How Sportswear can Improve your Overall Performance and Recovery Over the past few years, sportswear has become increasingly more popular. With professional athletes endorsing and using top brands, almost everywhere you look someone is wearing a form of sportswear. More recently, it has become ‘trendy’ to wear sports brands as a fashion statement. Often seeing people strolling around the city in their branded fitness gear. This piece will not direct you towards that great new colour zip-up top online. Although sportswear can look tight, sleek and trendy, I am here to give you an insight into how the technical side of sportswear is improving. Specific Sportswear Your everyday clothing such as cotton t-shirts, fashion tracksuit bottoms and hoodies are all designed to look good, be comfortable, and to keep you warm. They’re not designed for high-intensity activities such as cycling, running, or gym workouts. We’ve all been in the situation where we’ve worn an everyday t-shirt for exercise. Very quickly it becomes soaked through and weighs you down, causing unnecessary distractions and harder work for you! This is one of the many reasons why professional athletes and fitness enthusiasts wear highly technical, functional sportswear. The comfortable feel and fit really adds a touch of ‘luxury’ to your workout. Some say they are unable to perform at the same level without their favourite sportswear. Why? The highest quality sportswear has been carefully created to offer the best support for your muscles, helping you train harder, for longer, and to recover quicker. New smart sportswear, made from infrared-emitting fabric, can also increase blood circulation and regulate body temperature during exercise. Along with wicking away moisture, it will allow you to say goodbye to that overheated, sweaty, stuffy feeling during a workout. If you haven’t tried it already, you should. Sportwear for Performance Unusual movement patterns, changes in climate, and physical instability can all contribute to injuries. Serious athletes regulate their movement patterns and increase their stability, while also being mobile and adaptable, for optimal performance. Sportswear designed specifically for your sport can further add to your overall performance by supporting the right muscle groups during training and by giving you protection in the areas that need it most. This helps you perform more effectively, with less chance of injury. THE EVOLUTION OF THE SOCCER JERSEY Once upon a time, the humble soccer jersey served little purpose other than to tell the difference between two teams. Occasionally superstition forced a change to the team jersey. For example, up until 1953, Brazil used to play in a white jersey. The mood of a country and the team jersey was forever changed when Sele??o failed to win the 1950 World Cup. A new jersey was debuted 4-years later at the 1954 World Cup and the team has never looked back on their way to winning an unprecedented 5 World Cup titles. Such a change was rare and certainly never for marketing purposes. Only when Admiral signed a deal to supply the Leeds United jersey of 1973 did things start to change. The deal meant that Leeds could sell replica jerseys with the Admiral logo on, making them recognizable. A whole new market was born. Jersey sponsorship wasn’t far behind, although it wasn’t initially something the big clubs caught on to. English side Kettering Town emblazoned ‘Kettering Tyres’ on their kit in 1976, only for the English FA to outlaw the innovation. Not long after that, Derby County and Bolton Wanderers applied to have advertising on their shirts and in 1977 the FA granted a license. That’s helped pave the way for lots of record-breaking jersey deals over the years, with suppliers and advertisers. Real Madrid are currently eyeing a $125 million per season deal with Adidas to supply their kit, a long way from the sort of money Kettering Town got. Not only has the financial aspect of the football shirt developed, but so has the technology used in the shirt itself. Over the years the method by which they’re produced has changed. An article by sports coach Jimson Lee reveals that it wasn’t just soccer jerseys that saw a technological change. Nike were one of the first companies to introduce a shirt that essentially kept sweat away from sportsman and women, used by golfers and soccer players alike. The drive to find that sporting edge prompted them to develop lighter jerseys to help with speed and endurance. The dri-fit technology even helps keep sweat away from the players during the game. Italy’s World Cup 2014 kit took the evolution of soccer jerseys a step further as it “featured a special tape that micro-massaged player’s muscles as they wore it”. The aim was to help a player’s physical recovery by massaging them whilst the jersey was being worn. Labelled a ‘compression kit’, Uruguay also wore a similar jersey at the 2014 tournament. The technology is only going to progress even further. With sports science becoming an increasingly popular aspect of soccer, jerseys are being developed with heart rate monitors and GPS tracking signals in them. This will help coaches understand their players’ performance and requirements down to the finest detail. From simply being a way to differentiate between two teams, soccer jerseys have become a huge industry. They’re used as a method to develop revenue and income, with big clubs such as