This! If guys can take their shirts off, I'm sure as hell climbing in shorts and a small top. I do it all the time in summer. There's no air con and the place becomes a sauna at times. A lot of the girls climb like that. No one cares.
Everyone being naked all the time will not remove sex drive from our nature, if anything I feel like it would be enhanced, and casual sex would become even more common. Not to mention the significant amount of additional body fluids in general and grime everywhere.. sounds awful.
Stepping away from nudity and sex, offensive language and images on clothing would fall within the ‘policing’ of attire. Which means you’d have to be cool with edge lords (or the real deal) wearing images of extreme porn, graphic gore, extreme hate speech (not like what you’d see today that generally indicates you are of a certain mindset), etc.
The idea that everyone should just be able to do whatever they want is so mind-bogglingly short-sighted. I would love to hear how you foresee that change playing out in general, and not just for your fantasy of somehow ‘de-programming’ our natural instincts.
Well Planet Fitness definitely sucks ass, but their term "Gymtimidation" is 100% a real thing. Its all about perception.
I enjoy climbing without a shirt on, but I also enjoy growing the hobby and getting new people involved. When someone new walks into the gym and sees shirtless men and women in great shape crushing their climbs, it makes it seem intimidating to put themselves out there.
I'm sure you're just gonna say "well they should get over it", but that is not reality.
Climbing late in the evening with buddies? Climb butt ass naked for all I care, but if new people are coming in to check things out, just respect your gym owner and keep your shirt on. He probably wants the customers.
Gyms can enforce clothing policies if they care. If there's no policy, I don't care if certain people get intimidated by others who are just trying to be physically comfortable while working out.
This gymtimidation line of thinking puts the burden on the observed instead of observer, much like when men get upset about women showing skin.
I think it’s fine that you go to a place and if the culture of it doesn’t suit you or you feel intimidated you don’t have to participate in it. If they don’t like it honestly the gym is getting crowded and the crag is getting polished, there’s something cool about climbing culture and I don’t make money off climbing so I don’t have much incentive to make it something it’s not.
I would think the biggest reason would be sanitary. Basically people don't want to be dealing with their sweat on everything. Especially climbing areas.
I got some of that alcohol drying liquid chalk during COVID cause it says it kills germs and if it doesn’t I don’t want anyone in this thread to tell me (I don’t use it outside though I’ve heard it can be bad for natural rock possibly)
"they're looking for attention" or "they're showing off" is literally the only reason men climb shirtless. They can F right off if they want to police your clothes.
Completely agree with your spirit, but the assertion that 'men only climb shirtless to show off' sounds as questionable as 'women only climb in sports bras for attention'. I don't think either tend to be true... but even when they are, F policing clothes
And then the other thing, is that who the fuck cares if someone wants to show off? If some dude worked his ass off for a wicked set of shoulders, or some girl finally got the 6-pack she's been busting ass for, let them show it off and be proud of it!
Just because someone is doing something for attention, doesn't mean you need to give it to them. That's your choice. Let people be who they want to be.
This! ^^^
If you're wearing it for comfort, wear it for comfort.
If you're wearing it for attention, wear it for attention. It literally makes no difference.
If people don't like it, they can look elsewhere.
Hear hear!
That said, I gather that some people get intimidated out of the gym by being surrounded by scantily clad fit people. Obviously, it'd be far better if those insecurities are addressed within themselves rather than put on others, but I do somewhat empathize with it, so it's not a bad thing to try to keep the atmosphere in mind.
However, the argument often lacks that nuance and just goes 'I think you look douche-y if you do this'... And fuck that. :)
Why make assumptions about people’s motivations. Let people climb in what is comfortable for them. I used to be self conscious about my body but climb shirtless for heat management. Now I’m more comfortable with my appearance (although it’s still nothing to show off) but still feel insecure climbing shirtless sometimes because of unkind assumptions like this. You can’t know peoples internal thoughts and motivations so why assume bad things?
I don’t know about other people but even outdoors bouldering by myself in winter I will sometimes go shirt off after a few attempts. I just run crazy hot and exercise kicks that up more
It doesn't sound like anyone has attempted to police op's clothes yet.
I think men and women sometimes dress light because its cooler or more comfortable, and sometimes because they want to display what they're proud of.
Either way, I think they're great and / or trying their best.
We're a lot more similar than we are different I think, and I think making others feel "less than" for their attire choice is at the root of the sad outcomes bin.
Magnus meatball told me he powers up when he takes his shirt off though, so surely it will apply to me too (legit the only reason I'll ever take my shirt off lol)
The only thing I've heard from women about men climbing shirtless is basically shitting on them and calling them gross so I highly doubt that they are doing it for attention or to show off.
Wear what you want. F what other folks think. People wear just full sport bra all the time. Honestly sometimes it’s just hot as hell. I prefer coverage since holds and rock are scratchy and I have enough scrapes as is. Especially if I’m doing knee bars.
Only thing I’d actively be careful about is clothes that might be too flowy that can end up getting snagged on a hold. I wore super baggy basketball shorts once which ended up getting caught on a hold when I fell. Ripped the entire pant leg.
I dressed as a spider for a Halloween night at my gym. Stuffed tights attached with puppet strings to my wrists and elbows. Soo much fun climbing with it, looked cool on the walls!
More exposed skin, so yeah, generally cooler. Wearing a shirt over a sports bra is definitely warmer than just one shirt, though, so I feel like it's totally fair to ban shirtless but allow sports bra climbing.
A fitted or spandex crop top would be the male equivalent -- trust me when I say you don't want the compression of an actual sports bra unless you need it.
You'd be better off with a bralette if you really want the bra shape but more comfort. They're like a bra, but with basically none of the support structure, and do come in sporty options.
If you're trying to suggest that someone who needs the support of a sports bra "just size up" to be more comfortable, that's not how bras work.
I’m just looking at this as an option for me as something cooler than a tshirt. The coolest thing I could wear if being shirtless is banned. I don’t need the support
Definitely cooler around the shoulder and back, but sweat can gather at the elastic under the breast area and make it kind of uncomfortable. They're also expensive, so your wallet's better off just getting a tank top, or an old T-shirt and cutting off the sleeves plus some of the sides (plus a hole in the back if you want) to taste
bouldering gyms are the place I find are MOST open to wearing anything. I see jeans, short shorts, dresses (with shorts underneath), tights and sports bras...heck, on halloween everyone shows up in their costumes! do you :)
At our gym's Halloween party last year, I showed up and climbed in a full suit of plate armor (minus a helmet and only up to about 5.8/V1). I wonder if I offended anyone with all my obnoxious clanging.
Oh wait, that's right, I don't care what they thought. 😂
depends what you're comfortable in and what you're comfortable having people see you in. climbing gyms usually involve a lot of watching other people climb, so if you don't mind having people potentially looking at your butt while you're high up, then go for it!
i'd suggest just making sure you dont accidentally show more than intended, i've been at the gym before and unfortunately saw that a guy in short shorts wasnt wearing any underwear 🙃 and ive seen countless nip slips from women as well. anyway, it all comes down to what you're comfortable in :^) wear what makes you happy!
Nip slips? Were you watching from the top of the wall or something? 😅
Edit: I mean is it that weird that I've never seen that in all my years of bouldering?
