What Makes the Best Men's Athletic Shorts?
A solid pair of athletic shorts can be a staple in any man’s closet.
Men’s workout shorts come attached to a lot of names and design specs: men’s running shorts, quick-dryingactivewear, compression shorts, mesh shorts, joggers, and performance shorts, just to name a few.
Athletic shorts can be worn during any workout or a casual day around town. Either way, they’re easily the most versatile type of shorts any guy can own.
They’re indisputably one of the most important articles of clothing any guy can own; but what makes the best pair of athletic shorts?
Sure, some brands come to mind. Your Under Armour, Adidas, Nike, Reebok, even trending options like Vuori — these best sellers do offer solid, reliable workout clothes.
But we’re talking about the best athletic shorts a guy can own.
Comfort, extra features, and style are all a huge part of the equation, and none of them can work without the other. You can’t have the best pair of athletic shorts with one of those key attributes being absent.
10 Things To Look for With Men’s Athletic Shorts
While there are tons of things that go into making the best pair of athletic shorts, we can narrow these down to 10 key features every pair needs.
Most high-quality athletic shorts will have a mix and match of these features. Some of them may sound unimportant or unnecessary, but take it from the experts: these features are needed.
1. 360-Degree Stretch Material
If you buy a pair of athletic shorts, odds are you’re going to be using them for physical activity.
Physical activity means movement and lots of it. When you’re moving that much, your clothes need to move with you and not against you. Otherwise, you’re going to be facing a ton of challenges.
Chafing, extreme discomfort, and even injury can all happen with any incorrect workout attire. It has to be loose, but not baggy; tight, but not squeezing, and overall comfortable in order for you to get the most out of your workout routine.
If you’re cross-training, would you rather have basketball shorts with short inseams or long cargo shorts or golf shorts? Clearly, for a gym workout, your priority is going to be breathable, stretchy material.
Even if you’re just walking around in these shorts, you’re still going to want to be comfortable, and walking is still moving.
Every pair of All Citizens athletic shorts are equipped with material that allows for a complete 360-degree, four-way stretch so you’ll enjoy each and every minute of your workout.
2. Plenty of Pockets
We’ll take this back to our previous point. Is there anything more annoying than going for a run or lifting in the gym and your phone starts flying every which way? You either have to set your phone down unattended, put it in a locker, or hold it in your hand.
Those are all inconveniences. Thankfully, there’s another solution: tight pockets. Even if your shorts have regular pockets, your belongings and your phone specifically are still going to bounce around.
Your pockets need to be tight, and there have to be multiple of them if you have more than one thing to carry. Think about it: you really could benefit from having side pockets, front pockets, back pockets, and all of them zippered pockets.
All Citizens ensures everything in your pockets will stay exactly where they’re meant to be.
3. Durable Performance Fabric
When you make an investment into a good pair of shorts — or any clothes, really — you need them to last.
That means no ripping or tearing, a stain won’t ruin them, and the color doesn’t fade over time. Fortunately, we just described the features of every pair of All Citizens athletic shorts.
The fabric, stretch, and stitching (which we’ll get to next) ensure it would take a whole lot more than a workout to rip or tear your shorts. Spilled your pre-workout coffee all over the place? No worries; any stain will come out with ease.
After tons of washes, you’d expect that new sparkling color to go away, right? Not with All Citizens. We guarantee the color will never fade no matter how many times you wash them — keeping the appearance brand new 24/7.
Our Eco-Friendly Re:Luxe Performance Microfiber is built with technical qualities for all-activity and all-weather comfort. It’s sweat-wicking, quick-drying, and anti-odor.
4. Reinforced Stress Points
With all the stretching and moving you’re going to be doing, your athletic shortsmust have reinforced stress points.
These reinforcements are placed in the areas that are going to feel the effects of your workouts the most. You don’t want your shorts to rip down the middle while you’re squatting, do you?
Thankfully, you’ll never have to worry about that happening with All Citizens. We completely overkill the shorts’ stress points so there’s never any chance of rips or tears — especially when you’re in a public gym.
5. Colors That Fit Every Gym Outfit
While the main goal of going to the gym is to maintain and advance our personal mental and physical health, you still want to look good!
Your shorts need to have color versatility so you can mix and match them with your shoes, shirt, and hat if you prefer. While camo can be a cool option for men’s gym shorts, you’ll have a bit of trouble finding the right t-shirts and shoes to match.
At the very least, you should have a wide range of solid color options, especially black, gray, and white. Those are the big three of gym short colors, and they’re the three every guy needs to have.
You should also have some colorful options too, like a navy blue pair.
All Citizens offers most of these colors so you can make jaws drop the moment you enter your gym. Maintaining your personal health is essential, but it certainly won’t hurt to look good while you’re doing it.
6. Easy, Low-Maintenance Care
Something we think everyone can relate to is getting nervous about wearing brand-new clothes.
The last thing you want to do is stain, rip, or ruin your new apparel in any way. It’s like with shoes: if it’s your first time wearing them, you’re going to avoid any and every possible obstacle that would get them dirty.
If they’re worn in, you’re just going to kind of do whatever. So, your shorts need to be ready and prepared for anything you throw at them, and you definitely don’t want or need to spend the extra time maintaining them.
All you need is to throw them in the wash and dryer, then fold them — nothing more and nothing less.
That’s what All Citizens athletic shorts offer: easy, low-maintenance care.
7. Premium Quality at a Better Price
Maybe most importantly, you don’t want to spend a small fortune on athletic shorts.
There are super-premium brands that will charge close to or more than $100 for one pair of athletic shorts, and that’s ridiculous to us. Typically, when something is a lot cheaper, that means it’s lower quality.
That’s just not the case with All Citizens. We’re simply dedicated to democratizing comfort for everyone, and sometimes that all starts with one pair of shorts, underwear, or socks.
We offer designer-quality athletic shorts for less than half the price.
8. Midweight and Heavyweight Options
Depending on what kind of training you’re planning on doing, you need to have options.
Some people are into heavier and more intense athletic training routines, which means they’re meant for a heavyweight option. Heavyweight shorts are made for the big workouts and they’ll keep you comfortable throughout.
Midweight shorts are meant for lighter activities or just lounging or walking around. There will be days you need a heavyweight option, so it’s absolutely essential.
9. Breathable Materials
Workouts mean movement, and movement means sweat.
Sweat is one of the biggest enemies of comfort, so you need your shorts to wick and absorb any type of moisture that might come your way.
Mesh Breathe Zones are the best way to accomplish this. Every pair of All Citizens shorts, underwear, and socks are equipped with these zones. These microvents allow for airflow and uncompromising ventilation.
These zones are strategically placed in the areas that sweat the worst so air can rapidly rush to the affected areas and evaporate all moisture.
10. Comfy Enough for Lounging
You’re not going to exclusively wear your athletic shorts to the gym.
There will be days when you don’t feel like dressing up, like a lazy Sunday. You need to be prepared for these days by having the most comfortable shorts options available to you.
Material, stretch, and overall fit all contribute to how you’ll feel when wearing your shorts, so lounging will be key.
Meet Your New Favorite Workout Shorts
At All Citizens, we’re here to democratize comfort for all.
So, we’d like to introduce you to your new favorite pair of shorts: the All Citizens Contender Training Shorts. These shorts include all of the aforementioned features and so much more.
They will be your new best friend during workouts, and they’re certainly comfortable enough to lounge in any day of the week.
Good luck on your personal health journey, and we hope to see you rocking our shorts in the gym soon!
Sources:
Benefits of Physical Activity | CCD
