To not toot our personal horn, however we all know a factor or two about one of the best train leggings right here at SELF—in truth, we acknowledge a choose few of them yearly throughout our Activewear Awards. Whereas it might sound dramatic, we expect a high-quality pair of leggings could make all of the distinction in how your day goes. (In the event you’ve ever tried lifting weights or having fun with a vinyasa circulate whereas carrying leggings that slip down, pinch, or pull in all of the mistaken locations, this to be true.)
With that in thoughts, we curated a listing of nice train leggings for all types of actions, chosen from tons of pairs we’ve examined and had beneficial to us by consultants over time.
Our high picks
- Greatest General: Athleta Salutation Stash Tight
- Greatest Finances: Previous Navy Excessive-Waisted PowerSoft Leggings
- Greatest for Yoga: Lululemon Align Excessive-Rise Pant
- Greatest for Working: Tracksmith NDO Tights
- Greatest for Fitness center Exercises: Reebok Lux Excessive-Rise Leggings
- Greatest for On a regular basis Put on: Spanx Booty Increase Energetic 7/8 Leggings
On this article
What to search for when purchasing for train leggings
In the event you’re able to replace your leggings assortment, listed here are a couple of ideas we suggest preserving in thoughts as you store.
Excessive-impact actions, like working, and gentler actions, like stretching, name for several types of leggings. For the previous, it’s your decision a pair that’s thicker, extra compressive, and sweatproof. In the meantime, you’ll in all probability choose softer, lighter-weight leggings for yoga, Pilates, and different lower-intensity exercises.
Leggings are available a variety of lengths, from full-length (which means they go all the best way to the underside of your ankle) to 7/8 (which hit round or simply above the ankle) to capri (which often cease on the center of your calf). When unsure, measure your inseam size—the space out of your crotch to the spot in your leg or ankle the place you need the leggings to hit—and have your quantity helpful when you browse.
Any leggings ought to have a great quantity of spandex, Lycra, elastane, or different stretchy materials to make sure they match near your physique with out limiting your motion. Past that, search for pairs made with moisture-wicking, breathable, squat-proof, additional gentle, or chilly weather-ready supplies. As talked about above, your go-to exercises may assist you decide which materials will work greatest.
That is extra a private desire than anything, nevertheless it’s nonetheless essential to verify how excessive the waistband goes on a brand new pair of leggings, particularly if protection and help are key for you. You will discover low-, medium-, and high-rise choices, however high-rise is the commonest.
Don’t overlook nice-to-have parts like a drawstring, well-placed pockets, and breathable mesh panels. Relying on what you want, these add-ons can flip a stable pair of leggings into an distinctive one.
FAQs about purchasing for train leggings
Ought to I measurement up or down in leggings?
In the event you’re between sizes, you need to often measurement down in leggings. Since they’re sometimes fabricated from stretchy materials, they need to broaden to suit you, they usually are likely to get looser over time, so beginning with a tighter pair is often higher. (In any case, leggings are supposed to be comfortable—and also you don’t need them to be falling down as you’re employed out.) That being mentioned, in case you’re contemplating an excellent compressive pair of leggings, you may wish to measurement up, because the cloth will match tighter and should really feel too restrictive in a smaller measurement.
Why do my leggings roll down on the waist?
Leggings which are too massive, have misplaced their elasticity, or are lower-rise could also be extra prone to roll down. So, if this can be a frequent concern for you, search for kinds which are high-waisted, with a thick, compressive waistband and a drawstring.
Then again, typically tremendous high-waisted kinds can roll down to fulfill the indent of your pure waist. Ideally, the highest of your leggings’ waistband will hit you proper at your pure waist or solely barely above. While you strive them on, leap round, bend, and stretch in your leggings to verify they’ll keep put.
Store one of the best train leggings
Whether or not you’re a runner, a yoga fanatic, a hiker, a die exhausting lounger, or the entire above, a superb new pair of leggings awaits you beneath.
Greatest General: Athleta Salutation Stash Tight
- Extraordinarily snug and versatile
- Breathable cloth
- Sturdy
- Subsequent to none—virtually excellent
Wherever your day takes you, you’ll be ready in Athleta’s best-selling Salutation Stash Excessive Rise Legging. It’s one of many model’s hottest leggings for its splendidly deep pockets (that someway don’t add a ton of bulk); extensive, cozy waistband; and thick cloth.
Unimaginable sturdiness was another excuse we named the Salutation Stash the Greatest Leggings for Fairly A lot Something in our 2024 Activewear Awards—one in every of our judges was assured that these can final for years of wear and tear. “These are my every thing leggings,” they wrote. “I’ve been shopping for the Stash from Athleta for years, they usually maintain up. I train barre, raise weights, hike trails, and browse the aisles of Dealer Joe’s in them always.”