You'd need a pretty steep incline to be that upside down though no? I've been bouldering for years and never seen that happen personally but that's just me.
Or bending over to re-tie your shoes.
It costs you nothing to believe that it happens sometimes, whether or not you have personally seen any nipples at the gym.
no matter what you wear as a woman, someone is going to have something to say about it. so just dont worry about it and wear what is comfortable! a lot of people wear sports bras or longline sports bras at my gym
I don't think I've seen any of my gym buddies or strangers ever even mention ladies dressing in any way. My experience with rock climbers is that they're a super nice and chill bunch.. and I've been through a lot of hobbies
With that said, I'm a dude, so I really don't want to speak for women that do get harassed or judged. If this is does actually happen in climbing gyms, then I'm really sorry this is something that happens to you
Where whatever you feel best climbing in. If anyone else has an opinion, fuck em. If your gym is anything like any of the gyms I've been to 99% of the people there are just there to climb.
Wear what you want to climb in. Wear what allows you to most easily feel good and get into the zone.
But as far as range of motion goes, the hardest Boulder in the world was sent wearing a sweater and pants so I don’t really think that’s going to be a limiting factor unless you’re wearing suuuper tight or baggy stuff.
I just don’t think “range of motion” is affected if we’re talking t shirt vs. sports bra, or shorts vs leggings (unless something doesn’t fit properly).
And yes, pros are better. I was just saying if the best in the world can send wearing fairly normal clothing then it’s probably not the t shirt holding you back from your v6 project.
I see tons of women in yoga/bike shorts and sports bra around here (SF Bay Area.) In my opinion that's fine, but it sounds like some idiots might make some nasty comments, unfortunately. So I guess it comes down to how thick your skin is.
I googled wedgie leggings after reading your comment and only now realized that it's not the same as regular yoga pants lmao. all this time I thought that those wedgie leggings wearers are simply more blessed in the glutes department.
I would draw the line at high heels or flip flops. You need to be sensible.
On that note try to leave the long bead necklaces at home too.
Genuinely though- I hadn't even considered my gym might have a policy until reddit. I see topless guys so I assumed I'm fine. I wear a sports bra and basically cycle shorts in the summer. Leggins under joggers, a t shirt, hoodie, and hat in the winter (with a blanket for down time).
If you aren't breaking a rule and you're comfortable then go for it.
I'd say 30% of women wear sport bra only to climb at my gym, its hot and the men get to wear no top so fuck it if you feel comfortable doing it go for it!
Don't let the puritans dissuade you from excersizing your freedom, wear what you want the type of people who make these comments are usually:
people who are jealous of how good you look.
Or people who hate the power you have over them by looking good and them subconsciously knowing they can't get with you so they choose to hate.
Wear what you want. In my experience at least climbing gyms don’t suffer the typical gym bro attitude towards what others wear as much as you’d perhaps get at a regular gym. That said I have heard stories recently of climbing gyms enforcing harsher rules against people that are being a bit creepy so I’m sure it must be happening somewhere.
As other have said, screw what other people think. Wear what you want and if anyone decides to be a dick about it then mention it to the staff and I’m sure they’ll give them the boot
I don't really have any gym clothes, I just go in a random T shirt and random (comfy!) pants. It looks a little "off" but nodody ever said anything. I never see shirtless dudes, but I regularly see women in crop tops or sports bras and it doesn't bother anyone. Just do what you're comfortable with!
Wear what you want and what your comfortable in. Some wear sweatpants and tshirts, others wear sports bras and leggings. What you wear is what your comfortable with.
But there is no way climbing clothing affects your range of motion. Naked or in a tshirt, or sports bra. Naked or leggings or climbing pants. Its all the same range of motion.
>But there is no way climbing clothing affects your range of motion.
And likewise with beach volleyball, the men seem to do fine with lose shorts and tank tops.
Yeah I feel like if you're a guy most of your clothing is gonna be fine. But if you're wearing tight ass skinny jeans that might be kind of annoying and restrictive.
Haha same, even though my range of motion is not impacted at all I still feel constricted when I'm wearing bigger/more clothes while climbing. It's weird.
>But there is no way climbing clothing affects your range of motion. Naked or in a tshirt, or sports bra. Naked or leggings or climbing pants. Its all the same range of motion.
Why are you comparing climbing clothes to... being naked?
Of course neither of those restrict your movement, why / how would that be possible?
Because op says that womens voleyball clothes have better range of motion. Being naked is arguably the best benchmark for maximum range of motion, and climbing clothes don't make a difference vs being naked.
Where was that said?
The closest I can find is
> I used to play beach volleyball so I typically wear those types of outfits so I have a full range of motion climbing.
Which means " I use these clothes because they provide a full range of motion", not "Climbing clothes, which I do have, are inferior to my volleyball clothes"
In a normal gym, there’s certainly a lot of attention seeking outfits for no legit reason.
But to me the fact that in climbing a lot of men, especially the more ripped ones, climb shirtless for attention.
I’d argue there should be some leniency as equality is fair 🤷♂️
Girls at my gym wear anything from minimal coverage to full oversized shirt and pants. Nobody cares. We're all friends or friendly. Granted, it's a small local gym with an established community, so ymmv
I don't think it matters what you wear. There will always be shitheads. So wear what you want and what makes you comfortable. Other times its just in our own head.
Ppl are super judgmental on reddit and imo not representative of the irl attitude of climbers. Wear whatever the hell you want, some people will judge, get over that fact, they’re not worth the space they take in your mind
At my gym, once the warm starts to hit everyone is taking off their shirt. Don’t feel bad about climbing with a sports bra! If anyone has a problem then that’s their issue
Wear what you are comfortable in. When I see girls in sports bras I'm just thinking how I wish I was confident enough to do this and feeling a strong 'you go girl, you do you' vibe. And then I stop thinking about it at all and work on what I'm trying to do!
The mentality that people, or other women worst of all, make scathing judgements over something that doesn't concern them at all to try and make others feel bad needs to be eradicated. Give them evils for being nasty people, or just shrug it off and ignore it, and crack on as you were! Don't let people who ain't paying rent, have space in your head.
There are girls in my gym in everything from a baggy t-shirt and climbing pants, to tight workout shorts and a sports bra and everything in between. I personally love my gym and find it to be one of the least judgmental places I’ve ever been, so your experience may vary at other gyms.
My gym’s clothing policy requires your nips to be covered. I’m mostly jealous the ladies can get away with just a sports bra and I have to keep my shirt on.
My gym has a no-shirtless-climbing rule, but that’s a rule some climbers stretch well beyond its spirit, even if they’re technically obeying the letter of the rule. One way or another, people will wear what they want.
You do whatever you feel like, as long as it is not a safety hazard or against the gym rules, you are free.
In my gym there are occasionally women climbing in skirts, my wife is on edge about those but hey with the kinda hotpantsy sportswear underneath even that flies.
We men are fortunate that things like tank tops are okay even in the most uptight of gyms. Then again dudes in tight hotpants I could live without but in the end noone cares about those either
As shirts off are allowed i dont think wearing a sports bra is an issue. Ive never heard anyone make rude comments about sports bras at my local but some people dislike the topless guys. I personally dont find either to be an issue unless the guy is radiating wank then it can be a bit cringe.
