Don’t be fooled by glorified Hollywood stories of the unfit permanently redefining themselves and their bodies after an intensive month-long boot camp: Those tales are unrealistic at best and completely dangerous at worst. In reality, most people achieve long-lasting health by making one small accomplishment, which allows for another — and another — small accomplishment, until the stack of small accomplishments amounts to something significant. The goal is to focus on small changes — such as adjusting the time of day you work out to accommodate your natural rhythms or choosing which exercises you do first in a workout — and build on those. Another small change that could have potentially powerful effects has to do with the clothes you wear while exercising.
[See: Debunking 5 Common Weight-Loss Myths.]
Imagine walking into a job interview. How much does how you look influence your confidence? Chances are, your mood is more positive and your prospects of interviewing well are more optimistic if you arrive in a nicely-fitting, stylish outfit, rather than one that fits poorly and was last worn by your great uncle. Clothes don’t only raise our confidence in such situations because they make a positive impression on others, but also because they affect how we think about ourselves, shaping our mood.
There’s even research behind this notion. A study several years ago found that subjects who wore a white coat they believed belonged to a doctor were more attentive and perceptive in several experimental tasks than those who wore the same coat that they believed to belong to a painter. Clothing puts us into a unique psychological state, depending on the meaning of the outfit. It’s no wonder we feel stronger in a gladiator suit, more powerful in a police uniform and more suave in a tuxedo.
With this in mind, it’s easy to see why we might answer the question, “How do I want to feel for my workout?” with: “Let me start by choosing the right outfit.” After all, we want to enter into the psychological state of an expert exerciser, and selecting the right clothing can help get us there. If the right gear can add even a smidge of motivation to the workout, why not embrace it?
[See: 12 Psychological Tricks to Get You Through a Workout or Race.]
The importance of this sartorial wisdom lies in the fact that how we feel ultimately affects how we perform. A happy mood typically leads to greater resilience, more creativity (which may benefit us in a workout setting) and a heightened willingness to embrace challenges. A depressed mood, in contrast, lends itself to slower reaction time, diminished persistence and less willingness to undergo pain and adversity.
My father-in-law, a biking enthusiast, recently experienced this phenomenon firsthand when he claimed that he had the best ride of his life while wearing his new pair of WOLACO compression shorts. His hamstrings didn’t magically enlarge, nor did his aerobic endurance improve compared to his last ride. He simply wore an outfit that made him feel more like a cyclist than ever before, and this change in perception affected real change in how he felt and, ultimately, in his athletic performance.
The relationship between clothing and mood works the other way, too. Research shows that what people choose to wear is heavily dependent on their emotional state. That is, not only does our choice of outfit affect our mood, but it’s also affected by our mood. We’re more likely to wear a favorite dress or pair of shoes when we’re feeling joy than when we feel sad. Since there is such a strong connection between clothing and our mood state, psychologists suggest we wear clothing that we associate with happiness — even when we’re not feeling happy.
[See: 10 Ways to Break a Bad Mood.]
Of course, happy clothes in the sporting sense — those that make us feel good and athletic — look different for everyone. Here are some general guidelines to craft the perfect workout wardrobe for you:
— Look for high-quality clothes. This may seem like a superficial requirement, but consider that, for many, sweating sends the message that it may be time to slow down and take it easy, even though that may not really be the case. A well-made workout shirt that absorbs moisture better than an average cotton T-shirt, however, is likely to delay the presence of major perspiration, which may allow for a more intense workout for a longer duration. The quality of clothing can literally shape our body’s response to exercise, which influences our perception of how hard we’re working.
— Choose something figure-enhancing. Gyms are full of mirrors. When you think you look good, you’ll push the intensity of the workout.
— Opt for bright and colorful. Colors have an effect on our mood. Surround yourself with bright and vibrant colors and, without consciously knowing why, your outlook — and workout — turns sunnier.
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Is Your Workout Wardrobe Working Against You? originally appeared on usnews.com
