Let’s talk about thongs
And not the ones you wear on your feet!
TMI Time: I wear a thong every day to work, unless it is Friday – then I go panty-free. Just kidding! I only do that at home. Friday is jeans day, so I wear normal underoos.
Anyway, on Monday, I got down to the gym (in the basement) and realized I left my change of underwear in my wardrobe at my desk (floor 33). Being lazy, I decided to just work out wearing the thong, and… I liked it!
No fabric riding up, no wedgies to pick, no pantie lines… it was great! The only downfall? My jiggly butt.
So I am wondering, do other people wear thongs to work out, on purpose? A quick visit to Lululemon* confirms that they do sell thongs with “venting to keep you cool while you work out” which implies that other people do, in fact, do this. You know what is coming next. Oh yes.
What kind of underwear do you wear when you work out and in what material? Have you ever worn a thong when working out?
Here is a pic of me from a few weeks ago.
Not!
It’s from here.
Loading ... Loading ...I have been really curious about exercise underwear. Because, come on, if you wear those cotton ones, and have to stop in a middle of a workout to use the loo, you know how disgusting it is to pull up sweaty underwear. Oh wait, you don’t sweat? Well, I hate you.**
Side note: I hope my spam filter works today.
*A place I have never shopped and cannot pronounce but have seen praised all over the blogosphere.
**Just kidding. I love you. Welcome to Costco, I love you.
Themocracy
ummm. I wear thongs almost exclusively. To work out in, to work, whatever… I find them more comfortable because you don’t get the wedgie factor. Although I must admit, there have been a few occasions where if my shorts have a built in liner, I don’t wear any panties.
I buy the microfiber bikinis when they’re on sale at Athleta.com. It’s been awhile,I need some. Hear that Athleta?
It’s pronounced lulu lemon (like the fruit). Go to the Northbrook Ct. store and check it out. Uber pricey IMO though. And everyone in there is a size 0. It intimidates me. But the cool recycled shopping bag is worth the trip. They also had the sweetest girl ever working the expo booth in Boston.
I have not heard about Athleta. Do they have a big selection?
Ha! Sounds like I would be really out of place at Lululemon. I am far from a size 0 and poor. 😛
Alright, my thing with the sweaty underwear is that if my underwear wasn’t catching all that sweat it would just mean even more on my shorts which would eventually mean one big sweat stain that would be visible to the world – and it would only take about 6 miles into a long run to get to that point, honestly. But I do have problems with stuff riding up and basically have one pair that I randomly bought on sale at Gap that are perfect and don’t. They have pretty much become my long run underwear :-P.
I didn’t think about that. I wonder if sweat would show in nylon shorts. I do have a few cotton pairs of things – like the leggings I wore last night for yoga. The sweat goes through the underwear onto those!
Pretty much all of my workout shorts have built-in underwear…
Me too! So I generally don’t wear anything extra and make sure I wash the gym clothes after each use (good thing I have a TON of athletic wear).
You know, the kind of pants I wear to workout, I don’t need nor want to wear underwear (for all the reasons you listed), so I don’t. I think I’d shoot myself if I had to wear underwear while working out.
No chafing? I love being underwear free so I could totally go that route…
When I ran track I used to wear under Armour boy short underwear under my spandex because then i wasn’t picking my wedgie in the middle of my track meet. I actually have always worn underwear but I have found that a lot of ppl who run track/XC don’t wear underwear. I honestly don’t think i could run without underwear…it would feel really weird!
There might be a nice breeze. Ha ha 😉 Maybe I should give boy shorts another try!
I wear the regular thongs when I work out and am just fine with them! (g-strings are a no-no)
I’ll also wear regular underwear, too- but I’m picky because it’ll ride up. :p
I am not comfortable in thongs. I own a surprising amount of them for someone who doesn’t like to wear them, but there you have it. I was a fan of Body by Victoria boyshorts, until I realized that after a few washes, they stretch out at the leg. Did you know that a wedgie on a boyshort is vastly more uncomfortable than a wedgie on a bikini or a brief?! I think my favorite is now their high-leg brief. So far. 😉
<3 <3
I always wear a thong! They make some with breathable material @ V.S that’s good for working out. Ironically, I think the best way to avoid a wedge is to wear a thong lol
It seems counter-intuitive, but it is true! 🙂
I wear a thong! Don’t you remember when we went to work out at the WRC and you were like “You’re wearing a thong sister? You crazy!”
PS Watch the video in the link I emailed you! Its hilar! 🙂
I do remember now! Maybe you not so crazy?
