Here’s why it actually matters what you wear to the gym

ShutterstockDon’t dress like a slob when you go to the gym.

Conventional wisdom goes like this: When you go to the gym, you’re there to work out, not to impress anyone. So you can safely wear that ratty old t-shirt with stains and holes in it. Who cares, right?

Well, wrong. It actually does matter what you wear to the gym when you go for two reasons: one of them is technical and the other is personal.

Technical

This may seems obvious to most, but if you’ve ever been to the gym, you’d be shocked by how many don’t quite “get it”.

When you work out, you need to wear clothing that can handle both the movement of your body and the sweat pouring out of you. This means appropriate sneakers and attire should be worn only. An outfit that includes a shirt that can handle sweat, a pair of shorts that hit above your knee, and sneakers that can handle all your movement is the ideal.

If you’re really sweaty, we recommend polyester or cotton-poly blend t-shirts — they wick the moisture off your skin, cooling you down faster than a normal cotton t-shirt.

Personal

The other thing you must consider is how you look at the gym. We’re not telling you to go crazy here. There’s no reason to go out and get a closet full of Lululemon.

Just make sure your gym clothes are appropriately stylish, and the colors match for the most part. It’s not too hard these days. Competition between sports apparel makers like Nike, Adidas, Under Armor, and, yes, even Lululemon have churned out increasingly useful technical fabrics in super-cool styles.

A stylish outfit can even motivate you to go to gym sometimes, when you see how great you look in the mirror. After all, we already know that dressing up for work can make you more successful. Why not apply the same logic to the gym? Hey, every little bit helps!

Oh, and also make sure there’s no stains, holes, or other unsightly blemishes you would accept in your normal day-to-day outfit. Just because it’s the gym doesn’t give you license to be a slob.

You never know who may be looking. Who knows, you may even catch the eye of that future special someone.