Should you buy that cute gym outfit?

It’s about the 3rd week of January and my inbox is already starting to fill with emails advertising for cute athleisure in all shades of Valentines colorways (aka pinks, reds and purples), of which I’m a pretty much a sucker for. For me, athleisure is what I prefer to wear, in the gym, at home and even out and about if I add some elements to make it not look like I’m taking a studio class right then and there (excluding special events, occasions and fancier dinners). What I like about athleisure is that I feel much more comfortable in it than any other style of clothing. I like that I don’t feel restricted and even form fitting clothes don’t feel restrictive when you raise your arms or move around in general. All of this just got me started thinking about both appropriateness and motivation.

For me, when I do any sort of activity, I have to be comfortable to be all in (doesn’t matter how I look per se, but the mechanics of doing the exercise), whether it is spin class or yoga. For instance, I had made the mistake of wearing a regular bra to spin class and yoga class and the whole time some of my focus went towards adjusting the straps to where they should be. One day I wore a super loose and flowy shirt to yoga and while in down dog, the shirt drifted down and I couldn’t see the back wall or whether my legs were lined up correctly going into a lift and then a 3-legged down dog. This is the same shirt that I love for lifting (as long as I’m not laying down on a bench) and I sometimes wear to spin, because it’s loose and flowy and allows air to cool me (and because I don’t yet feel comfortable to just wear a bra top with no shirt on in front of other gym goers). The clothes you pick to wear for each activity does matter (but your mileage may vary) to some degree.

Which brought me to my next thought, is that since I like athleisure, and I am at the gym a good 5 days of the week and I need the clothes to “perform” in a way so that I can perform, it is kind of motivating in that I want to feel that I look good in the clothes as much as they feel good on me! It is kind of like an extrinsic type of motivation to reward yourself with clothes that make you feel good and comfortable to champion you on to do the activities that you enjoy. So in other words it’s a great way to use extrinsic rewards to help foster intrinsic motivation.

So, if buying that cute gym outfit helps you feel good doing your activity, I say go for it!