Workout tights or gym leggings are a staple in today’s fitness wardrobe. If you’ve ever shopped for training gear, you’ve undoubtedly seen hundreds of different styles and prints touting various fashion and/or performance benefits. Now when it comes to selecting the right men’s and women’s training tights, there are a few things you should keep in mind. Choosing gym tights that provide wearable resistance can bring your workout to the next level, and that’s why we created the OMORPHO G-Tight.
The OMORPHO G-Tight, part of our G-Wear collection, was designed to boost workouts and tone muscles faster thanks to MicroLoad™ , or light weights that are distributed throughout our women’s and men’s tights. Made with cool-touch fabric and a design that’s sleek and understated, they bring resistance training to any exercise, from running to HIIT workouts, team sports and hiking. The OMORPHO Women’s G-Tight weights ~1lbs and the men’s version is ~1lbs 6oz. Not to mention the small distribution of weight allows you to move at or near full speed without interfering with natural movement.
Below, we break down four things to look for in a pair of tights, in order to help you achieve all of your training and workout goals.
1. Comfort
With tights, as with any training gear, comfort is key. If you’re comfortable, it’s much easier to feel confident and perform! Comfort is usually based on both fit and materials.
When it comes to fit, we believe that your tights should feel snug and neither too tight nor too loose. Avoid any distracting “bunching” of fabric at the bottom of your tights, and make sure there isn’t too much extra space around the hips and waist either. This helps ensure that when you’re doing movements involving stretching or squatting, for example, the tights don’t sag or fold at the top.
Most training tights are made with a blend of elastane and other materials like nylon, which together are stretchy and durable and release moisture from sweating. Others use natural materials like cotton or wool but tend to add heat or absorb sweat. We recommend a sweat-wicking blend, like the sustainable, bluesign®-approved nylon and spandex combination of our OMORPHO G-Tight.
When choosing a size in the G-Tight, we recommend staying true to size or sizing down. You’ll also notice that they come in a mid-rise height, which we think is the best choice between high- and low-rise, and helps keep the weights in place on your body.
2. Functionality
It’s important that the tights serve a functional purpose in your training, activity or competition. Can they stay in the right place during yoga? Are they flexible enough for squats? Do they move with you during the sport you play? Do they serve a specific activity, or better yet, can they accommodate a variety of performance and lifestyle needs?
These are all necessary considerations, and we recommend doing trial movements in the workout tights to make sure they meet your standards. For example, do a squat and make sure that the tights don’t sag or over-stretch. Bend forward or from side to side and make sure they’re still providing the coverage and support you want.
These days, training tights also come with useful features like pockets for your phone, keys or activity trackers. And even better, tights like the OMORPHO G-Tight help you get more out of your workout thanks to the MicroLoad™ of weights embedded into them. The G-Tight was designed to be versatile and meet the demands of all types of movement.
On the flipside, you may want to avoid features like zippers or drawstrings that could get caught on other fabric or equipment.
3. Appearance
Of course, if you look good, you feel good! With gym training tights, the right appearance might be your first priority, and that’s okay. You want tights that flatter your form and pair well with the rest of your training gear. Visually, you might want them to be sleek or understated, like the OMORPHO G-Tight, or perhaps you want something with a vibrant print or pattern. Style comes down to how you look, how you train and how you approach your workouts, and gym tights are undoubtedly an expression of your style, too.
As we mentioned before, height and length are important considerations that affect both comfort and appearance. We prefer a mid-rise height that sits just above the hips for snugness, but others prefer a low-rise below the hips or a high-rise height at the waist. Similarly, you’ll want to decide if you want a full-length or cropped tight, like a capri. We’d typically recommend a full-length tight, like the G-Tight, if you work out in various climates and want a versatile silhouette.
Lastly, the type of tight you use will be affected by its lining or thickness. Some tights have sheer panels or are see-through when light hits them, which may not be your preference.
4. Quality
Understandably, you want a training tight that’s high-quality and will last for a long time, no matter how much you paid for it. As stated above, material blend plays a huge part in this, as does construction. Tights with sewn-in, triangular gussets also tend to help them from becoming too stretched out over time. You’ll want to pay attention to the sewing and make sure there are no loose threads or visible mistakes.
Lastly, we at OMORPHO believe in using more sustainable materials whenever possible, and that’s why we use bluesign®-approved fabric on the G-Tight. The weights have been carefully integrated into the tight using sophisticated methods that allow them to be easily machine-washable, too.
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