But does this new and improved exercise attire — with such thoughtful little details as chafe-resistant flat seams, body-mapped perforation for airflow, built-in reflective designs, anti-stink fabric and a nifty little pocket for my iPod, credit card and keys — actually help performance?
“There’s no doubt that better-quality, more comfortable athletic clothing can have benefits, from both a physical and psychological standpoint,” says exercise physiologist Thomas Altena of Missouri State University. “It’s like cars: Until you get into the high-tech gear, you don’t really know what you’re missing.”
To start, the right material will help regulate your body temperature. This can affect heart function, which in turn influences how difficult you perceive an activity to be, says exercise physiologist Delia Roberts, a fellow with the American College of Sports Medicine.
“If you want one item that’s guaranteed to decrease [athletic performance], that’s letting your body get too hot,” she says, explaining that the newest generation of synthetic fabrics such as polypropylene, along with old standbys such as merino wool, wick sweat away from the skin and allow it to evaporate, for a cooling effect. Cotton, on the other hand, “will absorb moisture and wetness and keep it close to the skin,” which can be uncomfortable, and cause chafing, blisters and other skin irritations.
Roberts adds that compression garments, which claim to improve blood circulation to a particular area of the body such as the legs, may also boost athletic performance — although probably not for the reason manufacturers state.
She said that according to research published this year in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, there’s no evidence that positive effects of compression tights are due to increased blood flow; instead, it appears that any benefits may stem from the fact that these tight pants, shorts and other clothes reduce muscle vibration and provide additional muscle support during a workout.
And the workout-wear design innovations — such as those flat seams, fabrics that don’t smell (no matter how hard you sweat) and well-thought-out pockets — can help make you more at ease on your bike or the treadmill, allowing you to focus more on the task at hand and to persevere, Altena says.
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