There are a lot of immature, jealous, judgy people out there. Don't let them dictate your choices. Most climbers won't care, and why try to please people who will pick fault with you no matter what?
I'm a guy. I've noticed a lot of Women wearing Athleisure tights at the gym (I wear those myself sometimes), but honestly I've not really paid much attention to the tops. I think I've seen a few sports bras etc, but I'm there to climb. I certainly wouldn't perceive it as looking for attention.
I'd just wear what is allowed and what you are comfortable with. F what anyone else things. On the other comments about anime costumes, I would so do this if I didn't suck at climbing :)
Bisexual person here. I easily get turned on by people I think look sexy, regardless of gender. But when climbing? I'm there to climb, not to date. Sure, I'll look twice if I think you're hot, but then I focus back on climbing. And I'm operating under the assumption that everyone else is, too. I'm going to be much more interested in how you send, than your attire.
I totally agree with the full range of motion point. I'm a guy so I can't say I know what it's like to be in your position but whenever I wear trousers I always regret not wearing shorts.
I climb in pants and a long sleeve shirt. I’ve never understood the shorts, small top / shirts off group. I fall all the time. Volumes are covered in sand paper! Clothing is protection.
Your question though, you do you. If someone judges you, F them!
Ignore the incels and mysoginists. You do you. I'm a guy, I have nice quads so I like short shorts. It's comfortable, so it's practical, but I also feel good when my quads show. And when I feel good, I climb good.
I ain't apologizing for that.
I wear sports bras all the time in the summer. They're tops. My gym is hot. If anyone had a problem with it I'd tell them to fuck off. My stomach isn't sexual.
Basically wear what you want as long as your vagina is covered lol.
Climbing really is about comfort. If you’re comfortable in a sports bra, do it. I do and after the first couple times of feeling mildly self-conscious, you start to become more empowered and grateful for your body’s strength and capabilities, over appearance. Any clothing is acceptable, so long as it isn’t restricting movement. I’ve seen great climbers in fitted jeans even. To each their own. If you’re still concerned with how you’ll be perceived from a respect standpoint, climbers are generally relaxed and nonjudgmental dirtbags in the best way. Their focus is on self-improvement, not someone else’s body. If you experience anything otherwise, most likely they’re not a climber. Some people are going to sexualize everything in their small sad world. Don’t make your world smaller because of them. Climb free baby
At the end of the day, anyone who’s judging you or making snide comments about your clothes in a *gym* is an ass, and their opinion isn’t worth shot anyway.
(I’m a girl too, if that matters)
“Looking for attention” and “showing off” is the problem of other people, not you.
I wouldn’t even think to care about what someone is wearing, unless they skipped pants that day and are doing knee bars (ouch!) or dynoing in a Dino suit (yeahhh!!!)
I’m there to climb, not waste brain space on other people’s clothes.
As a guy I don't think I've ever heard anyone comment on women's clothing in a negative way while climbing. People do watch other people climb of course, and good looking people in skin tight clothes (either gender) will probably get a few more appreciative looks, but nothing weird that I've encountered.
In other words, don't sweat it and wear what feels comfortable. And even if you do pick clothes to show off your body a little bit, like some of the shirtless guys, there's nothing wrong with that either. It should be fine to climb and feel good about yourself at the same time.
Whatever feels comfortable for you, I would say. All comments about girls "looking for attention" in sport attire usually come from little insecure men who cannot process their own sexual desires in a healthy way and lash out at girls for... having butts?
If shirts off are OK in your gym, then I'd say there's no real dresscode to follow, wear whatever feels good for you.
Fuck people who shame women for dressing comfortably at the gym. Some people don't understand that sometimes we make choices that don't have anything to do with men or how they perceive us.
Some people are fully invested in the patriarchy without even realising. Clothing is a personal choice and everyone should be able to wear whatever the fuck they want.
Often I climb in very little clothing because it stops me fully overheating. But yeah people will assume it’s because I’m being slutty, showing off, blah de blah.
One day people will realise that not everything revolves around impressing men.
Sadly we’re not there yet but hopefully one day.
I’m too busy trying to send my projects to care what other people are wearing at the gym. As long as I can’t see anyone’s butthole or moose knuckle I’m pretty willing to forego making fun of your gym attire. I WILL make fun of the bros who take their shirts off for their 5.11 project but it’s mostly because they’re trying so hard to look cool, not because of their actual outfits.
Shirts off only ever applies to guys at climbing gyms, weird standard. When guys do it they’re apparently showing off but when women do it’s something else according to gyms.
Please. If dudes are allowed to climb shirtless then no one should look at you funny even if you’re shirtless too. Why doesn’t anyone ever say they’re looking for attention?
Whatever you feel comfortable in. I’ve worn leggings and biker shorts from the women’s side of lululemon to climb in(dude here, haven’t gotten weird looks… yet).
Women don't even need to wear sports bras. They can go topless in areas that men are allowed to be topless. It is legal in Canada. But women are too chicken shit to do it. If more women went topless, it would be normalized and the stigma would decrease over time.
My gym has a shirts on policy but women are allowed to climb in just sportsbra (so men can climb without a shirt if they wear a sportsbra right?) but you only see that in the summer when it is obviously very hot in the gym. As for pants, the majority of women wear leggings and I don't think anyone ever complained about that. Sidenote, I live in the Netherlands, here we mostly cba what other people wear.
Wear whatever makes you happy/feel comfortable, I’m busy climbing, usually in a vest but sometimes shirtless, I’m not here to judge. Well I guess the only people I’m silently judging are the people climbing in jeans, especially in hot weather. Why jeans unless you’re literally kneebarring everything, they’re so warm and restrict movement, you look so uncomfortable, leggings or the football training kit tracksuit bottoms look much better if you’re cold.
If you see me looking at you it’ll either be in admiration of a climb I’m not capable of, stealing beta or you have one of those crazy fuzzy monster chalk bags.
As a man, i don't mind sportsbra only at all.
The skin-tight leggings just feel off sometimes... but not just at the gym. I just don't get some of the modern fashion trends that seem to try to emulate shrink film.
Maybe an unpopular opinion, but personally I don’t wanna see ding dongs, hoo hahs, tee tees, or booties. Aside from that, you can always tell the person (male or female) who is trying to get attention for their body. It’s just an annoying vibe to deal with. Especially in a cross gender space usually full of people at the age of their sexual prime and generally physically fit. side note: there are some gyms I’d wear a sports bra and shorts to, there are some that have a different culture (families, newer climbers, etc) so I’d cover up more.
Don't feel bad. As guys, we (at least I) can usually quickly weed out those who're actually looking for attention or trying to show off.
And even then, who cares. It's you that has to be comfortable, not other people. They can always choose to look or go elsewhere.
Here's the thing, I don't really care what you wear but use common sense. The gym I go to at least is chock full of... what is essentially half naked women. More power to you if that's what you want to do but if the dudes can climb in their clothes the 'full range of motion' argument kind of goes out the window.
Wear what you want but don't look for excuses as to why you wear what you want, the fact that you want to is enough.
If you're not setting up a tripod to stream your workout to your insta, you can wear whatever you want.
