Table of Contents
Hoodies
You know that feeling when you hit the gym? Yeah, you are so hot and the sweat is just dripping off of you. But, you know you are getting a great workout in. Sweating is good for you. It gets the toxins out of your body. However, it is not fun when that sweat starts dripping in your eyes. I know I see a lot of people in the gym using a towel to keep the sweat off of them but that is inconvenient.Â
Have you ever wondered what you can do to keep that sweat out of your eyes? Nope, not a towel. Read on to find out what I did.
My Secret
I am going to let you in on a secret. I use a hoodie. Yep. You heard me right. I use a hoodie. I know what you’re thinking… that will make me even hotter. Not true. Let me describe how I use my hoodie during my workouts. The hoodie itself is the secret. When I start to get hot and sweaty, I take the hoodie pull it over my head and use it to wipe the sweat away. As the shirt and the hood on the hoodie start to dry, the moisture cools my body down. So you know the old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”… well in this case, a video is worth a thousand words.Â
Demo
Here is a little demo of my and my hoodie. You will see just how convenient this is. I am sure you will agree with me that this is the easiest way to keep that sweat out of your eyes without having to carry around a “sweat rag”.
Wicking
But, one other secret is I wear hoodies made with WICKING material. I know that these have recently drawn a lot of attention and rightfully so.
Moisture-wicking fabric allows moisture to easily travel from your body to your clothes’ exterior. This can help your perspiration evaporate from your clothes and keep you dry. The secret? Capillary spaces featured within the material. Capillarity refers to a liquid’s ability to move through tiny spaces.
When it comes to athletic apparel, wicking occurs when sweat wets the fabric. The capillary forces allow the sweat to reach the outer layer of the clothes. From there, the moisture spreads further across the surface to help it evaporate.
The way that moisture WICKING fabric works is that when you wear it and begin to sweat, the property in the fibers absorb and release the moisture to the surface to allow for quick evaporation. That’s pretty cool and I sure wish I had invented that! There are a few more benefits of moisture WICKING fabric including:
- Preventing bacterial and fungal growth – Because sweat is not allowed to just sit, it helps to eliminate the risk of bacterial growth.
- Keeping cool on hot days and nights- the most obvious benefit of moisture-wicking fabric is that it helps keeps you dry when you sweat. It can also aid in staying cool during the warm and humid summer months.
- Prevents hypothermia – Maybe you don’t think you need this material in the winter, but you do sweat in cooler conditions, and if you aren’t wearing items that wick the sweat away, you’ll be freezing in no time, and your clothes will be causing you to get colder rather than warmer.
- Helps to regulate body temperature – Wicking material draws moisture away from the skin and accelerates evaporation, when moisture is kept away from the skin, the material helps the body maintain an appropriate temperature.
- Does not pile, fade, or shrink – Because wicking material keeps moisture away from the skin, it also does not absorb water when it is washed this helps it to keep its shape.
- Moisture wicking fibers are permanent.
- Easy to wash and care for – Moisture-wicking materials feature stain release properties that can require less water and detergent when washing. To preserve the fabric’s effectiveness, try to avoid using fabric softeners..
Make your own or Buy one
Now, if you have any hoodies that you want to convert I will tell you the steps to design it so it will work for you. First, if there are sleeves on the hoodie. Cut them off at the shoulder so that it is now sleeveless. I use the seam line as my guide so that I make a nice even cut. I also make sure that it is cut about waist high to allow more freedom of movement.
Let’s say you don’t want to go through that trouble or you don’t want to cut up your hoodies.
I have the answer for that too. You can buy the sleeveless versions online. I actually bought my most recent hoodies online and they are AMAZING – much better than my homemade version. When I was searching for one to buy, I wanted it to be affordable and effective. I also wanted the benefit of the wicking material.
I did my research and even though some of the hoodies made from wicking fabric can be ridiculous in their pricing, you can find some that are affordable. So, go ahead and grab a hoodie and use it to keep cool at the gym. You will thank me later!
Let me know if you try this. And if it you do, let me know if you like using hoodies made from wicking material. Finally, if you have words of wisdom, please share them here!
