Sports gear is absolutely coming into fashion. If you take a stroll in any modern metropolitan city, you will see people wearing trendy, branded sports gear, be it shoes, hoodies, t-shirts, leggings or any other article of clothing.
But as sleek and chic as they look, does the right sports gear affect an athlete’s performance noticeably? This is the question we’re going to look into in this article.
1. Specialised apparel can help you achieve better performance
Let’s talk about running shoes as an example. Running shoes are designed for the specific activity of running, and so are designed to be lightweight and well-fitting and complementary to the shape of one’s foot when they run. Therefore, they are much better than say, high-tops or regular sneakers. Another good example is professional swimming gear. If you try to race competitively wearing swimming trunks, you’ll be much worse off than if you were wearing professional swimming gear, even if everything else is held constant. There are countless other examples, such as lightweight t-shirts for runners and cleats for footballers.
2. Injury Prevention
Not only does the right sports gear help you improve your performance, but it can also help you prevent injuries and actually protect your body. Using shoes as an example, if you’re wearing shoes that are a bunch of sizes too big, you’re much more likely to get injured by rolling your ankle or slipping or any number of ways that can all cause you bodily harm. Using baseball as an example, the shoes, gloves, and baseball socks are just as important as one another because they keep you from getting injured upon impact from either the bat or the ball.
If you live somewhere cold, you’ll also value the importance of lightweight clothing that can keep you warm, such as compression clothing designed for the cold. In fact, compression clothing itself can help prevent injuries as they increase blood circulation and help keep your muscles warm and ready to go, not to mention they can prevent scrapes and bruises from developing when you fall down. It also aids the recovery process. Needless to say, we’re big fans of compression clothing.
3. Increases confidence
Have you ever heard of the term ‘look good, feel good’? As cliché as it sounds, it’s actually true. Wearing nice clothes can and does increase your confidence, and that extends to sports. If you look the part, you’ll subconsciously feel more and more secure expressing yourself out on the track, the field, the gym or wherever it is you work out. You’ll be more motivated to push yourself as you will feel you have the right tools and equipment to do so.
Dress For Success
Another cliché that’s mostly true (and is also a great heading for a conclusion). Regardless of whether it’s a conscious or subconscious act, wearing nice well-fitting sports gear can help you drastically improve your performance. This is also especially true of team sports, where having a uniform and dressing everyone in the same clothing can help team unity and make you look both stylish and formidable to others. The thing is you don’t even have to spend a fortune on gear (although it’s easy to do that), just find something that’s well-fitting and appropriate and you’ll see the drastic change yourself.
