High Street Versus High End: How Does The Price Of Your Gym Kit Impact Your Workout?

It’s a classic trope of any new gym goer, all the gear no idea. You walk into the gym in your PE Nation leggings and Sweaty Betty sports bra and you look a million dollars, or at least about £330, but do you actually feel it? We might see listicle on listicle of the gym-wear you need this season, but does a luxury gym kit actually make a difference to your workout? I decided to put it to the test.

Typically, I’m not one to splash out on expensive clothes, but when it comes to gym gear I’m all about quality and willing to spend a pretty penny to get it. I’ve had my fair share of awkward moments with leggings, you know when you’ve been wearing the same style for a year and then one day catch yourself bending in the mirror and realise they’re entirely see-through. As someone who spends the majority of their time in the weights section surrounded by men, already on constant alert that someone is about to give me unsolicited advice, this is not ideal.

As such, when I'm shopping for activewear I use a four-point system that helps me find workout gear that can put my mind at ease during a workout, and give me the confidence I need in a male-dominated environment. Essentially, my gym gear has become my armour.

First, It needs to be squat proof, I’m bent over enough in the gym without exposing my underwear to every Tom, Dick and Harry leering from the cables. Second, it needs to be sweat-proof, because I have a sweat complex so strong I once got tested for an overactive thyroid just so I could get free Botox in my armpits (I didn’t have one, just hypochondria clearly). Thirdly, it needs to be comfortable. I’m all for a good stomach pull-in here and there, but getting the leggings on shouldn't be half the workout. Finally, it needs to be fashionable. Call me superficial all you want, if I’m spending 60% of my life in gym-gear – which is probably an underestimation - then I want to look and feel good in what I’m wearing.

With those four essentials in mind, I went scouring the web for the latest high end and high street gym gear, with some mid-range pricing thrown in for good measure. With the high street brands, like H&M and Matalan, charging between and £9 and £34.99 for leggings, they have a good reputation for decent sportswear at a low price. On the other end of the spectrum are the likes of PE Nation, Sweaty Betty, Nike and Lululemon. Sweat Betty leggings start at £45 and go up to £95, while PE Nation starts at £110 and tops out at £270. For Lululemon, a brand favoured by fitness influencers globally, the cost of leggings begins at £78 and goes up to £148. Then there’s Nike, whose prices vary wildly, starting at £21.97 but going up to £104.95 for certain styles. In the mid-range are brands like Gymshark, another favourite of influencers, with their cheapest leggings going for £20 and their most expensive finishing at £50.

I tried the high-street leggings first, going to the gym in an outfit that topped out at £21 for leggings and a sports bra. As I pull the leggings on, the feel of the material is cheap and tight. I have visions of them splitting if I squat too low, and I’m immediately self-conscious about it. Nonetheless, the leggings are squat-proof in terms of transparency, and while they’re not the softest on my skin, they fit well and aren't uncomfortably tight. As I work through my session, I’m definitely more conscious of how I’m moving so as not to hear the dreaded screech of ripped material. I’m pulling the leggings up at the waistband more as they slip with sweat, but I have no obvious sweat patches so far. The leggings and sports bra together aren’t the cute matching set that I’m used to, so I’m also feeling that tiny bit less confident. My workout doesn’t necessarily suffer for it, but my mindset does, and that’s the entire reason I go to the gym: to clear my mind and feel strong. Ultimately, I feel like there’s a chink in my armour and I can’t help but feel uncomfortable throughout my session.

Of course, I can’t write off the entire high street purely from one bad experience, especially given I have high-end sets in my wardrobe that give me the same squat-splitting fear. So I choose a H&M set next, £34.98 in total, and actually, I have an entirely different experience. The material is similar to the other high-street set, but it’s thicker, the waistband doesn’t split and there seems to be more stretch in it. I have no ripping fears, no concerns about my pale skin poking through the fabric as I squat and don’t notice any massive sweat marks throughout my workout, despite the fact I’m dripping from my eyelids. While it’s not the prettiest set I’ve ever owned, and so I don’t have the gym-bunny-glow that comes with wearing something extremely Instagrammable, it’s hitting three of my four-point system and so I’m still feeling confident.

