Hey guys!

Winter is coming and that means cardio can get kind of hard to do if you don't have a treadmill, resistance trainer for your bike, work out bike, or the discipline to go jogging in the freezing cold. So that brings a lot of us to either not work out or purchase a gym membership!!

I've wanted a gym membership for a while now. I've come to realize I'm not much of a body weight training guy. I don't feel like I'm doing a substantial amount of work with just my body weight. I've got the TRX straps and the pull up bar and I do the push ups but it's just my preference I guess.

So that's why I'm coming to you guys! What do you guys wear over your torsos? I haven't had top surgery yet so that's why I'm askin! I know it's dangerous to bind while doing any sort of exercise so I need something that's baggy enough I guess :^y!! Is there a safe way to bind at the gym?

Let me know what you guys wear! I need some ideas :^)!

I usually do the treadmill at my own house, but being pre-op I usually find under armor shirts that are a size larger and they work great. You could even wear a smaller one under regular workout clothes. I've found black shirts really good at hiding my chest when I'm not binding )


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I couldn't bind and do my training at the same time so I just layered sports bras and wore baggy t-shirts.

Just to throw this out there, athletic shirts I find to be rather unforgiving because they have a bit of shine to them that gives a high contrast of highlights and shadows. The nature of the fabric as well doesn't hide bumps well either... I mean I can wear a cotton T and no binder strap will be visible at all. I put on the athletic T and BAM in yo face.  But yeah, I tended to avoid getting my breathing up too heavy while at the gym and wore a loose binder. So I do cardio in other ways at home indoors. Well, did... I've let things go a bit.

I sometimes wear a looser binder while exercising, but you have to be careful. I found my underworks felt really restrictive and made it hard to actually work out to my limits. I would only use it when I was working out with my team (men), and not when I went to the gym by myself. GC2B ones feel much less restrictive, like not at all for me. That being said, we all know we're not supposed to bind during exercise, and if it's not critical (like outing yourself to a group that otherwise doesn't know or in order to participate in men's sports) there are other ways I deal just for myself.

I second cotton shirts in place of synthetics. If you want wicking, layer a tight synthetic shirt under your cotton shirt. Thicker and rougher cottons tend to hang more straight than thin or soft organic cotton. In the winter, I would keep my hoodie on until I got to the cardio machines, and then put it right on afterwards before stretching and leave it on for weight lifting. My gym can get pretty hot so it bothered me sometimes, and I considered whether I'd be willing to cut the sleeves off and look goofy. But it made me much more comfortable.

I also suggest having a plan for dealing with locker rooms, or how to avoid them. It doesn't have to be a big deal, but it's better to think about it before it happens, I didn't.

I throw on a sports bra and just deal with it. There isn't much I can do since I have heavy cardio and lifting in a lot of my routines. So wearing a binder is a bad idea. I don't pass so it hasn't been a problem. Yet. I'm one month on testosterone so I'll have to gauge how awkward things get later down the road.

Most people at my gym don't even bother looking at me. I just put on my headphones and tune everyone out. That helps somewhat.

Besides the sports bra, the clothes themselves are usually gym shorts and plain white cotton T-shirts.

On a side note. If you need more motivation or stricter routines I use Fitness Blender for at home body weight and cardio: https://www.fitnessblender.com/

I know you shouldn't, but I bind while working out. Worst case scenario, I feel sick and have to stop (which, even without a binder, happens to me a lot anyway). Best case, the binder helps me sweat more from my chest. I have a binder one size too big, so it's not as dangerous. Unfortunately, since it's a half binder and it's a little big (by binder standards), the bottom sticks out under my chest, which is visible under my grey gym shirt. :/

I used to wear a sports bra with a neoprene belt under it sometimes (my shoulders are too big to fit sports bras that would conceal anything), but the binder works much better. It hinders me about as much as wearing a sports bra by itself, so I'd rather look and feel more comfortable.

Once I get top surgery, I'll have a whole new world opened up to me in the way of working out. I often can't breathe if I do cardio first and then try to do an exercise where I need to raise my arms above my head. So once I lose the binder, I'm hoping I can push myself much harder and workout however I want. But I also have a lot of health problems, and no matter how fit I am, I get winded going up 2 flights of stairs. So who knows, I might not really see too much improvement in my workouts without a binder.

I'm in a similar position, planning on joining a gym in a few weeks when I get back to University- I plan on wearing a very old, stretched out binder or a very large hoodie whilst I work out. It's usually not a good idea to wear thick clothes when working out because it can cause you to overheat very quickly, but I have a pretty strong resistance to heat.

If I wasn't working out at home, I would either wear a sports bra and a baggy shirt or get like two Under Armour compression shirts and wear those over my sports bra, also along with a slightly baggy shirt.

Just wear a sports bra and a hoodie. Sure you'll sweat more, but you're there to work out, you're going to sweat anyways. I definitely do not recommend wearing a binder while working out.

I would just layer 2 sports bras, a tanktop, and a t-shirt. That seemed to do the trick well enough. I also liked going in the winter because I could wear a sweatshirt over top on the way in and just never take it off. Kind of brutal during cardio, but not so bad that I wouldn't do it again.

100% do not recommend wearing any kind of binder while you're doing cardio. If you were lifting, sure. But not cardio.

Quote from: ftmax on September 19, 2015, 03:48:10 PM
100% do not recommend wearing any kind of binder while you're doing cardio. If you were lifting, sure. But not cardio.

I honestly find it much easier wearing my binder for cardio than lifting. Lifting involves a lot of muscles in addition to good breathing. Idk. Lifting in a binder makes me feel like I can't breathe and might pass out. Cardio is a lot easier.

Maybe because when I'm lifting I'm taking bigger breaths at a time, while with cardio I can steadily take smaller breaths.

Quote from: Muscle Matt on September 20, 2015, 09:49:31 AM
I honestly find it much easier wearing my binder for cardio than lifting. Lifting involves a lot of muscles in addition to good breathing. Idk. Lifting in a binder makes me feel like I can't breathe and might pass out. Cardio is a lot easier.

Maybe because when I'm lifting I'm taking bigger breaths at a time, while with cardio I can steadily take smaller breaths.

Honestly, you shouldn't really be wearing it for either. But I know some people won't heed that advice and will continue to workout in a binder. Of the activities that people do in the gym, lifting is the lesser of two evils if you insist on binding.

My feeling remains that if you're having issues breathing at any point, the binder needs to not be worn. Either it's not sized correctly to allow the full expansion of your lungs, or you're putting too much effort into the workout and the combination of exertion with reduced lung capacity is causing you to be unable to breathe.

The sports bra method works the best in these kind of situations seeing as it makes sure you are still able to breathe. I've never worked out in a binder though so I'm not sure the best solution.