When I first started taking health and fitness seriously, I was very much guilty of ‘all the gear, no idea.’ And ohhhh, what mighty gear I had.

I found myself unable to pass a sports shop without going in an spending half my salary on the jazziest, brightest, most exciting tops and leggings I could find, in the hope that bright colours would make me stronger, and make me run faster.

As I spent more time in the gym, and less time in Sports Direct, I became less impressed by my outlandish outfits, and more interested in the quality and fit of what I was wearing. Once netball season had finished, I no longer needed bright colours and reflective patches to stand out in the dark on the pitch, and didn’t need thick leggings and long tops to stay warm, so I could move towards lighter fabrics and shorter sleeves that were more suitable for indoor workouts.

I only buy trainers from Nike, so it made sense to restrict the rest of my gym clothes to the same brand. I also decided to go with black tops and leggings, and keep my sense of personality whilst exercising via bright trainers and sports bras. Yes, its more expensive that way, and yes, I look obsessed with one brand, but it means that no matter how tired I am or how dark it is, I know that whatever I pull out of my fitness clothes drawer will go together, and I won’t feel self conscious about clashing colours or mismatched lengths or fabrics.

So whilst some people check others out at the gym for their bodies, 99.99% of the time I’m staring at their clothes or shoes, picking up ideas for my next purchase..