Fit to Print Volume 25 Issue 1 March 2016

Secretly Chic by Janet Lang “Enclothed Cognition” The Affect of Fashion on Fitness T here's a weird connection between dressing like you kill it at the gym and actually killing it at the gym. Ever notice how so many women these days rock workout tanks, yoga pants, or high-tech running shoes even when they're just out doing errands, at the Women's Health Magazine. I related to it right away because I have always felt that when you wake up every day you are faced with a choice -- what are you going to wear. No matter what you have planned for the day; work, play, meeting friends, going to the recently introduced NIKIBIKI. Activewear today does more than make your butt look good at the gym. It's carefully designed to ﬁt into your lifestyle, inside and outside the gym. Sure, wear it to workout, then to the grocery store. Soon you'll never change out of your gym clothes, throwing on workout leggings for work and trips to the mall. Because functional fashion is designed around our busy lives, it makes the transitions between work and working out, sweating and socializing easier. Plus, it looks good and has become commonplace, so we're more comfortable wearing it. And it enables enclothed cognition, because if we believe we're not just wearing leggings, but our gym wear, then we may be more inclined to go to the gym. Fashion Inspires Fitness...and vice versa: New Styles from NIKIBIKI supermarket or having coffee with friends? Wearing workout clothes outside the gym has become somewhat trendy, but there might be something else to it. It seems that researchers at Northwestern University introduced the term "enclothed cognition" to describe the connection between clothing and psychology. Researchers coined the term "enclothed cognition" to describe the mental changes we undergo when we wear certain clothing. Enclothed cognition suggests that the clothing a person wears can trigger mental changes that positively affect their performance. We've all heard the old saying, "You are what you eat." Well, you might add, "You are what you wear." In a recent interview, one of the study authors said he thought putting on workout clothes could have a similar effect on your workout motivation. Researcher Hajo Adam says, “It's all about the symbolic meaning that you associate with a particular item of clothing. I think it would make sense that when you wear athletic clothing, you become more active and more likely to go to the gym and work out.” I discovered the term Enclothed Cognition while reading an article in 20 gym, this choice can alter your mood and how the rest of your day will go. Most days I start my day at the gym (5:10 am cycle class), so before I go to bed, I lay out my workout clothes and leave my sneakers by the door. I choose workout wear that makes me feel good, is fun as well as functional. Somehow this mentally prepares me so that when the alarm goes off, and it's dark and cold outside, I don't just roll over and go back to sleep. When you may be feeling unmotivated to go to the gym, put on your workout wear anyway. You may have million other things to do, but just by putting on your “gym” clothes switches you mentally into “gym mode.” And more likely than not you'll end up at the gym. It is important to wear clothing that reﬂects your personality and your own sense of style because it can inﬂuence your subconscious without you even realizing. Your clothes represent your inner motivation and feelings. Along with our own Fitness Incentive logo wear line, Secretly Chic, the boutique at Fitness Incentive, carries some of the most fashionable and affordable act ivewear from Hard Tail, NUX, Alo, Beyond Yoga, Strut This and Spring 2016 FIT to Print It all comes back to the Northwestern University study, and the idea of enclothed cognition: that the clothes you wear directly affect how you think, and what you do. Dress like a doctor, you'll pay more attention, dress like an athlete, you'll be more inclined towards physical ﬁtness. And clothing that bridges the divide between activewear and streetwear means you'll wear it more often—and by doing so, you might feel like going to the gym a little bit more often. Janet Lang manages Secretly Chic, the Boutique @ Fitness Incentive.

Fit to Print Volume 25 Issue 1 March 2016 | Page 20