Exercising and working out in the gym has always come with its own set of traits and trends. Serious bodybuilders seem to have the highest amount of rules out of all avid gym goers which is understandable if we take a step back and look at their complicated workout regimes and everything that surrounds it. However, one thing seems to boggle the minds of anyone who is not a bodybuilder but makes frequent trips to their favorite workout center.
Why do many of them wear hoodies while they work out? Out of all the gym clothes that is widely available on the modern market, why do the most serious exercise and weightlifting enthusiasts opt for something so obviously inconvenient for working out?
In this article we will try to answer these questions and try to make a logical explanation to the age old question of why bodybuilders wear hoodies while they work out. If you have always wanted to know this, you came to the right place. In addition, in case you need some top of the line, high quality gymwear clothes for your current progress and workout schedule, make sure to check out FIRM ABS Gym Wear.
1. These are not Ordinary Hoodies
Before we move on and explore the reasons why these hoodies are worn during workouts, we have to talk about them in terms of material and design. First of all, they are not made with as much warm and heavy materials as regular hoodies you would wear when it is colder outside. Most of the time they are actually sleeveless and more like light cotton or fleece vests with hoodies. They sometimes have a zipper but usually most of the bodybuilders wear those without it.
Based on this, right from the start we should realize that such items of clothing are actually meant for the people who wear them exactly when they wear them. They are hardly the same thing as traditional sweatshirts. However, a lot of people actually wear those while working out too, for much of the same reasons and even more so.
2. Preventing Injuries
If you watch and follow sports, you probably know that the players never warm up or sit on the bench in their jerseys and kits. They actually do it in tracksuits, sweatpants, and sweatshirts. Have you ever wondered why that is? The answer to this question is very easy and straightforward while the reason could not be more important. Keeping the body warm for longer prevents injuries relating to muscles, joints, and tendons. They tend to strain or tear much more easily if you go straight into action without proper warmup, which happens because they are cold and not ready for heavy workload that hits them all of a sudden.
When football players start warming up on the sidelines they usually wear a tracksuit over their kit. Basketball players do the same before the first and third quarters while they are warming up. Bodybuilders wear their warm sweatshirts with hoodies for much of the same reason. Their muscles, bones, and joints have to be warm and ready for action if they are to get in their daily workout. And their daily workouts are as hard as they come. Helping the body get and stay warm with proper clothing is crucial so they wear them regularly, especially when it is a bit colder both outside and inside the gym.
3. Comfort
As crazy as it may sound, wearing a hoodie instead of a regular T-shirt or a tank top when working out may prove more comfortable even for you. In a gym setting, there will always be those looking at your physique and comparing themselves with you. More self-conscious and self-aware people are often shy about their thinner of bigger builds, which is the very reason they are hitting the gym. Until they get there, it can be hard to show of the body you are not 100% comfortable with.
Tight clothes are not for everyone, nor are the more revealing options like gym shorts and skimpier tops for the ladies. Hoodies are a great help here and they make you warmer and more cozy when you start sweating from the exercises. On the plus side, they come with more pockets so you can keep your smartphone, headphones, an energy bar, or even water closer to you. Do not forget the key to your locker either!
4. Fashion and Style
In the modern day and age, anything and everything can and is considered a form of fashion. Whatever sporting activity one is doing there is a whole range of specialized gear that can make your workout session or game slightly easier or at least more convenient. This is more than enough reason to go for it because more of the good thing is always better. There is a reason all sports brands have special fashion lines for different sports and activities. Bodybuilders require different gear than tennis players, from the regular apparel and kicks to accessories. Hoodies, both regular and sleeveless, are a part of the culture and they have been for decades. Hoodies are considered sporting apparel anyway so chances are people who are enthusiastic about working out and breaking a sweat have at least a few of them as their regular clothes. Why not make them a part of your image then and wear them at the gym too?
5. Burning More Calories
To finish things off, we have to mention one of the proven tactics how you can burn more calories while working out. Wearing another layer of clothing will make you sweat more as you do your thing, your heart rate will be increased which will then lead to more calories being burned in the process. Burning calories means losing fat so if this happens more, you will lose more fat and become leaner. Therefore, if you want to maximize this effect, start wearing a hoodie during your bodybuilding and weightlifting exercises as soon as possible. Some lifters have target weights they have to meet in order to keep with the regulations, so their strict regime actually dictate when and for how long they have to wear hoodies during workouts. At times, doing so can result in losing as much as 5 or 6 pounds in a few days.
Nicola Holder