Fitness wear frustrations

mommm65
mommm65 Posts: 15 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I'm new here. I've lost 20lbs using the myfitnesspal since late September and so thankful for the phone app.

Currently I am working out 5-6 days per week and I am trying to find fitness wear in my size. I left Academy Sports in tears tonight. After searching high and low I asked the Manager where the plus sizes were. (honestly I knew there weren't any and that was my point).

She told me they have "One t-shirt over there" but that's it. Really? ONE t-shirt? NO yoga pants? No shorts? No moisture wicking cute workout shirts? No. I then asked her how large her men's wear sizes go. 4X. She kept telling me the men's dept goes to 4x if I want to check there. Or, she suggested, go online.

So I did. I went online. They have 3 shirts in womens wear above a size XL. In the men's shirt dept they have over 50 shirts right now.

Where do you find workout wear for women with large chests? I don't want to order online. I want to go inside a store and try it on just like the skinny girls. I am feeling sad and overwhelmed. Very frustrated.
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Replies

  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    My suggestion is to buy the workout pants online and just wear t-shirts for now. I buy $5 shirts at target and walmart in the men's section to wear when I workout (I went from men's XL to men's S). That way when they get the set in funky smell I can toss them without feeling bad about it.

    *I know you say you don't want to order online, but when I was XL the only store that I could find with yoga pants that fit was Old Navy and sometimes Road Runner sports or Nike outlet.
  • aszwarc
    aszwarc Posts: 200 Member
    Target carries some Champion stuff in plus sizes. I've picked up shirts in 2XL there, and pants in XL.

    For online, try onehanesplace.com. They also carry Champion items. Not necessarily the same selection, but in larger sizes.
  • LishieFruit89
    LishieFruit89 Posts: 1,956 Member
    Target might have something.

    I don't know how big you need...

    Maybe some of the plus-size stores?
    Like Torrid, Avenue.

    Maybe some of the more high end stores have stuff - like Athleta & Lululemon?

    Maurices has added a plus size section in store - they might have fitness stuff

    I know you said you don't want to shop online but Old Navy has a whole section (http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/category.do?cid=5647) - and its reasonably priced so as you shrink, you won't break the bank
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    old navy and underarmor are my go to spots for quality athletic wear (tops and bottoms)

    i also sometimes have luck at places like marshalls, ross and tj maxx but that's mainly for bottoms. i rarely find good tops there.
  • pwittek10
    pwittek10 Posts: 723 Member
    Do not spend a lot of money on work out wear
    you will be shrinking out of it in no time
    Look for comfort, the great looks will come to play
    when you get in shape.
    The workout is what is important.
    Go for it!
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    I have also had really good luck at target.
  • katie33001
    katie33001 Posts: 6
    I like the JCP brand xersion. They have a big selection in store and online in plus sizes.

    I don't need plus sizes anymore but I still like the brand. They're incredibly affordable.
  • mommm65
    mommm65 Posts: 15 Member
    I wear a size 18, but I am busty. Ordering online isn't great because you cant tell how tight the boobage is by the measurements. I have tried my Target and they are geared more for work clothing, (merged into the maternity dept), I will try our Old Navy store. We have a Marshalls, TJMaxx, and Ross, but they only go to a size XL in workout clothes, which works for yoga pants, but not tops.
  • mommm65
    mommm65 Posts: 15 Member
    Do not spend a lot of money on work out wear
    you will be shrinking out of it in no time
    Look for comfort, the great looks will come to play
    when you get in shape.
    The workout is what is important.
    Go for it!

    Thanks so much. I am trying so hard to go for it, and spending a lot of money isn't on my agenda. But something that wicks sweat is. Cotton is, quite frankly, icky.
  • Lisha_R
    Lisha_R Posts: 92 Member
    I hear you about not having any workout cloths for plus sizes. I am finally able to fit in a sports bra. Don't even get my started about that one. I found some workout pants at Target. I got XL yoga pants on sale at Walmart. They had up to 2XL Champion I think. Good luck findings something. I agree with Previous poster about not wanting to buy too much because I am just cruising through this size.
  • VeeBethTris
    VeeBethTris Posts: 301 Member
    Do you have a Kohl's near you?
  • mommm65
    mommm65 Posts: 15 Member
    Do you have a Kohl's near you?

