town but the stuff is great.

I basically adore the Power leggings and shorts for everything and the Breathe easy and Athlete tops. I just keep to a palette of pink/navy/black and then it all seems to mix and match.

Sweaty Betty is great, super hard wearing and lasts ages

BAM clothing has some lovely stuff, the bamboo fabric is lovely and everything I’ve had from there is at least 4 years old and going strong

M&S own brand GoodMove is surprisingly good! Good quality and nice designs in the main

tops are mostly race t-shirts, leggings come from a couple of brands I know suit me and trainers replaced when needed (online if i'm buying the same again or in store if the model has changed).

I like CRZ Yoga leggings from Amazon - cheap, better fit for me than Sweaty Betty and come in loads of colours. Great quality. Free People have a nice activewear range. Oddballs do great sports bras/crop tops in bright prints if that’s your thing. At competitions all the young women seem to wear Nike and Gym Shark.

I only started actively buying kit when I started going immediately after dropping off at nursery and felt people were looking at me & judging me. Before that, it had been the older & scruffier the better!
We live in a naice area and there is a lot of Sweaty Betty and some Lululemon. Mine is mainly M&S with the odd bit of Next, GymShark & SB thrown in.
I now only buy black leggings/shorts & sports bras and then whatever colour t-shirt, patterned or plain, goes with it. One too many early morning gym classes when I’d grabbed a pair of patterned leggings in the dark and what I thought was the co-ordinating t-shirt only to discover it was a clashing set and just make myself feel even more blurry eyed at the time in the morning!
Teen DD and all her mates wear Nike so I avoid that. I’m also still recovering from when, a few years ago, I tried to get into then age 10 DD’s running leggings rather than my own size 10 ones. I managed to get partly into them before realising my error but getting out of them was a lot harder as they seemed to have developed boa constrictor tendencies! Teen DS & all his mates are mainly Adidas so, whilst I wouldn’t be in the same clothes as him, I still think he’d be appalled!

Another who just buys Sweaty Betty (sales). It just works, and the colours seem to match seasonal to season.

My gym gear is Sweaty Betty 7/8 power leggings and their ‘athlete’ seamless vest. I have several of each and buy new ones using their ‘insider’s’ discount. I also have about 5 of their long sleeve tops and ‘after class’ sweatshirts to wear before and after.

Sweaty Betty quality is second to none, in my opinion. It’s the only brand I buy.

Choose your colours and find a style you like.
I wear mainly navy as black washes me out.
I think flattering exercise clothes are very important!