That vid was hilar! How do you find that stuff?!
Athleta.com is AWESOME. i’m addicted. to everything in the magazine.
on a side note, yes, i wear a thong every day while working out. it’s not on purpose, but it’s what i’m wearing usually anyway. never really thought about wearing anything else!
OMG you crack me up! In the winter I wear plain old junky cotton undies. The wicking undies are so expensive! Also I have to wear something because my junk is the first thing to sweat and it smells just like junk when it sweats. TMI? Whatever, you asked! Ha! In the summer with capris I wear these Nike shorts that sort of look like bike shorts. They are thin and don’t leave panty lines. They are pretty nice. I have some Nike running shorts with built in undies which are amazing! I love those! I would love to learn more about undies though because I wouldn’t mind having some specific ones that wick just as long as they don’t bust the bank.
I can’t do thongs unless I know they are not going to be staying on long. 😉 They just are not comfortable to me. Normally I go commando unless I have to go out in public then I wear nice undies.
Don’t worry, there is almost never TMI for me. 😉 I should try those biking shorts! I have seen people wearing those under things before. I didn’t realize they were being used as underwear!
I wear thongs at the gym because I hate wearing tight pants with visible underwear lines. The best, most comfy underwear I have found is at Target of all places. I do hear that Hanky Pants (I think those are what they are called) makes some super comfy underwear but I can’t pay $25 per pair so Target it is.
LOL! I always wear thongs, even to work out. I remember my guy friend told me awhile back how it was ‘unsafe’ to wear thongs when working out (ew…words I did NOT want to hear from him!), but I’ve never had any problems. Took awhile getting used to, but now I can’t run in “normal” undies! I’ve even run all my marathons in thongs.
Ha! Unsafe for guys? 😛
I’m not a huge fan of thongs. I’d rather just go commando unless I’m wearing a skirt. When I work out I prefer to wear shorts with built-in undies and no other underwear. Or, if I wear capris I just go commando. If I’m wearing loose shorts it’s probably just because I’m doing weight training and am not prone to wedgies so I just go with my regular bikini cut undies.
No underwear for me, especially when running! And I cannot wear thongs at any time. Booooo thongs.
I can’t wear thongs. It feels like a perma-wedgie to me. I’d rather go without.
What? No Commando Friday for you? ha ha..
I am a boxer guy for all non-working out activities. Bike riding and treadmill, I wear the whitey-tighties (briefs)
I wear regular cotton bikini underwear…haha. I’ve never worn a thong in my life! Is that normal? I don’t know. I’ve tried to do the whole only-wear-the-built-in-liners in the running shorts, and I’ve liked that the couple times I’ve done it, but I usually wear my running shorts more than once before I wash them, which I probably wouldn’t do if I went commando all the time…
I wear thongs to work just because I hate the panty lines but regular bikini cut unders everywhere else. To workout I wear the cotton bikini cuts unders but for long runs I do wear what I call my runderwear boyshorts. Under Armour makes dri-fit type underwear and it stays in place/doesn’t chafe/sag on the long sweaty runs! In my second marathon I was stuck behind a girl running in a thong and have seen thong exercise underwear. Not sure I could do it though!
Honestly, I hardly ever pay attention to what underwear I’m wearing when I work out. That’s probably because I don’t work out that intensely — just walking or some yoga. I just walk or do yoga in whatever I happen to be wearing that day — sometimes bikini cut, sometimes thong. If I was exercising in public (I tend to be alone), I would probably wear a thong because I don’t like the bunchiness and lines of regular underwear. I’ve gotten really comfortable thongs from Victoria’s Secret — not too skimpy and very snug.
I usually wear running shorts with build in undies or tight capris, both of which I don’t wear underwear with. Partly because I am used to not wearing any when I run, so it seems odd when I go to the gym.
I’m not a big fan of undies anyway. They’re a necessary evil. So for sure I am not wearing them while running. That just seems silly.
But my baby sis wears thongs to run, spin and lift in. So go figure.
Turns out my sis does too! Those younger sisters…
Thanks for stopping by my blog! 🙂
I…just can’t handle a thong any time- working out or not. I just don’t like the feeling of something in my butt crack.
I went commando for a couple years. I lost a bunch of weight and never bought new underwear. Crazy logic, right? Ha.
I have completely purged my wardrobe of thongs. I hate them with the fire of a thousand suns. They’re hurty!
heck yes, thong-to-exercise all the way!!
i can’t go panty-free like nilsa, though – if i’m wearing something tight (eg yoga pants, or short shorts for pole) i am far too concerned about camel toe 😉
That is what I told Nilsa in an email response to her – I would have to wear loose pants to avoid the CT.
