Workout Clothes Mandatory for Walking

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I’m thinking of buying workout clothes. Like those running tights or trendy exercise tops or something. Because when I’m out walking in “regular” clothes, jeans and a fleece for example, I get the strangest looks. ThoughtBubble

I smile at people. Some don’t smile back. Some hesitantly half-smile—like they’ve just remembered their manners. They appraise me head to toe. (I’m not that interesting to look at.) I’m clearly offending them in some way by wearing everyday clothing. Like I’m mocking their exercise routine. Or maybe they’re simply confused. Their looks seem to say:

What the hell are you doing? 

Did your car break down? 

If I’m in jeans, I can’t possibly be exercising. And, apparently, simply going for a walk to enjoy the outdoors or get some fresh air is unfathomable. I don’t even wear sneakers, usually, so let’s call this walk what it is: a stroll. What the frick is wrong with strolling? It stills my whirring mind and grounds me. Plus, sun shining through pine trees is pretty.

Hey, ladies in the matching jogging suits…stop and smell the pinecones.

What’s the deal?

Forget dinosaurs and dodo birds, we’ll be saying “It’s gone the way of the walk” sometime soon.

 

Sunrays in Pine

 

My Sunday thoughts in 200 words or less.

 

23 thoughts on “Workout Clothes Mandatory for Walking”

  1. This is like a post from Alienania it is so counterintuitive to me. Sure we have more cars than people these days but people walk. Lots. Not just exercise freaks. Normal plump men with beards and school boy caps and rucksacks full of stuff. You’re living in the wrong land full of detoxified lycrarians and permabreasted gallumpities. If only you hadn’t thrown all that tea in the harbour and stayed a monarchy, you’d be walking with like minded weirdoes in amongst the pines. Death to the revolution!

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  2. Your neighborhood walkies are weirdos! I never wear “workout clothes” when taking a walk. It’s just too much trouble and takes the joy out of it all.
    Stand your strolling ground, be a rebel!!! 🙂

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  3. Couple of thoughts: first, jeans are heavy-weight material thus you are getting a deeper workout on your low-impact stroll which is healthier for your joints than bounding down the lane in lycra. Second, wear your bonnet next stroll. Bonnets were made for strolling and who could resist smiling back at a woman in a bonnet?

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    • Haha! Awesome. I should wear my bonnet next time I take a stroll. (I’ll keep my camera ready to snap photos of the power walkers I pass.) 🙂 I’m going with the deeper workout thing because my jeans weigh more. Also, completely agree with the low-impact stroll for my poor joints.

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  4. I agree with Geoff and Charli. I’d be with you in my jeans and favourite (comfortable, but definitely not “exercise”) shoes – and definitely my bonnet. I much prefer to enjoy the walk that think I’m doing it only because it’s good for me. Me getting into lycra wouldn’t be good for anyone! 🙂

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  5. Yikes. (Not on the workout gear–you’d look fine in that. Just on the reaction.) I wonder if maybe it’s your neighborhood. Come to my neighborhood, and nobody will give you a second glance. Tons of people walk here, esp. near the beach. And usually in “regular” clothes.

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    • Thanks. 😉 I think it is my neighborhood. That’s at least part of it. Location is definitely a factor. I’m walking along paths sometimes and I think people feel that those are for people who want to exercise — power walkers, runners, joggers, cyclists. Also, cities vs. small towns make a difference, too.

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    • That’s a visual! I spend a lot of my off-time in fleece and yoga pants. I’m talking about these people zipping by me in running tights and lycra tops or swishy coordinated jogging suits. I can’t imagine those tights would be comfortable for very long. Hey, maybe they would — I’ve never tried them.

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      • Believe it or not, those tights are uber-comfortable for running. They wick the sweat away from your body so you don’t get soggy, and they prevent chafing. and believe you me, you want that prevented.

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  7. Well I’m walking right alongside you Sarah, in my jeans and jacket (it’s darn cold here) and then in the summer, jeans and tee-shirt. Good for you. Lyrca? The only ones here who wear all that lycra stuff are the ones jogging in the evening, the ones with the expensive, strapped-to-the-arm-heart-measuring-equipment, or whatever the heck it is. I go out in the day when it’s nice and quiet, before the kids get out of school, with my little ipod that my kids gave me for my 50th (shhhhhh…..) plugged in. Bad day? Nirvana. Get away from it all? Horse With No Name. Good day? Pharrell Williams ‘Happy’. Nobody bats an eyelid. But if I did wear Lycra I would definitely get some looks – and not for the right reasons, I can promise you that o_O

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    • I would be honored to take a stroll with you, lovely lady. We shall wear our jeans with pride. Down with expensive workout gadgets and gear! (At least for those of us who are trying to enjoy a nice, leisurely stroll through the pine trees.) Love that you have specific songs for each mood. I should create a playlist. I just love listening to the birds and chipmunks so much.

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      • Ahh…I’ld love it Sarah 🙂 And if I could listen to chipmunks, well, that’s real music! Not to mention those beautiful birds. Unfortunately, I have to walk along a road to get to the park so it’s nice to drown out the traffic, although it isn’t too bad, it being a small, country town. At the weekends, hubby and I go walking in the woods and I just love it there. So wonderful that you get to stroll through the pine trees…I adore pine trees… *sigh* ❤

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  10. I’ve come back to this after the Twitter discussion. Depending on where you are walking, I might be one of those who looks at you like an alien as, out on the cold windy and potentially wet moors, jeans are not advisable walking gear as they get very cold when wet, and are very slow to dry, potentially leading to hypothermia. In extremis, in my role as volunteer ranger, I might even advise you to get down to more sheltered ground!
    However, I think you talking about ordinary walking in a place where people go to jog and exercise, maybe walk the dog. I don’t think we have such a strict demarcation of these places in Britain – I regularly walk round the local reservoir where there’ll be people in Lycra and people in polished shoes. For much of the year, I’m in some kind of fleece-based walking gear because
    a) it can get muddy and that stuff is quick and easy to wash and dry
    b) most days it will be what I was wearing already
    c) I’ve got a lot of walking gear because I do a lot of walking
    d) it’s often cold and that stuff is warm to wear
    ‘Nuff said?
    Didn’t realise this stuff was so contentious.
    Now could you have a rant about people who insist on carrying a bottle of water when jogging for barely more than half an hour?

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    • Ah! See? I knew you’d have solid reasons. Jeans do take forever to dry and my legs would freeze. Not good for hikes in certain places, for sure. It does depend on where you’re walking. I’m talking about taking a leisurely stroll around my neighborhood or on trails not too far from the road.

      Hey, these Thought Bubbles can be very controversial. 😉 I love the comments and conversations they prompt. I will work on a rant about over-hydrated people with water bottle obsessions.

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