Warm workout clothes?

October 22, 2016 6:21 AM

I've recently started walking the trails near my house for exercise. As it starts getting colder, I've realized I need better clothes to wear. Must be available in petite, and have pockets (either in the sweater or pants is fine, I just need to carry my keys and phone.) Ideally, I would like some kind of zip-out lining, but I don't know if that's possible. Thanks!
posted by backwards compatible to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (17 answers total)

Depending on your budget and where you live, one option is to go to a camping goods store, runner's store, etc., and browse the racks and racks of available options for something that you really like. It might seem expensive but they're often engineered to support movement, wick away sweat, to be windproof, etc. What you want depends on your local climate too I guess. But a store like EMS on the east coast will have a lot of options, including many you haven't thought about.
posted by carter at 6:27 AM on October 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

If you're budget conscious, I would go to the sportswear rack of your local tjmaxx or marshalls first.
posted by slateyness at 6:41 AM on October 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I live in Alexandria, so we probably cover some of the same trails! For your keys and phone, how about a stretchy waist belt? I run with a SPI Belt for my phone. They are stretchy and can easily fit house/car keys in addition to a phone, but I usually just clip my keys to my sports bra with a carabiner when I run/walk local trails.

You can find variations of stretchy waist belts on the internet, but also seconding TJ Maxx and Marshall's - they have a good variety of warm accessories and clothing. Layers are always good for this time of year. It's easy to bring/remove something tied around your waist as your body temp changes (winds, sun comes out, etc). I like starting out a run wearing cheap gloves you might find at Target (even in the dollar section) - I end up buying multiple pairs in the same color, in the inevitable case that I lose one, I can pair them with another. Not the warmest gloves, but they give me just enough.

I also get a lot of my activewear from Old Navy. Their "active" jackets and vests have pockets, and work well with layering, and are affordable - I think they're a great deal for the price point.
posted by raztaj at 7:12 AM on October 22, 2016

Response by poster: Thanks all, I appreciate it! I'm not particularly budget conscious in this instance, and am more interested in finding a place somewhere that is going to have petite sizes readily available, since I am extremely short on time! I have not had that experience at discount stores.
posted by backwards compatible at 7:36 AM on October 22, 2016

Best answer: Athleta has a really nice line of winter clothing, and offers petite sizes.
posted by charmcityblues at 7:49 AM on October 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I carry my keys/phone in a FlipBelt.

As for tech clothes, I really like Sugoi, Craft, and Smartwool.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:04 AM on October 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Under Armor makes good cold weather workout gear. Do they have a store in the mall near you, for example?
posted by J. Wilson at 8:24 AM on October 22, 2016

Best answer: I think Lands' End activewear is pretty high quality. I wear their plus size line and they also make petites.
posted by notjustthefish at 8:31 AM on October 22, 2016

Best answer: Uniqlo's about to open up in Tysons Corner, but in the meantime, you can order the Blocktech lined pants and Heattech leggings pants online. I'm short and walk to and from work, and these have been great in today's windy weather.
posted by evoque at 9:15 AM on October 22, 2016

Best answer: why do you want a zip-out lining? in my experience they are equivalent to wearing two things, plus an annoying zip. i'd suggest focusing on multiple, relatively thin, options that you can layer as needed. this is particularly useful when you get warmer when exercising, because you can remove a layer or two, as necessary.
posted by andrewcooke at 10:12 AM on October 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Go to the nearest REI and grynon some stuff. Most women's athletic brands are petite by default with a few notable exceptions. But unless you're under 5' tall and smaller than a small XS Patagonia, arc teryx etc should fit you fine.

Online you can order specific petite stuff from athleta, old navy or Eddie Bauer fairly easily. They will have some petites in the stores but not as much.
posted by fshgrl at 10:25 AM on October 22, 2016

I third? the stretchy waist belt idea . . . the one I have is Smartdoo brand. These things are awesome to add pockets where there are none.
posted by ainsley at 10:38 AM on October 22, 2016

Response by poster: Thanks everyone for your great answers! These are really helpful. I've always worked out at home, so this is a big new world to me.
posted by backwards compatible at 10:40 AM on October 22, 2016

Are you running or just walking? If just walking, I'd hit the kids section at target and pick up some ski pants/overalls. $20-30 and you can wear them over whatever.
posted by sexyrobot at 12:52 PM on October 22, 2016

I have a Karrimor running jacket which has some kind of clever zip where the arms come off and fold away into a little pouch on your bag.
posted by intensitymultiply at 4:32 AM on October 23, 2016

lululemon makes these run tights that i live in all winter, they're fleece lined leggings with a bunch of actual functional pockets, 2 of which zip closed. i think they're called the toasty tech tights? anyway they are gr8
posted by poffin boffin at 10:01 AM on October 23, 2016

remembered this thread while out riding today. apart from gloves + hat, those scarves that are stretchy tubes of material (the brand name is buff, but there are a million knock-offs) are excellent too - they do more than you'd expect in keeping you warm, and are easy to remove and small enough to stick in a pocket if need be.
posted by andrewcooke at 3:38 PM on October 25, 2016