The Top Workout Leggings You Need to Try

Workout leggings are no longer just for working out as you know. People now wear “athleisure” for running errands, going to their children’s sports games and practices, meeting a friend for coffee and so on. It’s practically the weekend wardrobe for many {and even weekday for those who are stay at home moms or dads or work from home}. The fashion industry picked up on this as it started to happen a few years back, and now practically ever brand out there makes workout or athleisure leggings. So how do you pick?

Since I worked for Life Time Athletic as the Director of Kids {running all of the kids business & programming} where I was able to wear workout leggings numerous days a week and then worked for the high-end fitness wear company lululemon, I have a lot of insight into workout wear. I also have been an avid fitness fan ever since I was young playing sports, and I truly enjoy shopping for workout gear. So I wanted to share a few of my favorite pairs of leggings after years of trying out different kinds, and being pretty picky about what I’ll wear lol.

Best Comfy & Versatile Legging {and for pre- & post- baby mamas!}

I’ll start with my favorite pair of leggings for pretty much everything. These pants I wear for travel, for lounging, for running errands, and for almost every workout. They are the softest ever and soo comfortable. They feel like butter! You know when you just don’t feel like going through the effort of pulling on a super tight pair of workout pants {like every day for me lol}? These are perfect because they are so stretchy that they are so much easier to slip on and then they hug and are very slimming in my opinion because the fabric is thinner than most workout pants. However, I will say that the waist area does not have as much compression as some other leggings because of this so you don’t feel quite as held in as the others I’ll list. This does make them great for anyone who is pregnant or for post-pregnancy though!

I will wear these for yoga {hot or regular}, barre, cardio, and even strength training workouts or classes. I wouldn’t wear them for running or cycling though as the fabric doesn’t have the compression for running and the rubbing of the thighs on the seat during cycling wouldn’t be great for this thinner material. Overall though, I own so many pairs of these pants because I found that they were the ones I was almost always pulling out of my closet and it just made sense to invest in these rather than others I wasn’t wearing as much.

They come in a ton of colors and are always coming out with more, and they recently started making a longer length which is perfect for tall chicas like me! The originals {linked here} are technically more of a 7/8 length, but are full length if you are on the shorter side. The great thing about lululemon though is that they offer free tailoring on any of their products, pants, tops, you name it! So if you want a different length, you can customize them however you’d like!

For reference, since lululemon sizing is a bit different. I wear either a 4 or 6 depending on the pant. In these pants, I wear a 4.

Best Workout & Slimming Legging

This next pair is my favorite overall workout legging because they are a great technical fabric for sweaty pursuits, provide the perfect amount of compression, and make your legs look so slim and toned. {**Use code BECCAKAE50 for 20% off your entire first purchase from Carbon38!**} Every time I wear these leggings in any color, I get sooo many people coming up to me asking what leggings they are. And pretty much all of those people come back to me after buying them and telling me how much they love them!

They are called “airbrush lift” which is just the best way to describe them because they make your legs look airbrushed and they really lift everything. I love the sheen of all of the colors as well because it makes them look a little more glam too. I don’t know about you, but when I feel really good in my workout clothes, I want to wear them more and show them off at the gym lol. It’s really motivating to me so it’s worth the investment in a great pair {or two} of leggings I feel super confident in. They also recently released a new “shine” collection so linking those ones here, can’t wait to try these!

Best Fun & Flattering Legging

There are a lot of leggings that have come out with a similar shiny, shimmery look to these, and I’ve tried a few of the others on, but none of them feel as great and look as flattering as these ones. They are so fun, and because they are shimmery, it tricks the eye again like the airbrush ones above and makes your legs look slimmer and more toned. Which again, makes me feel great and makes me want to workout more!

What I really like about these is that they are also easy to pull on like the first pair above because the leg fabric is really stretchy & not too thin, so they don’t break your nails trying to tug them on. But, unlike the first ones, the waistband of these is made with a compressive inner layer that holds the tummy in and makes it look really flat. I’ll note, I’m 5’10” so I only wear high waisted leggings of any kind because they not only are the most flattering on me, but also because they stay up and don’t fall down. So I’m describing the high waisted version here, but these also come in a regular rise if you prefer that so I’ll link the regular rise here. I also just noticed that they come in a 7/8 length so linking those ones here! These come in a variety of fun shimmery colors too!

**REMEMBER: Use code BECCAKAE50 for 20% off your entire first purchase from Carbon38!**

Best Technical & Shaping Legging

Lastly, for any workout that is more technical in nature like running or high intensity and impact training, these are my go to. Their name is “All the Right Places” and lululemon did a really good job of making them accentuate all the right places lol. I swear, I don’t know how they did it, but these really lift your butt and make everything look more toned. I feel so confident & strong in these leggings!

They are a higher rise, but not quite as high as the other 3 listed here and come in a number of colors. They also have little pockets in the side should you need to stash anything small while running or working out outside. I wear a size 6 in these pants typically.

Didn’t have any photos of myself in these pants yet, so snapped this from lululemon’s site to show you! 🙂

I hope you give some of these leggings a try & see how amazing they make you feel!