To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories
To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories Male Clothing Stores
All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
By Jessie Atkinson and Esat Dedezade
GQ’s ultimate guide to the best gym clothes for men leaves no excuse not to reach a personal best in style
Ask any gym buff, style-conscious or not, what the most important thing they've invested in for their fitness and they will invariably say that it is their gym clothes. And while Nike and Adidas are the best known purveyors of outfits you can sweat in, there are an abundance of brands making it their mission to optimise every aspect of your gym wardrobe, from your trainers to your treadmill-perfect running shorts.
Combine the science and engineering of sportswear with the athleisure boom in the fashion world and you have a recipe for good-looking clothes that work as hard as you do. Whether you care what you look like in the gym or not, the clothes you'll find from brands such as Lululemon, CDLP, P.E. Nation and Gymshark put looks at the top of their priority lists — just below how well an item of clothing wicks sweat and allows movement. What you have, then, is your pick of pieces that help you look and perform your best.
Come one, come all: the athletes and the amateurs, the wallflowers and the aesthetes. Below, you will find our top picks from the current crop of gym clothes.
Sweat-wicking is the name of the game when it comes to gym tops. If you’re working out at max effort – be that at the gym or at home with a resistance band, kettlebell and dumbbells set-up – you’ll want a top that can quickly mop up any moisture perspiring from your back and underarms, and dry just as fast.
Different sports brands have trademarked their own technologies to do this. The most renowned is Nike’s Dri-Fit, a polyester fabric with high-performance microfibre construction to support the body’s natural cooling system by taking sweat and dispersing it evenly throughout the surface of the garment to speed up evaporation. Lululemon’s Metal Vent tech, meanwhile, boasts smart sweat- and odour-resistant features knitted into the fabric where it’s needed most thanks to is tops’ seamless design.
What’s the difference between running shorts and training shorts? Typically, the training kind will be a little longer, falling just above the knee, constructed so as to inhibit the movement of your leg during a given exercise. They’ll also tend to be a little more convenient for the gym as they’ll feature pockets, something running shorts often come without. That said, if you can find a good running short that works for the gym, then winner, winner, chicken broccoli and sweet potato dinner. Running shorts are primed for freedom of movement, so are an optimal choice for cardio-focused workouts.
Let’s get one thing straight: no matter how good you think your derrière looks in them, men’s tights should only be worn underneath a pair of shorts. There’s not a single person in the gym who wants to see the outline of your member as you perform a hip thrust. That established, it’s well worth incorporating base layers into your gym kit for a few reasons.
For one, base layers keep you warm when you train outdoors while also absorbing sweat for enhanced comfort. From a performance perspective, they also provide support thanks to their snug fit, thereby reducing risk of injury, while some fitness experts swear by base layers for better activation of the muscles. They look good too, exaggerating the silhouette of your harder-worked muscles, especially the calves and shoulders.
Most gym clothes tend to be made from a combination of all of the below materials, blending together their pros to get the best of all worlds. It's worth looking at the benefits and disadvantages of them all though, to get a better idea of what performance you can expect from certain garments.
If you search around for sportswear, active wear, or simply gym clothes, you'll soon be on the right track. If you stick with brands like Gym Shark (who specalise in sportswear), you can't really go wrong, but if you want to branch out to other brands, you'll be fine as long as you stick to things like tracksuit bottoms and shorts. Basically, if you're about to bust out an overhead press in a dress shirt and chinos, something's gone horribly wrong.
You'll want to think about everything you wear from head to toe. Appropriate footwear, comfortable socks, and loose-fitting clothes and/or compression tops/bottoms are all things to take into consideration. It all very much depends on what you'll be doing at the gym of course, which brings us on to…
The best gym outfit for your needs is very much dependent on what you plan on doing once you step through the doors. Running on the treadmill exclusively? Then you'll want some solid running shoes, lightweight running shorts, and a moisture-wicking top to keep you cool. If you'll mostly be in the weight room, then you'll want stable shoes with a flat base, loose-fitting trackies or shirts, and a comfortable top that offers a full range of motion. There's a mixture of all of these things and more in our list below, so pick and choose the ones that are best suited to you.
For more fashion, grooming and technology releases delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our GQ Recommends newsletter.
License to Train Lined Short 7"
There's no fitness discipline too rigorous for Lululemon's License to Train shorts (and if there is, we're yet to try it). The headline feature is their abrasion-resistant nylon fabric, which adds a layer of protection between your skin and, say, branches on trail runs or barbells during cleans. Don't worry, the Luxtreme fabric liner means they'll sit softly on your thighs.
This is a workout short that's primed for those most inclined to mix up their workouts. Lift heavy in them one day, attack a climbing wall the next. Thanks to the four-way stretch fabric and gusseted seams to promote mobility, there's as little restriction of movement as you could hope for from a pair of shorts, while the built-in compression liner that's treated with a Goldfusion anti-odour technology means you can wear them multiple times before having to stick them in the washing machine.
When beginning an odyssey of new gym clothes purchasing, Lululemon will always be one of our first ports of call. Why? Let us count the ways… this simple short-sleeve T-shirt may look like something you could wear with your favourite new pair of jeans, but it’s actually designed for the gym within an inch of its life. Just some of the unique features here: underarm gussets, sweat-wicking capabilities, and the Silvervescent tech that actively combats odour.