Sizes: XXS to 3XL | Lengths: Petite, common, and tall | Supplies: Nylon, Lycra, recycled polyester, elastane, polyester (relying on the colour)
Greatest Finances: Previous Navy Excessive-Waisted PowerSoft Leggings
- Nice worth
- Excellent for high-sweat actions
- Received’t present sweat
- Some reviewers word the material may very well be thicker
These Previous Navy leggings have been our readers’ choose for this yr’s Activewear Awards—and, wow, did they’ve rather a lot to say: “I actually have 25 pairs, they usually’re the one bottoms I’ll do races in. The facet pockets are so nice, I don’t even have to put on working belts throughout my coaching runs to maintain my cellphone, gum, and keys helpful,” one defined.
One other reader shouted out their value level, sturdiness, compression stage, and, maybe most significantly, sweat resistance: “I put on them for my lengthy runs on the treadmill, they usually don’t present sweat stains.”
Sizes: XS to 4X | Lengths: Petite, common, and tall | Supplies: Polyester, spandex
Greatest for Yoga: Lululemon Align Excessive-Rise Pant
- Extraordinarily gentle and stretchy
- Big selection of coloration choices
Arguably the most-loved Lulu bottoms throughout the board, the Aligns belong within the dictionary beneath “yoga leggings.” Additional gentle and non-constricting, they’re designed to really feel like a second pores and skin that strikes with you as you stretch, bend, and circulate.
“It really doesn’t really feel such as you’re carrying pants, they usually by no means trigger chafing,” wrote one 2024 Activewear Awards choose. Whereas they’re mainly supreme for yoga, our judges and one SoulCycle teacher additionally beneficial the Align leggings for indoor biking and easily carrying round the home.
Sizes: 0 to twenty | Lengths: 23, 25, 28, and 31 inches | Supplies: Nylon, Lycra elastane
Greatest for Working: Tracksmith NDO Tights
- A lot of pockets
- Adjustable match
- Reflective particulars
- Moisture-wicking
- Not tremendous compressive
- Expensive
Each distance runner is aware of that pockets are every thing, and this pair packs lots. With two giant, envelope-style pockets and a 3rd, zippered one behind the waistband, you gained’t must put on a working belt on longer loops.
These high-waisted leggings are created from a double-sided cloth that’ll hold you heat on chilly mornings or evenings—plus, they’ve a drawstring, so you’ll be able to regulate the match (which means they’ll nonetheless really feel good after the post-gel bloat). Zippers on the ankles additionally make them straightforward to get off if you’re sweaty.
Sizes: XS to L | Lengths: Common | Supplies: Lycra, polyester, nylon, polyamide, elastane Lycra, polyurethane
Greatest for Fitness center Exercises: Reebok Lux Excessive-Rise Leggings
- Comparatively inexpensive for the standard
- Compressive, supportive match and really feel
- Additional high-rise waistband
- Some might discover the compression too sturdy
In the event you’re searching for workhorse leggings that’ll sustain with you thru HIIT lessons, lifting classes, and cardio exercises, you want a pair of supportive, ultra-high-waisted Reebok Luxes, which gained a 2023 Activewear Award for his or her reliability and flexibility.
“Typically full-length leggings look ‘bunchy’ on the ankles, however these have been excellent,” one SELF tester wrote. “The excessive waistband is extraordinarily snug and flattering. They’re completely squat-proof as nicely. I felt very assured, and I used to be capable of full all exercises with out having to tug them up or regulate them in any respect (even throughout a sweaty vinyasa yoga class).”
Sizes: XXS to XL | Lengths: Brief, common | Supplies: Nylon, elastane
Greatest for On a regular basis Put on: Spanx Booty Increase Energetic 7/8 Leggings
- Thick and a bit compressive
- Sweat-resistant
- Comfortable, flattering match
- Could run small, in accordance with reviewers
A two-time Activewear Award winner in 2021 and 2022, Spanx’s Booty Increase Energetic leggings are about as dependable as leggings get (and win bonus factors for his or her extremely flattering match). “These are perfection,” wrote one tester, who wears a measurement 2X. “They didn’t transfer. The leggings are high-waist and canopy my total tummy as a plus-size girl. The place have these leggings been all my life?”
One other SELF tester raved about their versatility: “I might put on these leggings to the workplace and nobody would know that they’re for exercises.” They match like a glove and look nice even after hours of wear and tear, making the Booty Increase Energetic our high choose for all-day put on (no contest!).
