Exercise Naked?

Exercise Naked

Being naked is a journey to finding our own true self, or so it is said by advocates of wearing no clothes. Naked exercising is free, uninhibited, and a bit embarrassing. It is trending in some New York City and LA gyms where whole-body workouts have been designed just for the under-dressed exerciser. The advantage is you don’t have to pack running shoes, gym shorts, or a tank top. You might need a towel around your neck to stop the sweat from running down your privates, but hey, more power to you.

Sweat wicking is a big when wearing exercise clothes. Wicking fabric pulls moisture from your body to the exterior of your clothes where it evaporates easily. Exercising naked does away with sweat-wicking fabrics. As you exercise, your sweat just flies everywhere. You don’t have to worry about washing t-shirts or exercise shorts, just take a shower after your session. Save on the laundry bill, and save money. You don’t have to keep up with the expensive workout clothes that you see in your gym.

Body Image

Be aware of your body image, forget stylish or grungy workout clothes. Just walk out into the gym and start exercising on your favorite machine without any clothes on. Think of these two things, however. First, it might be considered unsanitary so take a towel to sit on, and second you will probably be escorted out of the gym after you get dressed. But, hey, you might just start a trend.

Exercising naked is a great motivator. Visual clues are a wake-up call. You see your favorite shower towel lying next to your bed, and you know you have to get up and exercise before ever getting dressed. No more investing in workout clothes. You don’t have to go to the mall to stock up on shorts and t-shirts, you already have you workout clothes ready to go. By exercising naked, you will make great friends. You have conversation subjects ready and waiting – the new bruise you found on your butt, the tightening of you belly, and even the way your skin glistens when you sweat.

The trick is to find a gym that advocates being naked while exercising, or just exercise naked with a group of good friends. The advantage is you have nothing between you and your workout. You can feel free, move and bend easier, and get a great laugh while you do lunges.

Recently while walking through a neighborhood park, a very athletic runner shed everything but the shoes. He touched his toes a couple of times, stretched, and began running nude with all his might. Enter the local police agency. They chased him on their bikes, but he was so fast. Is this the same guy who runs streaking through sporting events? Maybe, but he was having a great time, you could tell.

Naked Yoga

Naked yoga? That’s a great possibility. You do your yoga poses in a darkened room, everyone is supposed to close their eyes, and no one can see your sagging butt as you lose your balance and hit the floor. Authentic yoga, or the yoga that is passed down from yogi masters and gurus, is supposed to reveal the inner peace in your soul. Meditation is awesome when you are uninhibited and unrestrained. Try it at your next yoga class, just remember, you will lose our concentration if you peek.

Follow me on Instagram

Gym Fashion: Hit or Miss?

Everyone has their own way of getting fit. Some people run until they drop, others try cross-fit programs, others sweat it out on a yoga mat, and still others bike through the countryside. Just as there are numerous programs for achieving peak physical fitness, there are a variety of athletic wear trends that help get you there. The most popular for non-water cardio activities would be sorted into yoga pants and everything else. The everything else would include stretchy, moisture-wicking fabrics and airy mesh. I think you get what the yoga pants would encompass, as there is certainly enough attention paid to them, no help to LuluLemon’s inauspicious transparency. Even throwing aside the debate about men being allowed to work out shirtless but women being shamed for wearing a sports bra to the gym, there are quite a few fashion faux pas to be had in pursuit of fitness.

So perhaps this will be an outline of “What Not to Wear…At the Gym.”

1- Your birthday suit. Please, please wear clothing. It’s easier to keep equipment clean when there is at least one layer between your precious skin and the mat/cushion. Plus leave a little bit to the imagination, ladies and gents! Let them guess whether you have an inny or an outy belly button.

2- Only shorts…with no lining or undergarments. I, like anyone else, enjoy the freedom of air wafting through my shorts. It’s great. But what isn’t great is seeing someone else’s bits because they went commando that day. I’m all for body positivity, but sometimes we want to focus on down dog without being subjected to a look at your manhood.

3- Jeans. Listen. You’ve GOT to be uncomfortable in those. Denim was not made for the gym. Sorry, but you’re asking for a world of chafing if you wear those skinnies to the weight room.

4- Flip flops. Unless you’re about to kick those bad-boys off and jump right into a few sun salutations, flip-flops are a no-go. Shoes that cover your entire foot help not only protect your foot from weights or machines that could fall on it, but are also less likely to get caught by moving parts and made specially to distribute weight throughout your foot in the right way. So lose the plastic sandals and grab some sneakers.

5- Big, long, dangling…earrings. Jeez people, get your mind out of the gutter. Earrings can be dangerous. Just like you want to keep your hair out of the way of your face and moving parts, you don’t want something that is literally sticking through ear flesh to be caught. Take my word for it.

Obviously these are just the basics. If you talk to running gurus, they’ll start listing all of the fabrics that are sure to chafe like crazy, just like a yogi will list the pros and cons of wearing yoga “shoes” or gloves. (For anyone that is curious, they’re supposed to help you grip the mat despite sweat.) The gym, just like school, is a place of constant learning and growth. It’s also that sacred place that, just when you thought you could never see anything quite as harebrained or idiotic, you are yet again surprised, intrigued, and disappointed by humanity.