    Yes. I looked there last weekend. Their workout clothing goes to a size XL. The plus size dept does have casual t-shirts, but no workout clothing. Sadly. I did buy a great pair of running shoes which I love.
  • Alta2000
    Alta2000 Posts: 655 Member
    I bought exercise pants from Marshall's/outlets and for tops I wear the family's old men's Fruit of the loom white t-shirts. $6 pack of 5 at Target/Walmart. Throw it in the wash after each workout. Anything that makes you feel comfortable and as others have said, do not spend a lot of money at this size because you are going to shrink considerably.
  • Brianna72994
    Brianna72994 Posts: 887
    Honestly, right now I have lost a few sizes but I am not where i want to be yet. So for now I am buying most of my workout clothes on ebay. Its much cheaper and alot of the stuff is brand new! Ive also started selling my larger clothes on there
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
    walmart cotton pajama separates! I wear old t shirts and comfortable pants. don't feel like you need to have fancy work out clothes. I find they usually hinder more than help.
  • drkatiebug
    drkatiebug Posts: 1,981 Member
    Old navy should work for yoga type pants. I've had good luck at Wal-mart and Target. i was your size when I started. I like basic black, grey, navy for pants and wear tank tops in various colors that you can pick up anywhere. I lucked out at Wal-mart with matching pants and jackets a few years back. They fit when I was a size 18W but actuallly look much better (ie loose rather than tight) now that I'm a 16 (without the W). they shrunk a little in the wash along the way, which was ok cause I was shrinking too.
  • lee91356
    lee91356 Posts: 330 Member
    Funny enough, I still use what I can fit into from prior to my weight loss, although its not much lol, just shirts really. I have needed to buy some new pants, but I dont want to spend money on something that will [hopefully] only be good for a few months so I just buy cheap yoga/ workout pants at Target/ Walmart/ Old Navy, never more than $10/15. P.S. this is my same rule for pajamas.

    What I do spend my money on, to avoid chaffing and general uncomfortableness, is a good sports bra and if needed, compression pants/ short since I have a lot of extra skin on my tummy and thighs this makes a big difference.

    Save your money for the good items and for a shopping spree when you reach your goal weight/ size (I know thats what I'm doing :blushing: ). Right now EVERYTHING I buy is from the clearance or sale section. It is hard because I want to buy all new clothes to match my smaller size but I know that if I keep going at it soon wont fit. I'm down from a size 26/3X a year ago to 16/ XL, and I still wear a few items that range from size 20/18/1X , because they fit (though loosely yay!) and I dont have the money to replace all my clothes.

    Good luck!
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Does lane bryant have an activewear line?
  • Jenks9
    Jenks9 Posts: 18 Member
    I had the same problem when I started my journey! I ended up finding just what I need at Wal-Mart. They have Danskin workout clothes up to a 3X. They carry the moisture-wicking tops too. As much as love the comfy clothes to workout in, it's my socks that i couldn't do without. I was spending a lot of money buying Thorlo brand socks and I liked them but I recently bought a three pack of New Balance socks at Academy Sports and I love them even more and I got all three pair for the price of one pair of Thorlo. They have cushioning and are moisture-wicking. Don't forget to take care of your feet! Good luck on your journey!
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
    Walmart sells Danskin in larger sizes and Target has a good selection also. I remember going to Sports Authority last year looking for a pair of plus size capris with pockets. For some reason designers don't think women need pockets, but not only did they not have pants with pockets, they didn't have anything above XL, what few they did have.
  • maledoux
    maledoux Posts: 24 Member
    Wow. I had the exact SAME experience at Academy... it's so frustrating that my fitness goal is to fit into workout clothes. So, for the longest I just wore some men's gym shorts and tshirts. Until I discovered JC Penney's plus size fitness clothes, I really like the Xersion line. Especially, the compression capris with the zipper pocket above the butt. They are just perfect. And the shirts come in every color. Love Love. I'm not a big fan of the Old Navy line; even though they aren't bad either.
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
    My local Goodwill has been a godsend. Seriously. And on Thursdays a whole section of the store becomes $1 a piece. I own more clothing than one person should ever have. I have found some of my very best workout clothing there, sometimes with tags still on them.
  • BIRDIEBL8
    BIRDIEBL8 Posts: 155 Member
    I feel ya on this one! Last time I was at Academy Sports I just drooled over all the cute running clothes & comfortable looking hiking shorts. It is currently my motivation to keep exercising. So far I bought men's running shorts, men's long underwear top, men's cycling shorts, women's nike running shoes & socks. I can't wait for the day I shop the woman's dept. BTW good luck with the sports bras, I just grabbed a couple at L Bryant.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    I'm new here. I've lost 20lbs using the myfitnesspal since late September and so thankful for the phone app.

