You will find numerous difference of opinions.
For example, Jack is a 32-year old man who loves running. His fitness goal is to lose 10 pounds in the next two months. He believes gym hoodies help him burn more calories.
Whereas, Mark has been working out every day since his teenage. He gets annoyed with anyone who wears gym hoodies to the gym. He thinks workout hoodies are pointless.
Angela, on the other hand, is a trainer at the gym. She spends more than six hours every day. Angela doesn’t work out all the time but likes to keep herself cozy. She loves the gym hoodies her favorite brand makes and she thinks they make her look cute.
Everyone has their own experiences, biases, and opinions.
In this article, we will answer a few questions that will help you form your own opinion.
- Why people wear hoodies when working out?
- Does working out in a hoodie help lose weight faster?
- Why some people oppose wearing a hoodie during a workout?
Why do people wear gym hoodies when working out?
People wear gym hoodies for different reasons. Some wear for fashion, some believe it makes them efficient. Here is a list of major reasons why people wear them.
Prevent Injury
Why do we warm-up before a physical exercise or sport? The standout reason is to prevent injury.
For the same reason, athletes often wear hoodies while working out mostly to get warmed-up faster. Wearing gym hoodies will help them trap the heat inside their body and warm-up their muscle faster.
If your muscles are cold, there might be a chance of pulling your muscle if you sprint. Most sportsmen warm-up in a hoodie in the colder weather. Moreover, most gyms have pretty decent air-conditioning on.
Therefore, starting your workout with a hoodie on in a colder environment can be a really good idea. However, it if it is already hot, you might experience heat exhaustion, which is never a good idea. (More on it later).
Jack wears gym hoodies on a treadmill, maybe because it helps him get a good warm-up. He would have had an injury before and he takes precautions by keeping himself warm. Mark doesn’t cardio as much, and mostly lifts weights. He probably never pulled any muscle in his lifetime.
Comfort
Comfort is essential for workouts. You stay focused, and any discomfort is a huge distraction. People wear all sorts of gear when they workout, and it all depends on what makes them comfortable.
Athletes keep them self-layered till they get to a point where they start to feel the heat and prevent heat exhaustion.
Some women like to wear a gym hoodie because it helps them hide and hold their goodies. Not everyone likes to wear tight clothes, although it helps them perform better. Hoodies also come with more storage for your valuables like keys and phone.
It’s all about preferences. Maybe Jack has little more fat which he is uncomfortable exposing. Mark has not built all his muscles to hide it under a hoodie. For Angela. She likes to keep herself cozy and comfortable as she is at the gym the whole time.
Fashion
Nowadays, anything you wear is a part of fashion. Wearing gym hoodies makes it a part of athleisure.
A lot of what we wear today really depends on how we look. There was a time when you wore your worst clothes to the gym. But as industries grow, it creates more niches. Gym hoodies are niches, as well. People love to wear gym hoodies because it makes them look different.
Angela loves her brand. She buys everything the brand makes. If a brand makes a hoodie for working out, she will wear that hoodie to a workout.
Doesn’t matter if it helps her achieve goals faster. She thinks gym hoodies are cute, they make her look good, and it makes her happy. It’s all emotional.
Burn Calories
When you wear a workout hoodie and run, your body temperature increases more than usual. Therefore, the circulation of blood in the body increases, and your heart rate increases to maintain your body temperature.
Jack maybe is right about burning more calories.
With an increased heart rate, you may burn more calories in a workout hoodie. However, this may not always be a good idea, which takes us to the next question.
Does working out in a hoodie help lose weight faster?
Working in a hoodie helps you lose weight faster, but it is not entirely the reason – increased heart rate leading to burning more calories.
Let’s delve into the idea first where it came from.
Most wrestlers need to maintain a specific weight to take part in the competition. Therefore, around a week before, they start to work out in the sweatshirt or hoodie. It helps them lose sometimes as much as 5 pounds of weight in just two days.
When people saw this, they picked up the idea without knowing that the weight they lose is water weight. Almost all the weight that wrestlers lose, is the water weight. Water weight can be put back on by hydrating.
Therefore, the sweat they lose is water, not the calories. It is a strange practice, but common in all combat sports.
Workout hoodie helps you burn calories but not as much as you think. You rather not exhaust yourself in a gym hoodie, which takes us to our next question.
Why some people oppose wearing a hoodie during a workout?
Mark doesn’t like people wearing a hoodie to the gym. We don’t know if he knows how it can be harmful it is, but if you are sweating a lot; you should take it off – else…
Heat Exhaustion
Heat exhaustion happens when your body is unable to keep up with the high body temperature. It can happen due to excessive high-intensity workouts.
Working out in a hoodie may increase the chances of quicker heat exhaustion. If you are running and it gets too hot, take it off right away. After you work out, drink plenty of water.
Inefficiency
When heart rate rises, you burn more calories. High intensity can burn more calories but may not be sustainable for long. In some cases, low intense running may help you burn more calories by letting you work out for longer.
Workout hoodie will increase the intensity part of your exercise and limit you to burn the calories in the first place by exhausting you faster.
Key Takeaways
- Warming up in a gym hoodie is a great idea. You can wear it back after the workout to let your body cool slowly.
- Wear the hoodie when it makes you comfortable and looks good. Layer yourself while going out or to the gym. Let fashion not interfere with your health.
- Take the hoodie off and avoid heat exhaustion when it is too hot or you are sweating like crazy.
Love them or hate them, but respect everyone who chooses to wear the workout hoodie- either outside or at the gym. Some prevent their injuries – for some, it is their lifestyle – and for some, it is their happy place. You may not know the reason they are wearing for.
