Women's Leggings (Activewear)

A training legging is graded on three things. Whether the fabric stays opaque while stretched over a deep squat, whether the waistband holds its position without being hauled up, and whether the seams lie flat enough that a long session leaves no raw line on your inner thigh. Print, pocket and length are preference.

Density buys the first of those. A knit carrying 20 to 25 percent elastane with real weight behind it stays solid at full stretch. A light one opens into visible gaps exactly where the fabric is pulled hardest. Waistband depth handles the second, since 3 to 4 inches of band sits above the hip and stays there where a narrow band folds over on the first squat. Seams handle the third, and flatlock construction, where two edges are butted and stitched level instead of folded into a ridge, is the version that does not chafe. A gusset, the diamond panel set into the crotch, keeps four seams from meeting at one point and is the difference between a pair that splits and one that does not.

Everyday leggings, listed with pants, are built for warmth and line rather than sweat, and cotton-heavy versions bag at the knee within hours of training. Biker shorts use the same fabric family and stop at mid-thigh, which suits heat and does nothing for cold legs. Running shorts hang loose with a liner and ventilate instead of compressing. Compared with a matching set, buying leggings alone lets you pick the bottom on fit and the bra on impact rating, which is the more precise route.

Almost any indoor training suits them, along with cold outdoor sessions where a loose short would leave the knee exposed. Compression versions steady the muscle and hold warmth, welcome in January and stifling in July. Pale colors punish thin fabric, so buy black at the cheaper end of the market. Anyone who overheats should take a lighter knit or a seven-eighths length rather than full length.

Drop into a full squat facing a mirror in daylight and watch the seat, since that is the one angle nothing else will show you. Pull the waistband away from your body and let it snap back, because slow recovery now means a band that rolls by spring. Run a thumb up the inner leg seam, feeling for a ridge before your skin finds it at mile three. Wash cold soon after training instead of leaving them balled in a bag, leave out fabric softener, whose coating blocks the fabric from moving sweat, and air dry, since one hot cycle undoes more stretch than a month of squats.