There’s loads in your thoughts when you’re within the weight room: Counting reps, sustaining your type, and timing rests between units is not any small feat. So, what’s not on the checklist? Worrying about your shorts driving up (or, even worse, being see-through).
The very best exercise shorts for girls are breathable, opaque, and keep in place—so you’ll be able to give attention to how a lot you’re lifting, not on what you’re sporting. However discovering that magic pair will be robust. We get it: SELF editors are consistently testing exercise gear, and now we have ideas on which shorts are actually value your cash. Store our favorites for weightlifting, working, climbing, biking, and extra under.
Our prime picks
- Greatest General: FP Motion Stinger Shorts, $48
- Greatest for Strolling: Outdated Navy Excessive-Waisted PowerSoft Pocket Biker Shorts, $27
- Greatest for Operating: Lululemon Quick and Free Excessive-Rise Basic-Match Break up Quick 3″, $78
- Greatest for Marathons: Janji 5″ Tempo Quick, $68
- Greatest for Power Coaching: Lululemon Wunder Practice Excessive-Rise Quick 6″, $64
- Greatest for Mountain climbing: REI Co-op Trailmade Shorts, $50
- Greatest for Biking: Peloton Cadent Excessive Rise Pocket Bike Quick 7″, $58
- Most Breathable: Athleta Quick Route Mid Rise 2″ Run Quick, $69
On this article
Store one of the best exercise shorts for girls
Hop on the treadmill or hit the paths in these cozy picks.
Greatest General: FP Motion Stinger Shorts
FP Motion
Stinger Shorts
You get one of the best of each worlds with these FP Motion shorts: The outer layer is flowy and has zippered pockets, however the built-in biker shorts beneath received’t experience up or trigger your thighs to chafe. “These are my go-to exercise shorts for a number of actions,” SELF’s affiliate social media supervisor, Katie Gunderman, says. “They’re good for working, HIIT exercises, lifting, and sizzling woman walks. They usually’re the right size for me to really feel cozy and cute, it doesn’t matter what exercise I’m doing.”
She likes that the layered design provides her additional protection whereas she lifts weights and gives mild compression that helps her really feel supported. Additionally a plus: They’re product of quick-drying polyester—good for additional sweaty outside exercises.
Measurement: XS to XL | Materials: Polyester | Inseam: 2.75 inches
Greatest for Strolling: Outdated Navy Excessive-Waisted PowerSoft Pocket Biker Shorts
Outdated Navy
Excessive-Waisted PowerSoft Pocket Biker Shorts
I’ve had these Outdated Navy biker shorts for years, and so they nonetheless feel and look the identical because the day I purchased them. I determine as a thick thigh girlie and have discovered that skin-tight shorts are the most suitable choice for me—something looser rides up. I can stroll for hours in these shorts, due to their longer inseam and comfortable quantity of compression.
Whereas I’ve additionally worn them to the fitness center (and may attest they’re squat-proof), I actually like them for walks as a result of they’ve deep facet pockets that may maintain my telephone, keys, and AirPods.
Measurement: XS to 4X | Materials: Polyester, elastane | Inseam: 6 inches
Greatest for Operating: Lululemon Quick and Free Excessive-Rise Basic-Match Break up Quick 3″
Lululemon
Quick and Free Excessive-Rise Basic-Match Break up Quick 3″
These are a few of finest working shorts on the market—simply ask SELF’s director of health and meals, Christa Sgobba: “They’re my alternative for simple, brief summer time runs when it’s tremendous sizzling—the break up brief is so cooling—and after I don’t want to hold loads with me—the slip pockets will match a key fob or a gel,” she says.
SELF author Renee Cherry provides that the built-in briefs are a life saver. “With different working shorts, I’ve discovered that briefs will be too tight on the leg openings and too unfastened all over the place else,” she says. “The briefs on these shorts match like precise underwear and don’t dig into my thighs. They’re product of a mesh materials with tiny, breathable holes—a pleasant contact in case you’re doubling up with underwear and will use some additional air flow.”
Measurement: XXXS to XL | Materials: Polyester, elastane, nylon | Inseam: 3 inches
Greatest for Marathons: Janji 5″ Tempo Quick
Coaching for a marathon? As a lot as our testers love Lululemon’s Quick and Free shorts, longer runs name for an improve—like an extended inseam to forestall chafing and bigger pockets that may match extra of your necessities.
“These will maintain a ton: gentle flask, telephone, and keys,” Sgobba says. “They’re my alternative for a marathon within the fall as a result of they maintain every part tremendous securely with no bounce, so I don’t have to fret about chafing or rubbing.” Additionally good to have: Silicone grips on the within of every leg, which hold the shorts in place when you log your miles.
