Why You Can Trust CNET The best cheap workout clothes that are just as good as Nike, Lululemon and more
This holiday season, spoil someone with nice athleisure (and still have money to give other people gifts).
Inexpensive but high-quality workout clothes are available if you know where to look.
"Dupes" are common among beauty products like facial cleansers, hair dryers and makeup -- they're high-quality products from lesser-known (or less expensive) brands. It's like buying the generic Crisp Berry Crunch cereal instead of Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries. But when you're on the hunt for a good value, brand status doesn't matter.
And we're all on the hunt for a good value during the holidays. If you have a bunch of fitness enthusiasts as friends, you're in luck: There are plenty of fantastic dupes in the world of athleisure. As fitness and wellness continue to grow, more and more people are looking for high-quality activewear that fits well. More and more people are also realizing how ridiculous it is to drop $100 or more on a pair of workout pants or leggings, and truth be told, holiday gift budgets don't always allow for that.
As someone who's been trying and buying workout clothes for a long time (coming up on 10 years since I started working out consistently), I have a pretty good idea about which brands are worth looking at and which ones aren't. Here, I detail the brands that have become my go-tos over the last decade and exactly which types of apparel they're good for.
Read more: The best sports bras to buy in 2020
Price range: $20 to $40 per item
Stocks: Women's clothes only
What to get: Leggings, sports bras, shorts, crop tops
Senita Athletics is a newer workout clothes brand. In fact, I just found out about Senita Athletics a couple of months ago, but I've been blown away by every piece of clothing I've ordered. The digital-only storefront stocks leggings, sports bras, shorts, T-shirts, tank tops, crop tops and swimwear for women.
I can speak mostly to the leggings and shorts. It's an intense struggle for me to find workout shorts and leggings that fit my legs and my waist, and this struggle has ended in a lot of dressing room exasperation. Senita Athletics has pretty much solved that problem for me: Every pair of Senita shorts I own fits comfortably on my legs and waist and doesn't make me feel like a busted can of biscuits.
If I had to recommend Senita Athletics to one group of people, it would be people who have curvier figures and have trouble finding pants, shorts and leggings that fit comfortably.
Price range: $10 to $50 per item
Stocks: Men's and women's clothes
What to get: Leggings and pants, tops, sports bras, shorts (men)
Target has phased out its previously popular partnership line with Champion and replaced it with its own native activewear line called All In Motion. I was skeptical at first because I loved the Champion C9 line, but most of the All In Motion pieces I own have performed fantastically.
I highly recommend the sports bras from this line, but proceed with caution when it comes to leggings. All In Motion offers several styles of leggings and they've been hit or miss for me. While I have no problem encouraging people to order sports bras or tops from All In Motion online, you may want to offer a gift card if your fit friend wants leggings or pants.
I also wasn't a fan of their shorts because of the busted-can-of-biscuits problem above, but for people who have thinner legs, I say go for it.
All In Motion also has an extensive menswear collection, too. Although I can't speak to the fit of the men's clothes, I would imagine that the fabric quality is just as good as the women's.
Price range: $10 to $30 per item
Stocks: Men's and women's clothes
What to get: Basics like T-shirts and tank tops, leggings
Old Navy is known for its inexpensive but decent quality everyday wear. The retailer's activewear selection upholds those same values. I love Old Navy for basic clothes that I may or may not wear as actual workout clothes.
For example, I have these knit joggers that I wear just for lounging around the house. I also have these high-waisted leggings that are great for cross-training or high-intensity interval training workouts.
For men, Old Navy has a large selection of T-shirts, tank tops, sweatpants, shorts and underwear, as well as sport-specific clothing like golf shirts and slacks.
Price range: $10 to $50 per item
Stocks: Men's and women's clothes
What to get: Base layers, socks, underwear
Champion, a long-standing brand that has partnered with various retailers on apparel lines (like the phased-out Target C9 I mentioned earlier), also has its own native line of clothes and is a great brand to shop for base layers and basics.
Base layers are worn under other clothes when exercising outdoors in the cold, but can also be used as loungewear. Champion has a great selection of base layers for men and women, with prices as low as $12 for some items. As for socks, all of my favorite workout socks are from Champion. I especially love this trio of crew socks. Champion periodically releases limited collections with great fits. The recently released workout collection includes new biker shorts cropped pullovers, signaling that Champion is always at the forefront of athleticwear trends.
Some of Champion's other items can be on the pricey side -- around $50 for a pair of leggings, for example -- but still don't match the high prices of big name brands.
Price range: $15 to $30 per item
Stocks: Men's and women's clothes
What to get: Tank tops, T-shirts, leggings
When I talk about Gap activewear, I don't mean Athleta, which is Gap's recently acquired luxury line of athleisure for women. I'm talking about GapFit, the inexpensive line of activewear you can find in Gap stores.
I've never been particularly impressed by GapFit's selection of shorts for women, but they do have a pretty wide selection of leggings. For the most part, all GapFit leggings I've owned have fit well, although some tend to slip and slide during intense workouts. They also have plenty of workout tanks and T-shirts in the $15-$20 range.
It seems that the men's activewear collection isn't as robust as the women's but that's not to say you won't come across some great finds.
Price range: About $20 to $40 per item (£15 to £30)
Stocks: Women's clothes only
What to get: Leggings, sports bras, crop tops
FlexxFit, a UK-based activewear brand, creates fashion-forward activewear -- much of which verges on loungewear -- for women. The company ships internationally and offers mainly leggings and sports bras.
I find FlexxFit workout clothes to have incredibly soft fabrics, which is awesome for comfort, but not always awesome when actually working out because they slip around until you get so sweaty that the fabric actually sticks to you. I also find that FlexxFit sports bras aren't supportive enough for high-impact activities like running -- because of those reasons, I've designated my FlexxFit clothes to activities like walking and biking.
I'm not at all saying that FlexxFit clothes aren't worth buying, but I am saying to choose your activities wisely. If you like butter-soft activewear for walking or relaxing, FlexxFit is a great option, but I'd go with another brand, such as All In Motion, Senita Athletics or DoYouEven (below), for intense workouts.
Price range: $20 to $60 per item
Stocks: Men's and women's clothes
What to get: Pants, shorts, shirts, outerwear, leggings, sports bras
DoYouEven is not the least expensive brand on this list, but the average prices still fall below the likes of CNET_TAG: Nike | Score: 285
My experience with this brand is that the fabrics are extremely stretchy and stay put during compound movements such as squats, lunges and deadlifts. They also hold up well in the wash; my DoYouEven leggings and sports bras don't show any signs of loose threads or tears even after a year.
In my opinion, DoYouEven clothes are worth the small premium compared to brands like Old Navy, Gap, Champion and All In Motion.