England’s Manchester United making huge sums of money from selling shirts with players’ names on. They’re also playing a key role in aiding performance and understanding the athletes better, making the soccer jersey an integral part of the modern game in more ways than one. How to Wear Basketball Jerseys Basketball is one of the most popular professional sports in the world, with fans all across the globe. Wearing a basketball jersey is a great way to express your love for the sport or a particular player, or to simply spice up your style. Dressing stylishly with a basketball jersey is simple once you learn how to pick the right jersey for you and how best to wear it in public settings.Wear a shirt under your jersey to avoid being too revealing. Jerseys with tee shirts underneath are generally always fashionable, regardless of the sport. Because basketball jerseys can be relatively revealing, wear a tee shirt underneath them to adhere to public etiquette. In warm weather or at the beach, basketball jerseys can also acceptably be worn as tank tops. However, most circumstances will call for wearing an undergarment as well. Use your best judgment. Wearing an undershirt with your jersey will give you a slightly more formal look. For the most casual appearance, consider wearing the jersey by itself. What to Wear Running As with any aerobic activity, running becomes more comfortable when you have running wear that keeps you properly ventilated or—in cold and wet conditions—lightly insulated and dry. Running clothing options include, pants, tights, shorts, shirts, vests and jackets. The weather outside determines what combination of these items you need to stay comfortable on your road and trail runs. Warm-weather running clothes: For warm days, your running clothes should help wick away moisture, keep you cool and protect you from the sun’s rays. Shorts, a shirt and socks might be all you need on a warm day. Winter running clothes: When the temperature drops, consider wearing pants or tights, and a vest or soft-shell jacket, but remember that you will warm up once you get moving. Insulated versions of these items are ideal for winter activities. Hoodies - Make a fashion statement at any age Hooded sweatshirts, often referred to as "hoodies" now hold a permanent place in fashion. The hoodie was a piece of clothing that started out primarily as workout wear. Now you can find hoodies made by famous clothing designers and ranging in price as high as the hundreds of dollars for some designs. Why has the hoodie become so popular? Let's take a look at who wears them the most. The hoodie is definitely geared toward the younger generation. The urban clothing industry is definitely in the lead for the creation and marketing of cotton hoodies. The trend can be traced back to rappers who wore them as a way of looking sinister. Now the trend has taken off and any urban clothing enthusiast would have at least one hoodie in their wardrobe. Famous hoodie brands include Christian Audigier, LRG, and BAPE (Bathing Ape). These clothing designers know what the young crowd want - unique designs that give the individual a sense of personal style. Hoodies are no longer just popular for males. Clothing designers have created hoodies that fit the frame of young women as well. They do not fit large and bulky the way most men prefer their hoodies. Hoodies for women are made to fit a woman's frame to still accentuate her figure. The urban look of the hoodie compliments both men and women when wearing a cool pair of jeans and some fly kicks. What kind of fabric is used to make hoodies? Cotton and denim are good materials for hoodies and the former is the most often selected fabric. It helps you breathe, keeps you warmer and it is easy to clean. But if you really want to be warm, then choose a good fleece fabric. What are most hoodies made of? Some of the best materials for hoodies include cotton, polyester, or a blend of the two. Cotton is breathable and soft, while polyester is durable and moisture-wicking. Fleece is a fabric that’s extra insulating and can be made from natural cotton or synthetic materials. What is the best blend for hoodies? What is the best fabric for hoodies? For hoodies, you will want a fabric that is soft, lightweight, breathable, sweat-absorbent so that your hoodie can always feel comfortable on your skin. Fleece, jersey, cotton, polyester, poly-cotton blends, rayon and even wool are all good fabric choices. Are polyester hoodies good? Polyester hoodies are strong, can be made to be wind and water resistant, they don' t stain or wrinkle easily and it is inexpensive. Polyester is great for use in tents, outdoor clothing such as windbreakers and parkas. The Importance Of Football Socks Good quality football socks also ensure a proper level of heat management for your feet. If you’re playing a match on a warm day, considering your feet are already apt to perspire, things can get rather uncomfortably quite quickly if you’re wearing a less-than-ideal pair of football socks. If you’re wearing socks with a thick fabric that’s simply going to retain all the sweat accumulated while moving, you’re very likely going to have issues with fungi and bacteria accumulating in that area (commonly referred to as “athlete’s foot”). That’s something that’s not going to endear you to your teammates, if not prevent you from playing the game outright. Neither of those is optimal scenarios.