Measurement: XXS to XXXL | Materials: Nylon, elastane, polyester | Inseam: 5 or 7 inches
Greatest for Power Coaching: Lululemon Wunder Practice Excessive-Rise Quick 6″
Lululemon
Wunder Practice Excessive-Rise Quick 6″
If you’re lifting heavy, you want shorts that’ll stretch with you in each course, and these are it. “They’re smooth, compressive, and completely move the squat take a look at,” Sgobba says.
The broad waistband received’t roll down, and the longer, 6-inch inseam prevents the legs from sliding up. “The Wunder Trains are most likely essentially the most compressive shorts on my checklist,” she wrote in a assessment. “I’ve been discovering myself reaching for these on my heaviest lower-body power periods, when assist is actually essential.”
Measurement: 0 to 14 | Materials: Nylon, elastane | Inseam: 4 or 6 inches
Greatest for Mountain climbing: REI Co-op Trailmade Shorts
REI Co-op
Trailmade Shorts
Whether or not you’re climbing a mountain or setting out on a woodsy path, you’ll keep cute and comfortable in these climbing shorts. “I like these shorts a lot, I had to purchase a second pair,” one SELF tester says. “They’re lengthy sufficient so I don’t have to fret about them bunching up, the pockets are tremendous roomy, and the adjustable waist ensures an amazing match. They’re additionally actually light-weight—good for warm, humid days.” Plus, the material has UPF 50+ solar safety, the very best score a chunk of clothes can have.
Measurement: XS to 3X | Materials: Nylon, elastane | Inseam: 5 inches
Greatest for Biking: Peloton Cadent Excessive Rise Pocket Bike Quick 7″
Peloton
Cadent Excessive Rise Pocket Bike Quick 7″
We’re so impressed with these biking shorts that we gave them a SELF Activewear Award. Our testers mentioned their size prevents uncomfortable camel toe and that they’re compressive sufficient to maintain them going via robust reps.
Like a few of our different picks, these shorts have two deep facet pockets to carry your telephone and another must-haves. Put on them with the best biking sneakers for a no-fail ’match, whether or not you’re topping the Peloton leaderboards or tackling a triathlon.
Measurement: XS to 3X | Materials: Polyester, elastane | Inseam: 7 inches
Most Breathable: Athleta Quick Route Mid Rise 2″ Run Quick
Athleta
Quick Route Mid Rise 2″ Run Quick
SELF’s way of life author, Jenna Ryu, says these shorts make her marathon coaching smoother. “They don’t experience up or give me an uncomfortable wedgie, and I’m capable of zoom via my runs with them—I put on them for five-mile simple runs and even 15-milers,” she says. “I like them a lot, and I’ve the identical pair in a number of colours.”
With a two-inch inseam, they’re the shortest pair on this checklist—however you’ll recognize the shortage of cloth in case you overheat simply. Plus, their facet slits let much more air in (which is essential when it’s sizzling and humid out).
Measurement: XXS to XL | Materials: Polyester, elastane | Inseam: 2 inches
How we discovered one of the best exercise shorts for girls
The SELF workforce exams activewear all yr spherical. So, when it got here time to decide on one of the best exercise shorts, they had been able to go together with recs for working, climbing, biking, and extra. Trainers additionally gave us the inside track on what they search for in an excellent pair of shorts, together with professional buying suggestions that may allow you to discover your new go-tos.
What to contemplate whereas selecting exercise shorts
It doesn’t matter what form of exercise you’re doing, it’s a good suggestion to put on garments constituted of sweat-wicking supplies like polyester, nylon, and elastane, Alysha Flynn, founding father of the feminine working group What Runs You, tells SELF. These materials are light-weight, hold you dry, and really feel stretchy (not restrictive).
Inseam size (a.okay.a. how lengthy the legs of your shorts are) comes right down to what seems and feels good to you. “Longer inseams will help forestall thigh chafing, but it surely actually depends upon your construct and the kind of train you’re doing,” Flynn says. The place a pair of shorts hits in your legs can range based mostly in your top and construct, however typically, “longer” means at the least 5 inches.
Hold your eyes peeled for additional options that may make one pair of shorts stand out over others. A drawstring can regulate the match of your shorts, whereas pockets on the legs or within the waistband can maintain smaller necessities. A few of our different favorites: silicone grippers that forestall the legs of your shorts from driving up, built-in shorts that scale back chafing, and a UPF score for solar safety (in case your exercises take you outdoors).
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