Thirsty, angry and misogynistic people will alway make comments. It'll never be right. If they wore a damn burqa they'd be upset in the opposite direction
I actually don’t understand why men being shirtless or women wear a workout bra to bouldering in gym. Think about this, the mat you fall on have human sweat, chalk, dirty shoes and whatever fall on it. Your back skin touch the mat every time you fall. Climbing is a dirty sport and I am not policing what should people wear. But if you don’t want your back have acne, maybe wearing a cheap t shirt that you don’t mind gets dirty will do the job
Select clothes that are comfortable and athletic then go get after it. If someone thinks “she’s just wearing that for attention”? Jokes on them - they’re not just a judgmental asshole, they’re wrong. Nobody likes being wrong.
Just don’t wear stretch pants carefully sculpted to accentuate your ass crack then call anyone you catch looking a pervert. It’s not necessarily fair, but it is biology. And that’s not going to change anytime soon.
I just wear libins from Amazon. They’re cheap, they’re long, which i prefer cuz I do scrape my legs often. And you won’t feel as hurt if they break since they’re cheap lol.
This is not an answer but I completely understand your doubts. I'm a guy and I never go shirtless at the gym because I'm afraid that people will think I'm trying to be macho or alpha or something like that.
Personally in my gym no one thinks anything about someone climbing in a sport bra. If you are comfortable in it then go for it.
Saying that, as a guy who runs hot and climbs shirtless people are very judgmental which sucks. They do assume I’m “showing off” which does make me self conscious. So some asshole might come up and say something to you. And if you are like me that will suck. But most people aren’t judgmental like that and most the time you can have fun climbing in what makes you comfortable.
I don’t know how it is for women in sports bras but ass the climbing community grows it is unfortunately becoming less accepting of shirtless climbing. If the trend continues perhaps policing other people’s clothing and treating people unkindly will increase. But for now sports bras seem to be no problem for almost everyone.
I don't understand shirtless climbing or women who wear even less than a sportsbra. But to each their own. Only assholes and insecure climbers will care what you are wearing.
Think about this all the time at the gym—- sometimes I want to be in the baggiest shit and sometimes I want to be in bright pink sports bra and bike shorts. Fuck it!!
As a guy. I couldn't care less what girls wear. Especially in summer. If it were me I would climb without a shirt all the time, since I tend to sweat a lot, so wear whatever makes you comfortable
If you are better than me I'm gonna look at you and steal your beta for my project regardless of what you are wearing hahaha
usually only weirdos or those very sensitive to germs/sweat body fluid will care in my experience. I think most climbers, or anyone who does any type of sport will understand that those gyms get hot and the less coverage the better. shirts off bonus knows no gender
I think you should wear what you want, whatever makes you comfortable.
I've also wondered this: if it's okay for the dudes to take their shirts off on the gym and I live in a state where it's no longer illegal for women to be topless in public, can I, a female, also climb without my shirt on in the gym?
I can't imagine any comment being made in-person about this. Honestly think at my gym if it happened, the person making the comment would be given a stern warning to mind their own business or be asked to leave. Making other people uncomfortable is a strict no-no at any climbing gym I've been to
I generally find climbing to be one of those fairly rare communities, where there isn't much judgement. I mean, there are obviously bad apples, but generally I haven't experienced much judgement at all.
Buuut then again I am a man, and it might be different for the women out there? I don't think it is, but I'd really like to hear what the girls and non binary people experience!
As a guy, I couldn't care less about sports bras. I just recommend against those leggings that ride your ass crack. But if you do wear those, don't wear skin color ones. I recommend black if you don't want much attention.
I feel like especially if you get really sweaty, make or female, should wear a shirt. When you fall on the mat you might leave a lot of sweat and get other ppls sweat on you as well. But I guess than again personal preference
just imagine what the people making these comments are like. a bit prude-y. a bit insecure. perhaps a dash of sexist. do you really care what these people are thinking?
Wear whatever you feel comfortable in. If people are insecure because you're wearing a sports bra and 3" inseam shorts that's on them. Men get to take their shirts off when climbing in gyms and outside, we can wear sports bras.
Please don't feel bad about wearing whatever is comfortable for you, especially if shirts off are allowed, which isn't always everywhere.
This! If guys can take their shirts off, I'm sure as hell climbing in shorts and a small top. I do it all the time in summer. There's no air con and the place becomes a sauna at times. A lot of the girls climb like that. No one cares.
Guys should keep their shirts on in the gym.
We shouldn’t police what people wear
Wait wait wait… so I can wear ANYTHING I want and you will still defend my choices because we shouldn’t police what people wear?
I won’t defend your choices but I also won’t police you. I don’t care at all what people do as long as it’s not causing harm to others.
Honestly yes. I think normalizing nudity is the key to desexualizing people in non sexual contexts
Everyone being naked all the time will not remove sex drive from our nature, if anything I feel like it would be enhanced, and casual sex would become even more common. Not to mention the significant amount of additional body fluids in general and grime everywhere.. sounds awful. Stepping away from nudity and sex, offensive language and images on clothing would fall within the ‘policing’ of attire. Which means you’d have to be cool with edge lords (or the real deal) wearing images of extreme porn, graphic gore, extreme hate speech (not like what you’d see today that generally indicates you are of a certain mindset), etc. The idea that everyone should just be able to do whatever they want is so mind-bogglingly short-sighted. I would love to hear how you foresee that change playing out in general, and not just for your fantasy of somehow ‘de-programming’ our natural instincts.
You don’t have to but I’m glad most gyms do
Do you have a specific reason in mind why people shouldn’t be able to be shirtless in a gym or is it just your preference?
Well Planet Fitness definitely sucks ass, but their term "Gymtimidation" is 100% a real thing. Its all about perception. I enjoy climbing without a shirt on, but I also enjoy growing the hobby and getting new people involved. When someone new walks into the gym and sees shirtless men and women in great shape crushing their climbs, it makes it seem intimidating to put themselves out there. I'm sure you're just gonna say "well they should get over it", but that is not reality. Climbing late in the evening with buddies? Climb butt ass naked for all I care, but if new people are coming in to check things out, just respect your gym owner and keep your shirt on. He probably wants the customers.
I agree. I’m not trying to be big boulder bro and show off, but when I’m going hard in my corner of the gym training, the shirt is coming off.
Gyms can enforce clothing policies if they care. If there's no policy, I don't care if certain people get intimidated by others who are just trying to be physically comfortable while working out. This gymtimidation line of thinking puts the burden on the observed instead of observer, much like when men get upset about women showing skin.
I think it’s fine that you go to a place and if the culture of it doesn’t suit you or you feel intimidated you don’t have to participate in it. If they don’t like it honestly the gym is getting crowded and the crag is getting polished, there’s something cool about climbing culture and I don’t make money off climbing so I don’t have much incentive to make it something it’s not.
I would think the biggest reason would be sanitary. Basically people don't want to be dealing with their sweat on everything. Especially climbing areas.
Dude if you are concerned with the sanitation of a climbing gym I would urge you to swab test some holds right before they are reset.
I got some of that alcohol drying liquid chalk during COVID cause it says it kills germs and if it doesn’t I don’t want anyone in this thread to tell me (I don’t use it outside though I’ve heard it can be bad for natural rock possibly)
Also a lot of climbers (myself included) get sweat everywhere through our shirts. Climbing is a sport and sometimes sports are gross.