    Currently I am working out 5-6 days per week and I am trying to find fitness wear in my size. I left Academy Sports in tears tonight. After searching high and low I asked the Manager where the plus sizes were. (honestly I knew there weren't any and that was my point).

    She told me they have "One t-shirt over there" but that's it. Really? ONE t-shirt? NO yoga pants? No shorts? No moisture wicking cute workout shirts? No. I then asked her how large her men's wear sizes go. 4X. She kept telling me the men's dept goes to 4x if I want to check there. Or, she suggested, go online.

    So I did. I went online. They have 3 shirts in womens wear above a size XL. In the men's shirt dept they have over 50 shirts right now.

    Where do you find workout wear for women with large chests? I don't want to order online. I want to go inside a store and try it on just like the skinny girls. I am feeling sad and overwhelmed. Very frustrated.
    Do you know how much one (not online) store would make selling plus size athletic wear? Even some of the skinny people don't like snug clothes. If that place ever existed it likely went out of business. You can be obese on the BMI scales and still be very thin if you keep active and weight train.

    With that being said there are no reasons to cry when you are headed in all the right directions. I use to know a couple of online stores but can't for the life of me remember anymore :( I use to work at Zellers long ago and know they use to sell some (the clearance racks use to be maggoty with them). It was usually mixed in with regular clearance as well as maternity clothes. I've seen the same type of things happen at Walmart so you may get lucky there as well. I'd suggest looking for another online store.
  • peacemongernc
    peacemongernc Posts: 253 Member
    I cried, happy tears, in the dressing room when I finally got to a size that I could wear "real" exercise stuff. It was particularly frustrating because the sizes for workout clothes are all over the place, but it all started to fit about the same time... I bought XLs, 2Xs and Larges from different companies, all fitting when I got the about 225. The most comfortable ones were the ones from Target, but even there, I tried 3 or 4 different styles, all from the same company, in the same size, and only one fit well. I found some at Kohls, too.

    Before I could get into those, I found some great cotton (t-shirt material) capris at Kmart, with matching t-shirts, in the plus size dept, and they worked great. I wore them OUT, but they were very comfortable for working out.

    I'm going shopping tomorrow to see if I can find a sports bra type top that fits. I'm down to 203, over 20 pounds from where I first got into the fitness clothes, and I think I still can't get into the sports bras... I'll see soon. They appear to be all made for A, B, and C cups, so even if they will go around me, they still won't fit.

    So, yeah, my chest is by far the hardest thing to get to fit into fitness clothes.
  • mommm65
    mommm65 Posts: 15 Member
    Wow. I had the exact SAME experience at Academy... it's so frustrating that my fitness goal is to fit into workout clothes. So, for the longest I just wore some men's gym shorts and tshirts. Until I discovered JC Penney's plus size fitness clothes, I really like the Xersion line. Especially, the compression capris with the zipper pocket above the butt. They are just perfect. And the shirts come in every color. Love Love. I'm not a big fan of the Old Navy line; even though they aren't bad either.

    Thank you! I will try to hit the JCPenny's this week and hopefully find something. Several people have also suggested Walmart so I will look there again in case I missed it before. I am just really tired of wearing the same old cotton t-shirts every.single.day.
  • CoraGregoryCPA
    CoraGregoryCPA Posts: 1,087 Member
    I like Target workout clothes.
  • maledoux
    maledoux Posts: 24 Member
    Yes! Plus, the cotton tshirts hold the sweat more noticeably... not so cute when working out around others. Plus, fun workout clothes help with the overall experience! Keep it up, woman!
  • peacemongernc
    peacemongernc Posts: 253 Member
    I'm sure you probably already know this, but don't buy anything without trying it on. The plus sized Under Armour is cute, but runs really small! Walmart does have a big selection, but the stores around here tend to only have one style in the largest sizes, BUT if you can determine your size by trying some stuff on while you are there, you can order that size in the style that you want and have it shipped to the store. You can try it on before you leave the store with it and return it before you go home if it doesn't work.
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
    I had the same problem when I started my journey! I ended up finding just what I need at Wal-Mart. They have Danskin workout clothes up to a 3X. They carry the moisture-wicking tops too. As much as love the comfy clothes to workout in, it's my socks that i couldn't do without. I was spending a lot of money buying Thorlo brand socks and I liked them but I recently bought a three pack of New Balance socks at Academy Sports and I love them even more and I got all three pair for the price of one pair of Thorlo. They have cushioning and are moisture-wicking. Don't forget to take care of your feet! Good luck on your journey!

    target has fantastic socks! I have switched to their compression socks...and they are not expensive.

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