Now it’s time for the high-end, and picking out two outfits that cost £360 each, naturally, I have high hopes. But at the first hurdle, I fall. I can’t get the first pair of leggings over my thighs - even though they're the size I'd normally go for in gym leggings, so I try the second style a size up to a medium and again it's a squeeze, but eventually I manage to get them over my bum. I’m a size 8-10, so I’m immediately dubious about how inclusive this brand is, if I can barely fit into a medium. The disappointment continues when I look in the mirror and see my underwear shining through. My size 10 bum is too much for these medium leggings to handle, and they’re stretched to the point of transparency.

I turn to the sports bra for a glimmer of hope, surely this is good, it’s near £100 and I, frankly, barely have the boobs to even need a sports bra. It’s tight, but the real frustration comes in the fact it provides literally no support- and I’m a size small, so I'm not sure how anyone who needs the support could wear this. At this point, I don’t want to work out in the set. I know for a fact I’ll be uncomfortable, and it’s back and shoulder day, so I’m bent over a bench for half my routine. I sigh and resign myself to an hour of feeling self-conscious. And that’s exactly how I felt. I finish my workout, having adapted my routine for less bending and stretching, wondering how something so expensive could be such bad quality, and without the post-gym endorphin high I am used to.

For my second try at high-end, I pick out a known winner. I can’t face another uncomfortable workout (I’m in a Pure Gym and there are enough posers there to increase your insecurity ten-fold). Lululemon will be my saving grace, as an influencer favourite I have no doubt it’s worth the money, and boy was I right. My outfit costs a grand total of £136, but it’s the most comfortable gym outfit I’ve ever worn, and within seconds of pulling the leggings on I’m feeling well-armed and ready for a big workout. The leggings are squat-proof, super Instagrammable and honestly, the most sweat-proof of any brand I’ve ever tried. So, sweat-proof in fact, that when I hip-thrust too heavy and accidentally wee myself a bit (I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who's ever done this, am I?), you literally can’t tell at all. Lululemon: the activewear you can wee yourself in and no one will know. I should work in advertising.

Knowing what we do about the price points of H&M and Lululemon, it’s already clear to me that whether the brand is high-end or not is irrelevant, it’s the quality that gives you the most confidence. This is proven when I try out the new Gymshark camo collection, which costs £85 for leggings and a sports bra- the most expensive set on their site. I’m not sure whether it’s the power of the influencers that have made this brand one of the fastest-growing activewear companies, or the quality of the clothes themselves, but putting on a Gymshark set makes you feel invincible.

There is, admittedly, a slight air of imposter syndrome when you look in the mirror and don’t look exactly like the influencers that advertise them, but ultimately, the sets pass my four-point system so well that I put them up with Lululemon as the most confidence-inspiring gymwear I own. Squat-proof, sweat-proof and with non-slip technology that means you don’t have to constantly pull them up, the sets also offer the most versatility in style and never fail to look fashionable in the gym. In fact, I already own three sets before I invest in the camo collection and I have no qualms about spending my hard-earned money.

Ultimately, on my high-end versus high-street gym gear quest- where I actually tried eight different brands overall – I have found one thing to be true: price is irrelevant when it comes to finding a set that makes you feel good and ready to conquer a new workout routine. I’ve worn Primark sets that have given me confidence, and equally, high-end sets that made me feel anything but. There is an assurance of better quality when you go for the mid-range, Gymshark prices, but equally, in my experience, does seem to be a cut-off point where over £150 you’re no longer paying for added quality but simply the brand name.

And if wearing one particular brand just for the name makes you feel good, who’s to say you shouldn’t go into the hundreds mark for the confidence boost it gives you? Just make sure you keep the receipt, or you could end up in the changing room frantically sticking your hands down your pants trying to check if the £300 leggings you just wasted your pay-check on are actually THAT see-through.