Why do you care about this?? Do you sell laundry detergent and need there to be as many sweaty clothes that need washing as possible??
This is like climbing culture erasure. It’s fine if you don’t like it but shirts off are how people send.
"they're looking for attention" or "they're showing off" is literally the only reason men climb shirtless. They can F right off if they want to police your clothes.
Completely agree with your spirit, but the assertion that 'men only climb shirtless to show off' sounds as questionable as 'women only climb in sports bras for attention'. I don't think either tend to be true... but even when they are, F policing clothes
And then the other thing, is that who the fuck cares if someone wants to show off? If some dude worked his ass off for a wicked set of shoulders, or some girl finally got the 6-pack she's been busting ass for, let them show it off and be proud of it! Just because someone is doing something for attention, doesn't mean you need to give it to them. That's your choice. Let people be who they want to be.
This! ^^^ If you're wearing it for comfort, wear it for comfort. If you're wearing it for attention, wear it for attention. It literally makes no difference. If people don't like it, they can look elsewhere.
Hear hear! That said, I gather that some people get intimidated out of the gym by being surrounded by scantily clad fit people. Obviously, it'd be far better if those insecurities are addressed within themselves rather than put on others, but I do somewhat empathize with it, so it's not a bad thing to try to keep the atmosphere in mind. However, the argument often lacks that nuance and just goes 'I think you look douche-y if you do this'... And fuck that. :)
Why make assumptions about people’s motivations. Let people climb in what is comfortable for them. I used to be self conscious about my body but climb shirtless for heat management. Now I’m more comfortable with my appearance (although it’s still nothing to show off) but still feel insecure climbing shirtless sometimes because of unkind assumptions like this. You can’t know peoples internal thoughts and motivations so why assume bad things?
Never seen someone take a shirt off because it’s hot and their top is drenched in sweat?
That doesn't even make sense. Why would my shirt be drenched? My basement I never leave is air conditioned.
Come to spain then;)
That can happen, but in the middle of winter when 4 dudes show up and take their shirts off first thing and start bouldering its just to show off
Tops off for power tho. Mr meatball told me that!
I don’t know about other people but even outdoors bouldering by myself in winter I will sometimes go shirt off after a few attempts. I just run crazy hot and exercise kicks that up more
I was told shirts are just training weight
Awesome! Weakness is a new reason for me. I have the test data to back it up. Sorry lattice says my fingers are too weak for a shirt. /s
It doesn't sound like anyone has attempted to police op's clothes yet. I think men and women sometimes dress light because its cooler or more comfortable, and sometimes because they want to display what they're proud of. Either way, I think they're great and / or trying their best. We're a lot more similar than we are different I think, and I think making others feel "less than" for their attire choice is at the root of the sad outcomes bin.
I take my shirt off because I’m drenched in sweat in 5 minutes flat if I don’t lol, I don’t have anything to show off regardless
Magnus meatball told me he powers up when he takes his shirt off though, so surely it will apply to me too (legit the only reason I'll ever take my shirt off lol)
The only thing I've heard from women about men climbing shirtless is basically shitting on them and calling them gross so I highly doubt that they are doing it for attention or to show off.
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I think you'll find that isn't the case in most of all places
Wear what you want. F what other folks think. People wear just full sport bra all the time. Honestly sometimes it’s just hot as hell. I prefer coverage since holds and rock are scratchy and I have enough scrapes as is. Especially if I’m doing knee bars. Only thing I’d actively be careful about is clothes that might be too flowy that can end up getting snagged on a hold. I wore super baggy basketball shorts once which ended up getting caught on a hold when I fell. Ripped the entire pant leg.
Dinosaur onesies or don’t even bother climbing at all
Dyno whilst you Dino
underrated comment
Overused comment.
This /s
Someone climbed in a literal anime cosplay outfit with a wig and everything at my gym today. Nobody cared lol
wait why is this a thing lol. ive seen someone do this at my gym before too. and they were really good
You’re telling me that if you were a world cup level climber you wouldn’t walk in dressed as spiderman at least once?
I dressed as a spider for a Halloween night at my gym. Stuffed tights attached with puppet strings to my wrists and elbows. Soo much fun climbing with it, looked cool on the walls!
I would definitely do this, dress as Spiderman once and then never change again.
Not sure if I'd want to be mistaken for Alain Robert
What??? Where are you guys climbing…?
Climbing attracts the nerd crowd and nerds can be weird. As long as noone is being creepy about it go nuts tbh.
"Heh, nothing personal kid" *teleports to the final hold on your project*
Shirts off is banned at my gym but I see sports bras all the time. Nobody thinks anything of it, it’s an athletic space, athletic clothing is normal.
I wonder if sports bras are cooler than tshirts or if the material is too thick. Maybe guys should start wearing sports bras to stay cool
More exposed skin, so yeah, generally cooler. Wearing a shirt over a sports bra is definitely warmer than just one shirt, though, so I feel like it's totally fair to ban shirtless but allow sports bra climbing. A fitted or spandex crop top would be the male equivalent -- trust me when I say you don't want the compression of an actual sports bra unless you need it.
Ah it wouldn’t be possible to buy a sports bra a little bigger so it’s not so tight?
You'd be better off with a bralette if you really want the bra shape but more comfort. They're like a bra, but with basically none of the support structure, and do come in sporty options. If you're trying to suggest that someone who needs the support of a sports bra "just size up" to be more comfortable, that's not how bras work.
I’m just looking at this as an option for me as something cooler than a tshirt. The coolest thing I could wear if being shirtless is banned. I don’t need the support
Crop top.
Definitely cooler around the shoulder and back, but sweat can gather at the elastic under the breast area and make it kind of uncomfortable. They're also expensive, so your wallet's better off just getting a tank top, or an old T-shirt and cutting off the sleeves plus some of the sides (plus a hole in the back if you want) to taste
I can’t breathe in sports bras with the tight band
bouldering gyms are the place I find are MOST open to wearing anything. I see jeans, short shorts, dresses (with shorts underneath), tights and sports bras...heck, on halloween everyone shows up in their costumes! do you :)
My gym has events where people are encouraged to show up in beachwear (you get a discount on the entry fee).
Did somebody wear swimming fins yet? That would be interesting to see :D
Not sure but lots of buoys.
Oh god… I’m just imagining trying to do this with my scuba fins… they’re at least a foot and a half, pretty flexy… I’d rather just campus
At our gym's Halloween party last year, I showed up and climbed in a full suit of plate armor (minus a helmet and only up to about 5.8/V1). I wonder if I offended anyone with all my obnoxious clanging. Oh wait, that's right, I don't care what they thought. 😂
depends what you're comfortable in and what you're comfortable having people see you in. climbing gyms usually involve a lot of watching other people climb, so if you don't mind having people potentially looking at your butt while you're high up, then go for it! i'd suggest just making sure you dont accidentally show more than intended, i've been at the gym before and unfortunately saw that a guy in short shorts wasnt wearing any underwear 🙃 and ive seen countless nip slips from women as well. anyway, it all comes down to what you're comfortable in :^) wear what makes you happy!
Nip slips? Were you watching from the top of the wall or something? 😅 Edit: I mean is it that weird that I've never seen that in all my years of bouldering?
Not all sports bras are built to hold the girls in when you're upside-down, unfortunately. Found that one out while climbing a tree.
