Columnist Kenny Thapoung explores what to avoid wearing while working out.
Hiding in the IBC Student Recreation Center on laundry day is no longer an option when one’s choice of attire is slim. Temple’s gym has become one of Main Campus’s best places to gawk at muscularly defined bodies.
Unfortunately for many, students often dress as if no one will care what they’re wearing. I mean, it’s only the gym, and in one way or another they’re just going to get their Cherry and White T-shirt damped in sweat, right?
If only it were that simple.
Anywhere you go, there is always potential to meet your future husband, wife or mistress. Therefore, it’s a no brainer to always dress to impress, even at the IBC. (I gel my hair right before I go just to give myself that extra kick.) 
When it comes to choosing the right shirt, shorts and shoes, only three labels come to mind: Adidas, Reebok and Under Armour. Unless you’re wearing another variation of these brands, why bother working out?
If you have a T-shirt from a football game or Spring Fling, there’s no harm in wearing those either. My only suggestion is to make sure it suits your body type. Nearly all the exercise machines are in stationary positions, and the person behind you hiking uphill on the elliptical certainly doesn’t want to see you shake your milkshake or beer gut.
While some people may be a fan of the Apple Bottom jeans look, sporting a muffin-top is not OK, especially when most people at the gym are trying to get their minds off food.
For the lovely ladies, spandex or shorts is always acceptable for a workout, and pairing it with a simple T-shirt can tie everything together nicely.
Purchasing Louis Vuitton sneakers, however, is just a way to show off your wealth and make all the other girls feel poor and inadequate. How rude. I’m all for jeans and Ralph Lauren polo for classroom-wear and possibly even a party outfit, but have some sense at the IBC.
To show off your body when you’re not dripping with sweat, try to find an open mat where you can bend your body in easy stretching exercises. Guys will most likely admire your flexibility as they “focus” on lifting those 100-pound weights.
And while cut-off sleeves have experienced a resurgence in popularity, especially among jocks, if a guy really wants to show off his Whey Protein-enhanced arms, a significantly tighter shirt will have the same effect. On the off chance your muscles actually happen to tear through your impenetrable Under Armour, you can always rent a basketball and challenge a few fellow IBCers to some hoops, shirts versus skins. If you got the goods, why not show them off? You’d be amazed how many people walk through the doors of the IBC just to drool over the majestic beasts dribbling on the basketball court.
What’s absolutely horrendous are the people who think Hawaiian shirts and bathing suits are appropriate gym attire. Unless you plan on taking a trip to the shore – and I’m not talking about Beury Beach – leave the bronzer at home.
Calvin Klein once said that sweat shouldn’t affect the way one dresses. In other words: Suck it up, people, because everyone is watching.
Kenny Thapoung can be reached at kenny.thapoung@temple.edu.
The fact that you gel your hair is proof that you shouldn’t be a fashion columnist.