Different colors have many influences, including increasing or decreasing our energy levels, making us feel warmer and cooler, helping us to relax, as well as many other influences. These influences can be used to benefit our motivation and workouts.
Some people get their energy from external stimuli; music can be a great form of energy and motivation. Colors and visual stimuli can also be important external sources of energy for a few different reasons.
The most suitable colors to wear would also be dependent on the type of exercises or workout that is being performed. For example, workouts that focus around high-energy dynamic movements would benefit from bright and energy-stimulating colors.
How Colors Can Influence Your Workout?
Red
The most obvious color based on its associations and influences is the color Red. The color red is believed to increase your heart rate and breathing. Red also makes us more alert and is associated with danger. When our brains sense danger it can trigger an increase in, Adrenalin, and therefore energy. Red is also the color associated with anger and aggression, so it’s perhaps the best color to wear when performing martial arts training and combat sport-related workouts.
Bright Colors
Red is perhaps the best choice. However, bright colors in general tend to have energy stimulating effects. This includes obvious colors like yellow and orange, also bright shades of green like chartreuse, brighter shades of blue such as electric, azure blue, and cyan. These are stimulating colors, high energy and they are also associated with youth.
If you are struggling with motivation, yellow might be the color to uplift you. Yellow is the color most associated with positive emotions, so if you are feeling somewhat low on energy, perhaps even a bit down, yellow might be the color to make the difference.
Darker & Neutral Colors
Less dynamic forms of exercise like stretching, yoga and static movements don’t require high levels of energy. Darker and cooler colors that have a relaxing and sedating influence would be suitable for these forms of exercise. Green and blue promotes and encourages feelings of tranquility, possibly making them ideal for yoga.
Purple may also be a good color of yoga, purple has connections to spirituality and intuition, perhaps helping to reach deeper levels of concentration and thought.
Standard or darker shades of colors in general would be more suitable for less dynamic forms of exercise, as well as neutral colors such as gray. These colors would also perhaps be more suitable for long distance running and high endurance exercises or workouts, so you don’t burn yourself out too fast.
Wearing black can also be a good choice, black is associated with strength and power, which could possibly influence the wearer.
Looking Good in the Gym
This may seem shallow, but how we look influences how we feel. Looking good increases our confidence and overall positive emotion. So our workout outfits, including selected colors is actually important, and it’s not as shallow as it first seems.
Generally warm colors such as red, orange and yellow can actually make us feel warmer. In turn cooler colors make us feel cooler, these colors would include blue, green and purple. This knowledge could perhaps be useful when trying to trigger certain feelings and emotions. For example, wearing warmer colors while running outside in the winter, or training in a very cold gym, or wearing cooler colors in hot conditions.
Reducing Anxiety
Often engaging in competitive sports, even at a lower level can trigger anxiety. Colors that promote feelings of calm and relaxation would obviously be good here. Colors like blue and green are believed to sedate and relax. Neutral colors such as beige, taupe and gray may also be beneficial in reducing those nerves, due to the neutral and impartial influences of those colors.