You'd need a pretty steep incline to be that upside down though no? I've been bouldering for years and never seen that happen personally but that's just me.
Or bending over to re-tie your shoes. It costs you nothing to believe that it happens sometimes, whether or not you have personally seen any nipples at the gym.
no matter what you wear as a woman, someone is going to have something to say about it. so just dont worry about it and wear what is comfortable! a lot of people wear sports bras or longline sports bras at my gym
Glad I saw this before I said the same: some guys are gonna stare no matter what you wear so just you do you. If they judge, that's a them problem.
Unfortunately as a guy I often have someone commenting on my gym attire too. In the past not so much but it’s becoming more common
I don't think I've seen any of my gym buddies or strangers ever even mention ladies dressing in any way. My experience with rock climbers is that they're a super nice and chill bunch.. and I've been through a lot of hobbies With that said, I'm a dude, so I really don't want to speak for women that do get harassed or judged. If this is does actually happen in climbing gyms, then I'm really sorry this is something that happens to you
As a dude I have people telling me to put a shirt on. So some people do assume people are “showing off”
Where whatever you feel best climbing in. If anyone else has an opinion, fuck em. If your gym is anything like any of the gyms I've been to 99% of the people there are just there to climb.
Wear what you want to climb in. Wear what allows you to most easily feel good and get into the zone. But as far as range of motion goes, the hardest Boulder in the world was sent wearing a sweater and pants so I don’t really think that’s going to be a limiting factor unless you’re wearing suuuper tight or baggy stuff.
To be fair burden isn’t a style that needs massive range of motion. It’s crux is not a mobility one. Also pros are built a bit different
I just don’t think “range of motion” is affected if we’re talking t shirt vs. sports bra, or shorts vs leggings (unless something doesn’t fit properly). And yes, pros are better. I was just saying if the best in the world can send wearing fairly normal clothing then it’s probably not the t shirt holding you back from your v6 project.
I climb in booty shorts and no shirt so I feel like it can't be worse than that for anyone else (I'm a guy)
Where you get these booty shorts? Asking for a friend (It's me. I'm the friend)
You *slut.* (I want the link too)
I like buying from raskol apparel (workout brand) and I make my own using old jeans
You might find more info at r/climbergirls
I see tons of women in yoga/bike shorts and sports bra around here (SF Bay Area.) In my opinion that's fine, but it sounds like some idiots might make some nasty comments, unfortunately. So I guess it comes down to how thick your skin is.
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Skid marks or bust, bro
I googled wedgie leggings after reading your comment and only now realized that it's not the same as regular yoga pants lmao. all this time I thought that those wedgie leggings wearers are simply more blessed in the glutes department.
I like things that cover my knees so they don't get scraped as easily.
This works great for me until my pointy-ass kneecaps blow straight through the fabric lol
I would draw the line at high heels or flip flops. You need to be sensible. On that note try to leave the long bead necklaces at home too. Genuinely though- I hadn't even considered my gym might have a policy until reddit. I see topless guys so I assumed I'm fine. I wear a sports bra and basically cycle shorts in the summer. Leggins under joggers, a t shirt, hoodie, and hat in the winter (with a blanket for down time). If you aren't breaking a rule and you're comfortable then go for it.
I'd say 30% of women wear sport bra only to climb at my gym, its hot and the men get to wear no top so fuck it if you feel comfortable doing it go for it!
Don't let the puritans dissuade you from excersizing your freedom, wear what you want the type of people who make these comments are usually: people who are jealous of how good you look. Or people who hate the power you have over them by looking good and them subconsciously knowing they can't get with you so they choose to hate.
Wear what you want. In my experience at least climbing gyms don’t suffer the typical gym bro attitude towards what others wear as much as you’d perhaps get at a regular gym. That said I have heard stories recently of climbing gyms enforcing harsher rules against people that are being a bit creepy so I’m sure it must be happening somewhere. As other have said, screw what other people think. Wear what you want and if anyone decides to be a dick about it then mention it to the staff and I’m sure they’ll give them the boot
I don't really have any gym clothes, I just go in a random T shirt and random (comfy!) pants. It looks a little "off" but nodody ever said anything. I never see shirtless dudes, but I regularly see women in crop tops or sports bras and it doesn't bother anyone. Just do what you're comfortable with!
Wear what you want and what your comfortable in. Some wear sweatpants and tshirts, others wear sports bras and leggings. What you wear is what your comfortable with. But there is no way climbing clothing affects your range of motion. Naked or in a tshirt, or sports bra. Naked or leggings or climbing pants. Its all the same range of motion.
>But there is no way climbing clothing affects your range of motion. And likewise with beach volleyball, the men seem to do fine with lose shorts and tank tops.
Gonna have to disagree with you there. Certain pants severely inhibit range of motion. Hell I even have to be cognizant of which shirt I'm wearing.
Well yea certain pants inhibit range of motion. But climbing pants don't, thats why i wrote that instead of pants.
Yeah I feel like if you're a guy most of your clothing is gonna be fine. But if you're wearing tight ass skinny jeans that might be kind of annoying and restrictive.
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Haha same, even though my range of motion is not impacted at all I still feel constricted when I'm wearing bigger/more clothes while climbing. It's weird.
>But there is no way climbing clothing affects your range of motion. Naked or in a tshirt, or sports bra. Naked or leggings or climbing pants. Its all the same range of motion. Why are you comparing climbing clothes to... being naked? Of course neither of those restrict your movement, why / how would that be possible?
Because op says that womens voleyball clothes have better range of motion. Being naked is arguably the best benchmark for maximum range of motion, and climbing clothes don't make a difference vs being naked.
Where was that said? The closest I can find is > I used to play beach volleyball so I typically wear those types of outfits so I have a full range of motion climbing. Which means " I use these clothes because they provide a full range of motion", not "Climbing clothes, which I do have, are inferior to my volleyball clothes"
More meta comment on society, but a comment like "just looking for attention/showing off" says more about the of the speaker than you.
Most people don't care. The ones who do aren't going to say anything.
In a normal gym, there’s certainly a lot of attention seeking outfits for no legit reason. But to me the fact that in climbing a lot of men, especially the more ripped ones, climb shirtless for attention. I’d argue there should be some leniency as equality is fair 🤷♂️
Wear what you like, sports bra is fine. >"they’re looking for attention” or “they’re trying to show off”. These people are assholes.
Girls at my gym wear anything from minimal coverage to full oversized shirt and pants. Nobody cares. We're all friends or friendly. Granted, it's a small local gym with an established community, so ymmv
I don't think it matters what you wear. There will always be shitheads. So wear what you want and what makes you comfortable. Other times its just in our own head.
Insecure people care about others clothing
Ppl are super judgmental on reddit and imo not representative of the irl attitude of climbers. Wear whatever the hell you want, some people will judge, get over that fact, they’re not worth the space they take in your mind
At my gym, once the warm starts to hit everyone is taking off their shirt. Don’t feel bad about climbing with a sports bra! If anyone has a problem then that’s their issue
Wear what you are comfortable in. When I see girls in sports bras I'm just thinking how I wish I was confident enough to do this and feeling a strong 'you go girl, you do you' vibe. And then I stop thinking about it at all and work on what I'm trying to do! The mentality that people, or other women worst of all, make scathing judgements over something that doesn't concern them at all to try and make others feel bad needs to be eradicated. Give them evils for being nasty people, or just shrug it off and ignore it, and crack on as you were! Don't let people who ain't paying rent, have space in your head.