Sizes: XS to 3XL | Lengths: 25 inches | Supplies: Nylon, elastane
Greatest Compression Leggings: SuperFit Hero SuperHold Pocket 7/8 Leggings
- Extraordinarily supportive
- Thick, opaque cloth
- Huge measurement vary
- Have a tendency to draw lint and pet hair, in accordance with reviewers
At this level, it’s an odd yr when SuperFit Hero’s extremely compressive, squat-test-passing SuperHold pocket leggings don’t win an Activewear Award (their earliest look was in 2019). All through the years, they’ve wowed our testers with their extraordinarily safe match, inclusive measurement vary, and general nice look (an influencer who examined a pair in 2022 mentioned the SuperHolds have been their go-to leggings for on-camera work).
“The leggings undoubtedly did every thing they have been imagined to do,” one 2023 tester wrote. “They have been supportive, snug, cute, and helped me keep dry after I was actually sweaty. I particularly appreciated how the waistband stayed in place, and general I didn’t have to regulate something throughout my exercises.”
Sizes: L to 7X | Lengths: 29 inches | Supplies: Polyester, spandex
Greatest for Lounging: Past Yoga Spacedye Caught In The Midi Excessive Waisted Legging
- Very gentle
- Tons of coloration choices
- No outdoors seam
- Material has four-way stretch that strikes with you
- Inseam could also be too brief on some individuals
When you could have an extended day of nothing deliberate, a supremely cozy pair of leggings makes for an amazing uniform. Those that come to thoughts for us are simply Past Yoga’s tremendous gentle, clean Spacedye tights.
“These leggings undoubtedly lived as much as my expectations,” wrote one 2023 Activewear Awards tester. “I discovered myself reaching for them many times, since they have been so snug, cute, and I didn’t must fiddle with them whereas educating or working towards yoga.” In 2024, we additionally gave a nod to the Out of Pocket model of those leggings, that are simply as cuddly however function two drop-in facet pockets too.
Sizes: XXS to 4X | Lengths: 24 inches | Supplies: Polyester, elastane
Greatest for Chilly Climate: Baleaf Fleece-Lined Winter Leggings
- Lined for heat, but breathable
- Finances-friendly
- A lot of colours to select from
- Could bunch on the ankles, in accordance with reviewers
In the event you courageous icy temps within the identify of your exercise (or commute), you want a pair of Baleaf’s refreshingly inexpensive fleece-lined leggings. “The wind doesn’t pierce by way of them like a variety of different leggings. They’re additionally sweat-wicking, so they’re nice for understanding,” Lindsey Quebedeaux, a monitor and cross-country coach, runner, and walker from New Braunfels, Texas, beforehand advised SELF.
They’re out there in a number of kinds: The one-pocket model has a mid-rise waist; the three-pocket is high-rise; and the water resistant model has an extra-high waist that ought to come in useful when it’s chilly and moist outdoors.
Sizes: XS to 3XL | Lengths: 27-28 inches (relying on the scale) | Supplies: Polyester, spandex
Greatest for Climbing: Out of doors Analysis Advert-Vantage Leggings
- Very sturdy
- Stretchy
- UPF 30 helps shield your pores and skin from the solar’s rays
- Too light-weight for climbing in chilly climate
- Restricted coloration choices
Hikers ask a variety of their leggings: They need to be straightforward to maneuver in, however they’ll’t rip or snag when the path will get tough. Few pairs strike a stability between stretchy and hard fairly just like the Advert-Vantage from Out of doors Analysis.
Made with mountain climbing in thoughts, they’re abrasion-resistant by way of the knees and hips and supply full vary of movement. As our 2023 Activewear Awards tester put it, “I’m able to transfer at any angle in these they usually keep in place. I additionally really feel like they’re excellent for journey as a result of they’re sturdy, light-weight, and have some compression.”
Sizes: XS to XXL | Lengths: 25 inches | Supplies: Nylon, Lycra
Greatest Colour and Sample Choices: Sweaty Betty Energy Exercise Leggings
- Giant collection of shapes and sizes
- Has two pockets
- Sweat-wicking cloth
- Adjustable drawstring contained in the waistband
These are an all-around glorious pair of leggings, and you’ll’t beat the choices in terms of colours and patterns—there are 28(!) to select from. These stretchy tights are nice for just about any exercise, with a big facet pocket, a again zippered pocket, and an adjustable inside drawstring. Sweaty Betty is beloved for his or her vibrant patterns, so in case you’re searching for a very distinctive set, this model is the one to buy.
