Gym shorts described as 'workout wear heaven' reduced in January sale
The new year is finally here and, for most of us, normal life is resuming after the down-time of the festive season. If a health reset is on your to-do list for 2024 and you're looking to ramp up your exercise routine this January then one of the first thing you'll be looking for is the exercise Holy Grail of flattering, comfortable yet supportive workout wear at prices that don't break the bank this far away from payday.
Fitness app BetterMe is a firm favourite with fitness fans looking to plan and track their food and water intake and exercise goals. But whether you prefer the security and convenience of working out at home with the brand's popular video workouts or are a devoted classgoer at your local gym, they also sell a wide range of fitness wear and home gym equipment - and have launched a sale with prices reduced by up to 50%.
In amongst the items reduced in the sale, which runs until January 15, is a pair of pilates workout shorts which shopping writer Eve Rowlands tried out, describing them as 'the ultimate workout shorts'. Writing in The Mirror, the regular gym-goer put the Criss Cross Front Top and Bike Shorts in Ice Red, currently reduced to £17.37 and £24.87 respectively in the sale, through their paces in a series of workouts.
She explained: "As soon as I saw the colour, I was absolutely in love with the set. The Criss Cross top was gorgeous with its web-like cross design at the front (once I managed to figure out which hole to put my head through). The support in the chest area was light but still there and had padding.
"The style of the top is so chic and looks like it could be a stylish bikini top, especially wouldn't wear the top for a HIIT workout on its own necessarily as the sides needed to be a smidge tighter to keep everything in place, but for light pilates and yoga it was perfect."
Woman tells of losing 29 kilos and becoming a bodybuilder in her 60sBut her biggest praise was for the bike shorts, which she went so far to describe as 'perfect,' adding: "As soon as I slid my size 10 legs into them, I was in workout wear heaven as a regular gym bunny. As cycling shorts, they came to just above my knee, which is the perfect length for me being 5'6, and stayed put as I put my body through the paces of a rigorous pilates workout. The waistband, however, is my piece-de-resistance. It is thick. It stayed put. It was supportive and felt like my tummy was being smoothed, flattened but not compressed. Plus, if I'm totally honest, it gave my bum a little lift too.
"The top of the shorts didn't roll over whenever I bent down, nor did the legs ride up (as shorts so often do when you do any sort of movement in them). They were perfect. So perfect in fact, I also wore them for a HIIT workout that evening. And I can confirm they withstood squats, burpees, jumps, lunges, sprints... a whole host of exercises that usually defy my gym leggings and shorts and see their 'high waist' shrivelled up on my hips."
The shorts are available at the discounted price currently in sizes ranging from XS through to 3XL and have a compression effect for targeted tummy control.- As well as the red, the shorts are available in five other colours including a more pastel powder pink, traditional black and a cheery cornflower blue.
Elsewhere in the BetterMe sale, everything from grippy socks perfect for yoga and Swiss balls through to stylish-looking dumbbells and resistance bands have also been reduced.
Meanwhile, Mirror reviewer and DDP Yoga instructor Narin Flanders flagged up her top pick from the wide range available of at-home equipment available, praising BetterMe's 'gamechanging' adjustable weight bands.
As someone who regularly used sand-filled ankle weights, she said she wasn't expecting to notice a huge difference with BetterMe's alternative, until she tried them. She explained: "Looking more like statement jewellery than traditional weights, the 1.5lb bands comes in four different colours and with adjustable loops so they can fit round your wrists or ankles. Having tried them I'll never switch back to my old weights, as the BetterMe ones are much more comfortable.
"The problem with my old ones was that while wearing them, eventually the sand moved round making the weights feel slightly unbalanced. The stylish design of the BetterMe bands has a handy side-benefit in that the small triangles of weight are easily moved round the band to sit evenly on your wrist or ankle and once in place don't move. It means you can wear them comfortably for longer.
"Over the last few weeks, I've used them while cycling, walking, teaching yoga and trying some of BetterMe's in-app workouts and I've fallen a bit in love with them. Even slipping them on while playing Switch Sports with the children made me feel an additional benefit and they're a staple of my workout system now."
BetterMe's sale runs until December 15. Elsewhere, other retailers including SweatyBetty and LuluLemon have also announced some reductions to encourage fitness fans looking to grab a new year bargain.