Pushing through the throng of duffel bags that have crowded the top of every gym bag list for a century, Built For Athlete’s proposition is convincing us to switch to a backpack. Spinal comfort aside, this is a beast of a bag with an embarrassment of pockets, zips, compartments and aesthetic tweaks. In particular, it’s perfect for the gym rat who insists on toting enormous containers of both water and protein on every trip.
Rhone's activewear leaves no stone unturned when it comes to quality, as evidenced in details such as its GoldFusion odour technology, movement-enhancing raglan sleeves and UPF50+ treatment to safely take your summertime sweat sesh outdoors. Available in no fewer than 15 colourways, it's easily integrated into existing kit, and comes with the option of long-sleeves, too.
A core style from the fastest-growing activewear label in the biz, if you’re going to incorporate just one thing from Gymshark into your everyday wardrobe, it should be the Crest tee. Available in nine colourways, and with the brand’s iconic snappy logo on the left shoulder, the simple style will let everyone know you lift, even when you’re far from the weights room.
Fabletics recently moved into the men’s gymwear domain and its 24/7 Tee is one of its most comprehensive creations: perfect for living inside the pain cave and keeping on after you’ve ticked off the day’s training. That’s all possible thanks to the anti-odour and sweat-wicking technology Fabletics employs to keep its wares fresher for longer, while features like a 4-way stretch and some welcome UPF defence add to its all-day wear credentials.
Nike's eye-catching pair of gym kicks are designed to feel comfortable and stable whether you're hitting a deadlift PB, running on the treadmill, or subjecting yourself to a brutal new CrossFit regime.
It's for good reason that Gymshark joggers have garnered an almost cult-like appreciation amongst fitness nuts. Whether they're cut from cosy jersey or performative polyester, Gymshark gets the fit on-point, with a flattering taper from the knee down that looks good without restricting movement. The new Speed joggers have sweat-mapping ventilation that'll see you through a run or CrossFit WOD without wishing you braved shorts instead.
Under Armour has a history of dressing athletes from the NFL to Olympic skiers in warm clobber during colder training conditions. Its compression mock houses its latest dual-fabric Coldgear technology, designed to keep the body’s core temperature warm from stretchy fabric that sits close to the skin all the way from torso to neck keeping you protected against the chilly elements.
If you only have room in your life and your drawer for shorts that can live on land and in the water, Fabletics’ quick-drying set are for you. They're replete with special features, too: hideaway pockets are there for you to drop your phone into, while a dedicated loop on the waistband gives you somewhere to hang a mini towel when you need to wipe the sweat from your forehead in between sets.
BAM’s training top brings a more sustainable edge to your workout wardrobe. Opting for materials like bamboo and organic cotton, its wares wrap you up in naturally soft and lightweight fabric that keeps you cool and won’t restrict your movements whether you’ve got gym day, a run or an indoor ride marked in your training diary.
It’s been so long since the trainer sock has been out of the style frame that we’re cautiously optimistic they’re gone forever. In their place, of course: the retro-tastic tube sock, here marvellously illustrated by Nike and a clutch of archive designs. As dry fitting as the trainer sock without any of the ick.
Like many streetwear brands, Represent may be first and foremost all about style, but that doesn’t mean that some of its pieces aren’t primed for fitness wear. One such instance of kismet comes in the form of this oversized tank, designed with four-way stretch and cooling thermo-regulation for sweat-free sessions.
Designed for yoga but appropriate for far more, these unlined shorts are a Nike special with sweat-wicking properties, hidden pockets and a generous 18cm inseam. Coming in tie-dye style lightweight mesh, they’re ideal for daily gym wear and even lounging around the house on those essential rest days.
The more neutral, ergonomic T-shirts you can add to your gym drawer, the easier it’ll be to throw something on in the weak light of the early morning. An affordable, solid base number to help you always look and feel fresh at the gym comes courtesy of Adidas.
As we start thinking about autumn/winter wardrobes again, Gymshark’s Crest joggers make for just the thing to transition from home to gym studio in with their body-hugging silhouette that’s smart but not too skinny. The super soft interior will have you looking forward to rest day even more, and you’ll find them factored into many a WFH ‘fit, too.
For gym fiends that like their tees to adopt a more low-key look, we recommend H&M's DryMove, which uses fabric that’s designed to keep you dry even when you up the intensity. With a noticeably roomy fit, it can also handle some time in the weights section or for a more gentle stroll on the treadmill.
A marvellous new season base layer for schlepping to the gym in through rain and sleet, Asics’ mock neck was designed with running in mind, making it ideal for cardio indoor and out. Slim-fitting and non-moving, it’s the perfect layer for winter running, but will no doubt find its way into our training wardrobe for December too.
Cloud X Shift Gym Trainers
Preppy Clothes For Guys If you’re on the hunt for a new pair of gym trainers, you might feel as though you’ve seen enough to last a lifetime. Let’s make it simple: On Running’s bulbous Cloud X Shift shoe is a favourite of GQ editors and readers alike. It’s good-looking, it’s comfortable, it’s supportive and it can even manage a spot of running and HIIT. Consider your search over.