Motivation to work out starts in your closet

  • By Andrea Brown Herald Writer
  • Friday, January 4, 2013 12:25pm
  • Life

Getting in shape starts in your closet.

After all, if you’re going to sweat, you might as well sweat in style.

With mirrors on every wall of the gym, it can be hard to hide behind your hoodie.

Having workout clothes you love helps you stay motivated and confident. Plus, it’s a good excuse to buy more clothes … which in turn leads to more trips to the gym. It’s one of those good vicious cycles.

Fitness fashions and fabrics vary by sport.

Sometimes the weight room looks more like the beach, with muscle shirts and skimpy garb to allow for sweating and, of course, showing off those biceps and abs.

Dressing for Zumba might seem more like dressing to be a circus clown stripper: Bright baggy cargo pants with booty tassels. Fringed racerback tops. Tight V-bras.

“It’s part of the fun and the Zumba party,” said Debbie Holm, who sells the trademark clothes at her Silver Lake shop, The Best You: Weight Loss Clinic and Zumba Wear.

“At first I was embarrassed going into a McDonald’s or a grocery store in my costume,” Holm said. “Then I thought, ‘You know, baseball players wear their uniforms. I’m a Zumba person.’ “

Those fanny tassels aren’t just for looks, she said. If they aren’t twirling, you’re not shaking it enough.

Kat Campos is a busy pre-med major at University of Washington. Between classes, she runs, plays basketball, lifts weights and teaches Zumba.

“I’m constantly in the gym,” Campos said.

A quick-change artist, she carries a mixed bag of leggings, sweats, sports bras, ribbed tanks and Zumba pants.

But even the hottest, coolest clothes aren’t enough to pull it off.

“The big difference is really the shoes,” Campos said. “You need good shoes.”

Talk to us

More in Life

A clump of flowering ornamental grass or pennisetum alopecuroides in an autumn garden.
My garden runneth over with fountain grasses, and for good reason

These late-blooming perennials come in many varieties. They work well as accents, groundcovers, edgings or in containers.

Dark gray wheels and black exterior accents provide extra visual appeal for the 2024 Subaru Impreza’s RS trim. (Subaru)
2024 Subaru Impreza loses a little, gains a lot

The brand’s compact car is fully redesigned. A couple of things are gone, but many more have arrived.

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay walks into the Prohibition Grille along Hewitt Avenue in Everett Wednesday Dec. 5, 2012 while reportedly filming an episode of Kitchen Nightmares at the Everett restaurant. (Mark Mulligan / The Herald)
Even more films and TV shows filmed in Snohomish County

Readers point out projects previously missed in this series, from reality television to low-budget indie films.

Daniella Beccaria / for The Herald

15-month-old Kantu attempts to climb a pumpkin at Stocker Farms in Snohomish on Sunday, September 20th, 2015. Stocker Farms offers a U-pick patch, farm animals and a corn maze.
Best pumpkin patch in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied, here are the results.

A woman diverts from her walk on Colby Avenue to take a closer look at a pickup truck that was partly crushed by a fallen tree during an overnight wind storm Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in north Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / Herald file)
Storm season is coming. Here’s how to prepare for power outages.

The most important action you can take is to make an emergency preparedness kit.

Do you prefer green or red grapes? This antique Moser pitcher is decorated with enameled grapevines on shaded red-to-green glass.
Grapevine pitcher was made by renowned Bohemian company

Also, queries about grandmother’s coffee set and late husband’s Beatles records and memorabilia collection.

The city of Mukilteo is having a naming contest for its new $75,000 RC Mowers R-52, a remote-operated robotic mower. (Submitted photo)
Mukilteo muncher: Name the $75,000 robot mower

The city is having a naming contest for its new sod-slaying, hedge-hogging, forest-clumping, Mr-mow-it-all.

Death of parent with child. Piece of paper with parents and children is torn in half.
Helping children cope with the hard realities of divorce

I’s important to set aside one’s feelings and find a way to make this challenging transition as comfortable for children as you can.

In Belgium, each type of beer has its own glass – whether wide, tall, or fluted – to show off its distinct qualities.
Rick Steves’ Europe: Bruges brews lift a weary traveler’s spirits

The Belgian city is a mecca for beer lovers from around the world.

Most Read