Today's technical sportswear is designed to be breathable, lightweight and to allow sweat to quickly evaporate off the skin during exercise. Sports clothing with cooling features can be made of synthetic fibers, such as polypropylene, or natural fibers like wool. The design of sports clothing, including the fit, weave and color, also impact the ability of the clothing material to keep you cool during workouts.
Synthetic Materials
Technical fabrics used for sports clothing materials often contain various synthetic fibers. Some synthetic fibers commonly used in sports clothing that's specially designed to keep you cool during exercise include polypropylene, Lycra, Spandex, nylon and polyester. Often, technical fabrics used in sports clothing contain a blend of various synthetic fibers. Synthetic sports fabrics are typically engineered to be lightweight, breathable and moisture-wicking. Moisture-wicking fabrics allow sweat to quickly evaporate through your clothing, which assists your body's natural cooling process.
Natural Fabrics
Natural fibers such as cotton are less commonly used in today's sportswear, as cotton absorbs sweat, which makes the clothing heavier and impairs ventilation once the fabric is wet. However, since the mid-1990s, some sportswear manufacturers began producing performance clothing from another natural fiber -- wool. New technologies have produced "smart" wool that is lighter and less scratchy than traditional wool. Wool is a naturally hydrophobic that promotes cooling ventilation during your workouts as water vapor from sweat is transmitted through the fabric into the air. This makes wool an ideal fabric for garments such as running socks, which can quickly become drenched in sweat if made of less-breathable materials.
Other Sports Clothing Characteristics
The type of fibers used in sportswear are not the only factor that impact whether the material helps keep you cool while working out. For example, the material's weave also affects its breath-ability and, as a result, its ability to keep you cool. Furthermore, clothing made of dark-colored materials absorbs heat from the sun, which can raise your body temperature during exercise. The fit of the clothing is also important, with looser-fitting clothes providing better ventilation for body heat and sweat than tight clothes. Some sportswear materials are also specially designed to provide extra ventilation at the body's "heat zones" such as the underarms.
Staying Cool During Exercise
While wearing the right clothing can help keep you cool while exercising, you can also take other measures to prevent overheating during workouts. Most significantly, drinking plenty of cool water before, during and after exercise can help regulate your temperature and replace fluids lost through sweat. It is especially important to drink a lot of fluids when exercising in hot weather. Avoiding midday sun and instead exercising in the morning or evening may also help keep you from getting too hot during physical activity. Lastly, when exercising outdoors, always wear sunscreen, as a sunburn reduces your body's ability to cool itself.
http://www.skweezer.com/s.aspx/-/www~livestrong~com/article/398572-which-sport-clothing-material-helps-you-stay-cooler/This goes for hikers, backpackers, professional soldiers, etc., etc. You just never listen Plane, you never have.
BSB
