91Èȱ¬

Everybody is image conscious now. Whether we're exercising or walking down the street, we all have a perception of how we should look. More importantly, that makes us feel a certain way.

Confidence comes from the fact that you feel good, and you think that you look good to your peers and everyone around you. When we exercise we feel particularly vulnerable. We don't like wearing clothes that aren't trendy and comfortable. That can stop us from being active regularly. It's important that we overcome that and have clothing that makes us feel inspired and confident.

Things to remember

• Find clothes made from fabrics that move well and that breathe
  It can be hard, if you want to exercise, to find good performance clothing. You should feel inspired to work out by the clothes you wear, rather than feeling self conscious.
• Get coverage over key areas
  When you're looking to invest in clothes to work out in, you've got to make sure that you get coverage over key areas like the stomach. If you're very self conscious about that part of your body, there's no point showing it off. Cover it up so you're not thinking about how you look, but focus on your work out instead.
• Choose the right sleeves
  You've got to make sure that if you're conscious about your arms, you've got a great cut around the sleeves, or you can go for a longer version with arms down to the elbow. That way, if your arms are bigger, you can cover parts of them and feel more confident about those things.

Types of clothing

• Leggings for girls
  Most leggings that you buy as a female tend to come as two or four panels of fabric, sewn together down the side of the seam. It's better for leggings to have a number of panels and stitching areas, as this has the effect of lifting and shaping your backside before you start working out. That way you feel terrific and your confidence is instantly raised.

  If you feel good walking into the gym, you'll work harder and get much more out of the experience. You can wear leggings with a thicker, larger waist band to make sure that you don't get the spread effect you get with a draw string. Draw strings tuck your waist in so fat rolls over the top. If you have a thicker waist band it softens it all off and gives you a much better shape in the waist line.

  I mentioned before that the fabrics in all of your gym clothes have to breathe. Find leggings with mesh breathing panels behind the knees where moisture collects. That way sweat and moisture is carried away from your body effectively, allowing you to stay cool and comfortable. If you're comfortable you'll work harder and longer.

• Leggings for boys
  Most guys feel uncomfortable wearing tight leggings. You can buy leggings which are a bit of a mix between an old style track pant, and a tight legging. They have a slight give in them, rather than them being sprayed onto you.

• Vests for girls
  Females have a real difficulty finding vests to wear that show off the things they want to show off, and cover up the things they don't want to show off. Try to find a vest that's cut to be slightly longer than usual. That way it'll hang just beneath the waistline, so it feels as if you've covered that area. If you're slightly out of shape it's better to find a longer vest. Again you're looking for fabrics that breathe.

  With a vest it's important to get the cut of the sleeves right. If you have an opening for an arm that's too low down, you end up seeing these roles of skin, flesh and a bra strap underneath the arm. If it sits just underneath the arm it's a far more flattering shape.

• Vests for boys
  One of the issues I've had over the years is that you only have a couple of choices. You either go for an athlete's vest, which for many people is a bit intimidating, or you go for a gym-type vest. Either way it's not a great look on most people.

  Try to find a vest with more of a square cut. It means that, for someone who's got a bit of a stomach, there's a spread of the image of the body. A thin shoulder vest makes your waist look bigger. A vest should always be made with a breathable fabric.

• Underwear
  If you're a woman looking to get fit I would recommend that you get yourself a good quality sports bra. They give you good support and good confidence. If you're slightly bigger across the bust, you want to be sure that you're not going to feel as if you're bouncing around. If you're not comfortable you're going to feel self conscious. Good support is absolutely crucial.

• What to wear outside
  Outside you can wear a jacket or a gillet. You need to wear clothes that are warm for the winter but still get moisture and heat away from your body. Try and get some clothes that look good and that you feel comfortable in. That way you'll be in clothes you actually want to wear, and you'll feel more confident. Therefore you'll wear it more often and you'll work out more. You'll feel better and get fitter.