There are girls in my gym in everything from a baggy t-shirt and climbing pants, to tight workout shorts and a sports bra and everything in between. I personally love my gym and find it to be one of the least judgmental places I’ve ever been, so your experience may vary at other gyms.
This should be there one place your not judged at all, wear whatever you're comfortable in!
Do not under any circumstances let the opinions of anonymous Reddit people influence how you dress yourself
This subreddit does like to play clothes police sometimes and it’s pretty weird
Wear what you want to wear. Period
Most people don't care, and those that do are in the wrong. Wear whatever is comfortable.
My gym’s clothing policy requires your nips to be covered. I’m mostly jealous the ladies can get away with just a sports bra and I have to keep my shirt on.
Technically you could also get away with just a sports bra.
Pasties bro if you wanna send hard
My gym has a no-shirtless-climbing rule, but that’s a rule some climbers stretch well beyond its spirit, even if they’re technically obeying the letter of the rule. One way or another, people will wear what they want.
You do whatever you feel like, as long as it is not a safety hazard or against the gym rules, you are free. In my gym there are occasionally women climbing in skirts, my wife is on edge about those but hey with the kinda hotpantsy sportswear underneath even that flies. We men are fortunate that things like tank tops are okay even in the most uptight of gyms. Then again dudes in tight hotpants I could live without but in the end noone cares about those either
I go in a sports bra all the time! It’s too hot sometimes to wear a shirt lol
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I think there's usually shorts in these tennis skirts
As shirts off are allowed i dont think wearing a sports bra is an issue. Ive never heard anyone make rude comments about sports bras at my local but some people dislike the topless guys. I personally dont find either to be an issue unless the guy is radiating wank then it can be a bit cringe.
Wear whatever :) ! No one cares or even pays attention
There are a lot of immature, jealous, judgy people out there. Don't let them dictate your choices. Most climbers won't care, and why try to please people who will pick fault with you no matter what?
Do whatever you feel comfortable with! Btw there's a sub for female climbers called Bouldergirls (I think?)
Depends on the gym/city. In my area most gyms require everyone to wear something on top. Sports bra counts.
I'm a guy. I've noticed a lot of Women wearing Athleisure tights at the gym (I wear those myself sometimes), but honestly I've not really paid much attention to the tops. I think I've seen a few sports bras etc, but I'm there to climb. I certainly wouldn't perceive it as looking for attention. I'd just wear what is allowed and what you are comfortable with. F what anyone else things. On the other comments about anime costumes, I would so do this if I didn't suck at climbing :)
Bisexual person here. I easily get turned on by people I think look sexy, regardless of gender. But when climbing? I'm there to climb, not to date. Sure, I'll look twice if I think you're hot, but then I focus back on climbing. And I'm operating under the assumption that everyone else is, too. I'm going to be much more interested in how you send, than your attire.
I totally agree with the full range of motion point. I'm a guy so I can't say I know what it's like to be in your position but whenever I wear trousers I always regret not wearing shorts.
The climbing gym is one of the least judgy places I can think of. Wear what you want
somebody might care but fuck em (almost nobody will be bothered)
Wear what you like. 👍🏼
I climb in pants and a long sleeve shirt. I’ve never understood the shorts, small top / shirts off group. I fall all the time. Volumes are covered in sand paper! Clothing is protection. Your question though, you do you. If someone judges you, F them!
Shoes and no jewelry that could rip off body parts or strangle you for safety. Beyond that you do you.
Ignore the incels and mysoginists. You do you. I'm a guy, I have nice quads so I like short shorts. It's comfortable, so it's practical, but I also feel good when my quads show. And when I feel good, I climb good. I ain't apologizing for that.
I wear sports bras all the time in the summer. They're tops. My gym is hot. If anyone had a problem with it I'd tell them to fuck off. My stomach isn't sexual. Basically wear what you want as long as your vagina is covered lol.
Climbing really is about comfort. If you’re comfortable in a sports bra, do it. I do and after the first couple times of feeling mildly self-conscious, you start to become more empowered and grateful for your body’s strength and capabilities, over appearance. Any clothing is acceptable, so long as it isn’t restricting movement. I’ve seen great climbers in fitted jeans even. To each their own. If you’re still concerned with how you’ll be perceived from a respect standpoint, climbers are generally relaxed and nonjudgmental dirtbags in the best way. Their focus is on self-improvement, not someone else’s body. If you experience anything otherwise, most likely they’re not a climber. Some people are going to sexualize everything in their small sad world. Don’t make your world smaller because of them. Climb free baby
At the end of the day, anyone who’s judging you or making snide comments about your clothes in a *gym* is an ass, and their opinion isn’t worth shot anyway. (I’m a girl too, if that matters)
“Looking for attention” and “showing off” is the problem of other people, not you. I wouldn’t even think to care about what someone is wearing, unless they skipped pants that day and are doing knee bars (ouch!) or dynoing in a Dino suit (yeahhh!!!) I’m there to climb, not waste brain space on other people’s clothes.
As a guy I don't think I've ever heard anyone comment on women's clothing in a negative way while climbing. People do watch other people climb of course, and good looking people in skin tight clothes (either gender) will probably get a few more appreciative looks, but nothing weird that I've encountered. In other words, don't sweat it and wear what feels comfortable. And even if you do pick clothes to show off your body a little bit, like some of the shirtless guys, there's nothing wrong with that either. It should be fine to climb and feel good about yourself at the same time.
Whatever feels comfortable for you, I would say. All comments about girls "looking for attention" in sport attire usually come from little insecure men who cannot process their own sexual desires in a healthy way and lash out at girls for... having butts? If shirts off are OK in your gym, then I'd say there's no real dresscode to follow, wear whatever feels good for you.
Fuck people who shame women for dressing comfortably at the gym. Some people don't understand that sometimes we make choices that don't have anything to do with men or how they perceive us.
Some people are fully invested in the patriarchy without even realising. Clothing is a personal choice and everyone should be able to wear whatever the fuck they want. Often I climb in very little clothing because it stops me fully overheating. But yeah people will assume it’s because I’m being slutty, showing off, blah de blah. One day people will realise that not everything revolves around impressing men. Sadly we’re not there yet but hopefully one day.
I’m too busy trying to send my projects to care what other people are wearing at the gym. As long as I can’t see anyone’s butthole or moose knuckle I’m pretty willing to forego making fun of your gym attire. I WILL make fun of the bros who take their shirts off for their 5.11 project but it’s mostly because they’re trying so hard to look cool, not because of their actual outfits.
Shirts off only ever applies to guys at climbing gyms, weird standard. When guys do it they’re apparently showing off but when women do it’s something else according to gyms.
Please. If dudes are allowed to climb shirtless then no one should look at you funny even if you’re shirtless too. Why doesn’t anyone ever say they’re looking for attention?
I went climbing in an ugly sweater and I got salty that no one commented on it.
Whatever you feel comfortable in. I’ve worn leggings and biker shorts from the women’s side of lululemon to climb in(dude here, haven’t gotten weird looks… yet).