Sizes: XXS to XXL | Lengths: ⅞, full-length | Supplies: Polyamide, elastane
Greatest Dimension Vary: Girlfriend Collective Luxe Legging
- Tender and compressive
- Has three pockets
- Moisture-wicking
- Big selection of sizes
- Heavy cloth isn’t one of the best for warm exercises
These high-waisted leggings are thick and compressive—excellent for anybody who likes their tights to really feel like a robust hug. With a refined sheen, these would work equally nicely for a gymnasium day or a cute errands outfit. They’ve three small pockets (two on the entrance waistband and one on the again) and are made with cozy, peach-fuzz-like cloth.
Sizes: XXS to 6XL | Lengths: 23.75 inches, 28.5 inches | Supplies: Recycled plastic bottles (RPET), spandex
Greatest for HIIT: Vuori Every day Legging
- Keep-put waistband
- Exceptionally snug
- Adjustable drawstring outdoors the waistband
- 4-way stretch strikes with you
- No pockets
- Not tremendous compressive
- ⅞ size could also be too brief for tall individuals
In the event you really feel like your tights by no means keep in place, you’ll want to strive Vuori’s Every day Legging. One SELF author swears by it for working, HIIT exercises, or actually any train that’ll have you ever bouncing round.
“The tremendous excessive, extensive, segmented waistband and drawstring combo actually helps them keep put and never roll down, it doesn’t matter what I’m doing. I by no means have to tug these up and regulate them throughout exercises, which makes me attain for them time and again,” she says. They’re reduce to a ⅞ size, in order that they’re excellent for anybody on the shorter facet who hates when their full-length leggings bunch up. The thick cloth makes them supreme for sweaty exercises, and, per our author, they’re extremely gentle and flattering.
Sizes: XXS to XXL | Lengths: brief, common, lengthy | Supplies: Polyester, elastane
Greatest with Pockets: Nike Go Agency-Assist Excessive-Waisted ⅞ Leggings
- Supportive, hold-you-in really feel
- Six pockets
- Additional-wide waistband
- ⅞ size might not work for tall people
In the event you’ve bought stuff to carry, these leggings have the space for storing you want. Nike’s Go tights have two angled facet pockets alongside the thighs, three drop-in pockets alongside the again waistband, and a zipper pocket on the thigh, so you’ll be able to simply pack your cellphone, gels, headphone case, lip balm, keys, and playing cards. Compressive and supportive, with an extra-wide waistband, these will sustain with you as you run, squat, and hike.
Sizes: XS to XXL | Lengths: Common | Supplies: Nylon, spandex
Most Stretchy: Gymshark Important Seamless 2.0 Leggings
- Snug
- Seamless across the waist
- Moisture-wicking cloth
- A lot of colours to select from
- Not compressive
- No pockets
Gymshark’s Important Seamless 2.0 leggings will transfer with you all day lengthy, with a large, ribbed, seamless waistband and stretchy, safe cloth that’s shaded to contour your physique. Moisture-wicking nylon makes them a stable choose for sweaty conditioning classes too.
Sizes: XS to XXL | Lengths: Common | Supplies: Nylon, elastane
Greatest Splurge: LNDR Limitless Pocket ⅞ Legging
- Tremendous light-weight
- Sweat-wicking cloth
- Has two waistband pockets
- Mild compression
- Some reviewers say they’re not thick or opaque sufficient
- Restricted measurement vary
This pair from LNDR is ideal for anybody who doesn’t like cumbersome facet pockets, however needs extra space for storing than a zippered again pocket. The drop-in pockets on these are uniquely positioned excessive on the waistband, so you’ll be able to simply cowl them with a shirt or tank.
These leggings are additionally very smoothing and light-weight, in order that they’ll really feel notably good in scorching settings. “These are my favourite leggings of all time,” wrote one LNDR buyer. “They’re tight in all the precise locations and tremendous snug.”
Sizes: XS to XL | Lengths: 8/8 (full-length), ⅞, 6/8 (capri) | Supplies: Polyamide, elastane
How SELF exams and selects train leggings
For SELF’s Activewear Awards, we faucet staffers, on a regular basis exercisers, and consultants of all stripes (together with hikers, marathon runners, weight lifting trainers, and health coaches) to check dozens of leggings. They put their gear by way of the wringer, sweating, shifting, and dwelling of their attire for weeks all through the testing interval, then use our official Activewear Shopping for Information to find out which gadgets have been really one of the best. You may relaxation assured that the leggings that made the reduce have been road-tested to the fullest.
Once we search for suggestions outdoors of our yearly awards, we ask trusted health consultants within the area for his or her absolute favorites. Whereas a flashy new pair that they’re enthusiastic about is all the time of curiosity, we wish to know which leggings they arrive again to time after time—these are those we function.
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