WSJ Your Money Briefing - Workout Clothes Can Be Expensive. Here’s How to Shop Smarter.

Episode Date: February 4, 2025

Planning to hit the gym more in 2025 but don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on new workout gear? Wall Street Journal contributor Grace Cook joins host Ariana Aspuru to discuss which items are worth the splurge and which items you should skip.  Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TD Direct Investing offers live support. So whether you're a newbie or a seasoned pro, you can make your investing steps count. And if you're like me and think a TFSA stands for Total Fund Savings Adventure, maybe reach out to TD Direct Investing. Here's your money briefing for Tuesday, February 4th. I'm Mariana Aspuru for The Wall Street Journal.

It's okay if your New Year's resolution of getting in shape or saving money has fallen to the wayside. Remember, it's only February. To get yourself back on track, you might want to revamp your gym wardrobe. But how much will it cost you? The main hurdle is actually finding those basics that you feel comfortable in to get you out in the first place. Investing in your long-term well-being and health is actually very justifiable. And if you feel good wearing something and it makes you want to wear it and want to work out, then ultimately that's an excellent investment.

Wall Street Journal contributor Grace Cook joins me to discuss what items to splurge on and where you can cut costs after the break. Clear your schedule for U time with a handcrafted espresso beverage from Starbucks. Savor the new small and mighty Cortado, cozy up with the familiar flavors of pistachio, or shake up your mood with an iced brown sugar oat shaken espresso. Whatever you choose, your espresso will be handcrafted with care at Starbucks. From aloe yoga to lululemon, the sportswear market is booming. So how can you get in shape and look stylish at the gym without breaking the bank? Wall Street Journal contributor Grace Cook joins me. Grace, you wrote about how to spend money on workout clothes. Is this something you

deal with? All the time. I am a marathon runner. I've run five marathons. I run probably 50 plus miles a week and I regularly attend Pilates so I am forever in workout clothes. I wear workout clothes as much as I wear my ordinary clothes, and they're basically part of my wardrobe now. Before someone goes out and buys the top line, really awesome workout gear, what questions should they ask themselves beforehand? I think maybe approach it as you would when you're

buying your ordinary clothes. Like, what pieces do you actually need? For work, you might think about buying a smart tailored trouser for example and I think for workout gear it's actually no different because you're going to want to have a reliable roster of kit that you can not think too much about, maybe think about the fit that you might think that you feel comfortable in. It's probably going to be like a pair of shorts and a top that you can just go to time and time again. There's probably more diversity in athletic sizing

than there is in ordinary clothes. And also the fits are different. And again, going back to that idea of comfort, if you buy a pair of shorts that feel a bit too snug, for example, someone is not going to want to put them on, which therefore means that they're probably not going to want to work out. Getting a feel for how the clothes look, what size you might want to wear,

where the pockets are and things like that is actually just a really good way of ensuring that whatever it is that you're spending money on, you're going to want to wear. What styles or fabrics should someone keep their eye out for if they're looking for good quality workout clothes? I would personally say ones that don't necessarily look overly sporty fabrics that might have performance elements so they are crafted from like say nylon or polyester but they aren't perforated for example because I think that elevates them which then means that if someone is say going for coffee or going for brunch before

they go to workout which is how a lot of people do socialize now you're not going to feel too sloppy or too sort of confined within a sportswear setting to be able to just go out and live your life in the meantime. I would look for fabrics that have a bit of stretch but that aren't shiny. A lot of the cheaper or more affordable price points, the fabrics, they tend to look a bit static.

Something that David Karsh, who is a personal trainer, recommended was about not swamping yourself in gym wear and that is important because especially if someone is new to their gym journey, they might feel inclined to just wear the baggiest things ever because they don't want to feel exposed. Gyms are a very vulnerable environment for a lot of people, but I think ultimately that's why it's important to try stuff on and find a fit that isn't necessarily tight but that feels skimming enough where you can actually see the gains.

And all the things we've talked about so far have been to make sure that the things that you're buying and spending your money on, you're actually gonna go to the gym and wear and feel good wearing. What are some things that are worth a little bit more money, worth splurging on? For women, bras definitely. No woman can go to the gym

or do any sort of workout without feeling supported in the chest. And there are options for obviously various different chest sizes. If someone has a slightly bigger chest I would try and look for options that have built-in support. They don't have to look like a bra, but you can get lots of designs now where they will have traditional bra class fastenings, for example, so it offers a more customized fit. And for men, the main thing that they could spend on is shorts, because again, they can elevate something from feeling distinctly gym-like

to being able to go out and go to a meeting afterwards and they can just feel a bit smarter. Where can you cut costs in your gym wardrobe? Socks, for sure. They're things that do probably wear out, unless you're actually running a marathon and you don't need a performance sock. And performance socks are very expensive as well. How expensive are performance socks?

I've spent like plus 20 pounds, so I guess that's 30 plus dollars on socks before. And they're a nice to have, they're definitely not a necessity. A pair of classic cotton crew socks are fine for any gym setting really. Guys can save money on t-shirts. I mean a lot of the time you see guys in gyms and they're actually not wearing one anyway. They have the luxury of being able to do that. That's a cost-cutting measure for sure. If you're trying to build up a gym wardrobe from scratch,

what are pieces that you can start with so you don't immediately overbuy? Treat it like an outfit. If you've got a top and a bottom, that's sort of all you need, really. A guy can just buy a decent pair of shorts and I'd say a woman would buy a pair of shorts and a bra and again I don't think women necessarily need to buy performance tops unless they're ready. They can just throw on any old

cotton t-shirt over their sports bra and that's fine. The main hurdle is actually finding those basics that you feel comfortable in to get you out in the first place. Investing in your long-term wellbeing and health is actually very justifiable. And if you feel good wearing something and it makes you want to wear it and want to work out,

then ultimately that's an excellent investment as far as I'm concerned. That's what I tell myself anyway. That's WSJ contributor Grace Cook and that's it for investment as far as I'm concerned. That's what I tell myself anyway. That's WSJ contributor Grace Cook, and that's it for your Money Briefing. This episode was produced by Jess Jupiter with supervising producer Melanie Roy. I'm Mariana Aspudu for The Wall Street Journal.

Thanks for listening.