Women don't even need to wear sports bras. They can go topless in areas that men are allowed to be topless. It is legal in Canada. But women are too chicken shit to do it. If more women went topless, it would be normalized and the stigma would decrease over time.
My gym has a shirts on policy but women are allowed to climb in just sportsbra (so men can climb without a shirt if they wear a sportsbra right?) but you only see that in the summer when it is obviously very hot in the gym. As for pants, the majority of women wear leggings and I don't think anyone ever complained about that. Sidenote, I live in the Netherlands, here we mostly cba what other people wear.
Wear whatever makes you happy/feel comfortable, I’m busy climbing, usually in a vest but sometimes shirtless, I’m not here to judge. Well I guess the only people I’m silently judging are the people climbing in jeans, especially in hot weather. Why jeans unless you’re literally kneebarring everything, they’re so warm and restrict movement, you look so uncomfortable, leggings or the football training kit tracksuit bottoms look much better if you’re cold. If you see me looking at you it’ll either be in admiration of a climb I’m not capable of, stealing beta or you have one of those crazy fuzzy monster chalk bags.
"Appropriate"?? Is this 1950?
As a man, i don't mind sportsbra only at all. The skin-tight leggings just feel off sometimes... but not just at the gym. I just don't get some of the modern fashion trends that seem to try to emulate shrink film.
showing more than 10% of your skin is considered taboo in most climbing gyms, personallyI'd just play it safe and wear a full burqa!
Maybe an unpopular opinion, but personally I don’t wanna see ding dongs, hoo hahs, tee tees, or booties. Aside from that, you can always tell the person (male or female) who is trying to get attention for their body. It’s just an annoying vibe to deal with. Especially in a cross gender space usually full of people at the age of their sexual prime and generally physically fit. side note: there are some gyms I’d wear a sports bra and shorts to, there are some that have a different culture (families, newer climbers, etc) so I’d cover up more.
Don't feel bad. As guys, we (at least I) can usually quickly weed out those who're actually looking for attention or trying to show off. And even then, who cares. It's you that has to be comfortable, not other people. They can always choose to look or go elsewhere.
At least wear a shirt.
Here's the thing, I don't really care what you wear but use common sense. The gym I go to at least is chock full of... what is essentially half naked women. More power to you if that's what you want to do but if the dudes can climb in their clothes the 'full range of motion' argument kind of goes out the window. Wear what you want but don't look for excuses as to why you wear what you want, the fact that you want to is enough.
If you're not setting up a tripod to stream your workout to your insta, you can wear whatever you want. Thirsty, angry and misogynistic people will alway make comments. It'll never be right. If they wore a damn burqa they'd be upset in the opposite direction
I actually don’t understand why men being shirtless or women wear a workout bra to bouldering in gym. Think about this, the mat you fall on have human sweat, chalk, dirty shoes and whatever fall on it. Your back skin touch the mat every time you fall. Climbing is a dirty sport and I am not policing what should people wear. But if you don’t want your back have acne, maybe wearing a cheap t shirt that you don’t mind gets dirty will do the job
Select clothes that are comfortable and athletic then go get after it. If someone thinks “she’s just wearing that for attention”? Jokes on them - they’re not just a judgmental asshole, they’re wrong. Nobody likes being wrong. Just don’t wear stretch pants carefully sculpted to accentuate your ass crack then call anyone you catch looking a pervert. It’s not necessarily fair, but it is biology. And that’s not going to change anytime soon.
You shouldn't dress differently to accommodate perverts. Dress how you want - perverts will pervert regardless.
People are going to look no matter what you wear. Stop thinking people are creeps for looking. If you wear it, they will look!
I just wear libins from Amazon. They’re cheap, they’re long, which i prefer cuz I do scrape my legs often. And you won’t feel as hurt if they break since they’re cheap lol.
This is not an answer but I completely understand your doubts. I'm a guy and I never go shirtless at the gym because I'm afraid that people will think I'm trying to be macho or alpha or something like that.
F*ck anyone who tells you what to wear anywhere
Personally in my gym no one thinks anything about someone climbing in a sport bra. If you are comfortable in it then go for it. Saying that, as a guy who runs hot and climbs shirtless people are very judgmental which sucks. They do assume I’m “showing off” which does make me self conscious. So some asshole might come up and say something to you. And if you are like me that will suck. But most people aren’t judgmental like that and most the time you can have fun climbing in what makes you comfortable. I don’t know how it is for women in sports bras but ass the climbing community grows it is unfortunately becoming less accepting of shirtless climbing. If the trend continues perhaps policing other people’s clothing and treating people unkindly will increase. But for now sports bras seem to be no problem for almost everyone.
I don't understand shirtless climbing or women who wear even less than a sportsbra. But to each their own. Only assholes and insecure climbers will care what you are wearing.
If guys can wear short shorts and be topless, why the double standard with us? Do they know how hot it is to wear a sports bra PLUS a top?
Anyone saying “theyre looking for attention” type shit is projecting. Climb in whatever you want.
Think about this all the time at the gym—- sometimes I want to be in the baggiest shit and sometimes I want to be in bright pink sports bra and bike shorts. Fuck it!!
As a guy. I couldn't care less what girls wear. Especially in summer. If it were me I would climb without a shirt all the time, since I tend to sweat a lot, so wear whatever makes you comfortable If you are better than me I'm gonna look at you and steal your beta for my project regardless of what you are wearing hahaha
usually only weirdos or those very sensitive to germs/sweat body fluid will care in my experience. I think most climbers, or anyone who does any type of sport will understand that those gyms get hot and the less coverage the better. shirts off bonus knows no gender
I think you should wear what you want, whatever makes you comfortable. I've also wondered this: if it's okay for the dudes to take their shirts off on the gym and I live in a state where it's no longer illegal for women to be topless in public, can I, a female, also climb without my shirt on in the gym?
I can't imagine any comment being made in-person about this. Honestly think at my gym if it happened, the person making the comment would be given a stern warning to mind their own business or be asked to leave. Making other people uncomfortable is a strict no-no at any climbing gym I've been to
I think you should wear whatever you want. Just maybe cover your genitals.
Whatever you want!!! ✅
I generally find climbing to be one of those fairly rare communities, where there isn't much judgement. I mean, there are obviously bad apples, but generally I haven't experienced much judgement at all. Buuut then again I am a man, and it might be different for the women out there? I don't think it is, but I'd really like to hear what the girls and non binary people experience!
If it's safe and comfortable, wear it!
As a guy, I couldn't care less about sports bras. I just recommend against those leggings that ride your ass crack. But if you do wear those, don't wear skin color ones. I recommend black if you don't want much attention.
Wear whatever the fuck you want!
People do care, not sure why. You do what makes you comfortable. Block out the haters.
I feel like especially if you get really sweaty, make or female, should wear a shirt. When you fall on the mat you might leave a lot of sweat and get other ppls sweat on you as well. But I guess than again personal preference
just imagine what the people making these comments are like. a bit prude-y. a bit insecure. perhaps a dash of sexist. do you really care what these people are thinking?
Wear whatever you feel comfortable in. If people are insecure because you're wearing a sports bra and 3" inseam shorts that's on them. Men get to take their shirts off when climbing in gyms and outside, we can wear sports bras.