So many comments here:
1. Best.post.ever.
2. What the crap….”other” for women has 2 votes? I’m reminded of that quote in old school… “I get to thinking – I wonder what kind of panties the waitress has on…odds are they are regular granny panties, but what if it is a thong? What if she is wearing something really cool that I don’t even know about!?”
3. I love how there are only 4 guy votes but 37 girl votes.
4. Voted Boxer Briefs – much like a woman who wouldn’t go running w/out a bra on…you gotta have support. (boxers normally for the record)
5. One of my pairs of running shorts has the undies built in, but I haven’t been brave enough to try them (see also #4)
This was fun. *sigh* back to work…….
Ha! I am happy you enjoyed the post, Adam. Honestly, I was thinking I would have one guy vote – you! I asked my husband to vote and I am not sure who the other two are. That would be funny if one was my dad.
Thoooong all the way. 🙂 I wear them all the time except for sleeping. Seriously, they’re the most comfortable thing ever.
i only wear thongs for auditions or things where i’ll be on camera. otherwise, i don’t care enough to be uncomfortable!
boxer briefs only make more bunching and sweaty fabric
I work out in whatever underwear I already have on. Thong, g-string, booty shorts, granny panties. Whatever. This is going to sound AWFUL, but I like running wearing a thong because my butt sweat keeps my pants from falling down. 🙂
Typically though Im wearing booty shorts because thats 90% of what I own. Theyre usually cotton and they get really sweaty and gross. Sometimes I make my boyfriend feel how sweaty my butt gets. He doesnt like that.
Ha! I always try to give my husband a hug when I am all sweaty and he runs from me 😛
So, I do like the running shorts with the “built-in” support.
For almost all other quotidian things (work, working out…), I must admit that I have accumulated a nice collection of Patagonia underwear. I love their stuff! It’s super sturdy and it wicks! Plus really cute.
Kim, you are so funny with this post. I have a pair of microfiber bikini undies from Title 9 that are my favorites for exercise, but they were $15.00 so I haven’t bought multiples.
And I, too, was wondering about the three votes for “Other”!
P.S. – Love the new action header.
I still need to check out Title 9 (going to do that right now!).
Thanks 🙂
UGHHH, THONGS ARE SO SCARY! I am actually terrified of wearing them because they just make everything look SO unappealing. (Maybe I have a weirdly shaped lower half?!?)
I have a friend who wears specific “Exercise thongs” and she seems to like them a lot. No thanks though for me! I don’t notice much riding up, so I’ve never considered them for running. Though on really long run days, I might go commando to prevent nasty sweaty bunching after 15 miles or so.
Talk about TMI- here’s the thing…up until not too long ago, I never wore underwear unless I was wearing a skirt or dress. I HATED underwear. Then boy shorts came out and all my underwear dilemas were solved. I have a few thongs, because of some dresses, but I HATE them. All my workout gear has built in underwear so I just depend on that instead of also wearing another pair.
I can’t wear thongs, either the kind for the feet or the kind you are talking about. They both bug me like crazy.
I normally just wear whatever I am wearing but then again I usually run first thing in the morning (some people might even consider it night still) and quite often just run in the t-shirt and cut off sweat pants I was sleeping in. I run on the treadmill in my basement so it isn’t like anyone will see me.
My best friend doesn’t wear underwear. Ever. I don’t know how she does it because when I have done that I always feel so naked.
Most of the time my plan with wearing whatever I am wearing works out fine. Every once in a while, like this morning!, I have a terrible run because I am wearing something I didn’t realize would be a problem. No joke I actually stopped the treadmill this morning and took mine off because they were bugging me so much. Good thing I run in my basement or I might have been arrested or something for stopping and taking them off. Then I note this particular pair as something I will only wear on a nonrunning day.
I am seriously cracking up that I just read this after my experience this morning!
LOL! You crack me up 🙂 You would have to be very secretive if you were doing that outside 😉
Did you ever look for some running clothes?
I refuse to shop at Lululemon. Freaky expensive cult.
My underwear is totally based on what I am wearing over them. (If it’s pants, I wear I thong — a skirt boy shorts or bikini briefs… etc.) There are a rules. Unless I have my period then it’s briefs or shorts all the time.
But I never wear undies to exercise. Most of the time I’m wearing spandex shorts and I find it usually leads to them bunching up and wedgies.