The 20 Best Workout Hoodies to Buy in 2023, According to Style Experts

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Purpose-built for your gym days.

HOODIES ARE everywhere now thanks to the athleisure boon and pandemic living. While most guys have been stocking up on cozy loungewear hoodies, we've also seen a steady increase in workout hoodies. Just like workout shirts and gym shorts, the best workout hoodies for men are loaded with performance features (think: moisture-wicking, anti-stink fabrics), so you can throw them on during cold-weather runs, and post-gym commutes to stay warm without feeling swampy.

Designing a good workout hoodie requires more attention to detail than designing a traditional hoodie. You have to think about body heat regulation. Do you want to lock it in for cold conditions or let it out for hot conditions? Either way, you need to minimize weight and reduce friction both within the sweatshirt and whenever your body rubs against itself on the outside. However, you still need to provide a secure place to stash your stuff like keys and phone.

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Picking the best workout hoodie is tricky. There are many different types of workouts that take place in a wide range of conditions. So we tried to include hoodie for every environment, indoors and outdoors, that you might face. We also made sure to include hoodies that are designed for endurance workouts and others that are designed for strength workouts. So whether you want to let your body heat out while you’re on the move or keep it locked in while you're maxing out, this list has got you covered.

Temperature Regulation: All workout hoodies fall into one of two categories, they’re either designed to lock your body heat in or maximize breathability to let it out. Obviously, one of these categories are designed for cold conditions and the other for warm conditions. Wearing a hoodie to workout in the cold is obvious but working out in the cold still requires a degree of breathability. You need to let some body heat out and keep sweat retention to a minimum because a wet, sweat-drenched body will catch a nasty chill as soon as cold air hits it.

There are hoodies designed to reduce body heat, either through breathable fabrics or openings … or the cutting the sleeves off all together. There are also workout hoodies designed for the outdoors and these are based on UV protection. The sun can do nasty things to your body through both short and long term exposure. Sunscreen is great and should be worn wherever possible but even the best sport sunscreen will need to be reapplied. To avoid this hindrance to your workout, a UV protection hoodie that protects your neck and face while also regulating body heat is a great alternative.

Weight and Friction: This one is pretty straight forward. Whether your workout hoodie is designed for warm or cold conditions, you want to keep weight at a minimum. You also want to keep friction at a minimum for both your body running against itself and rubbing against other things. Most of the recent advancements in athletic apparel fabric technology have achieved these two goals. Ultimately, the goal of a good workout hoodie is to feel like you’re not wearing it at all. If it is lightweight enough and doesn’t cause any chafing or snagging, then your workout won’t be impaired.

Special Features: Some workout hoodies are minimalist, cutting down on any unnecessary weight. Others make room for handy special features like secure, tucked away pockets and thumb hole cuffs to keep your sleeves in place. If you’re going to the gym and using a locker then you probably won’t need any special features, you’ll just want a hoodie as minimalist as possible. If you’re going for a run, hiking, biking, or any other activity on the move, then these special features come in handy.

This full zip hoodie from Nike is built to handle all manner of workout routines. It is light, flexible, and smooth enough for cardio and provides plenty of range of motion for lifting. The full zip allows you to easily take it on and off and control the insulation. With elastic bands on the sleeves and waist and a 4 panel hood that closes around your face, you can lock your body heat in or open up as much breathing room as you need.

On took the standard raglan sleeve hoodie template and added in their crafty Swiss engineering. A darted elbow provides your arms with uninhibited motion without getting any tug from the sleeve. The lace guard is like a little tie clip but for hoodie drawstrings. A mesh Kangaroo pouch opens from the top with a secure zipper closure. The whole thing is made form a recycled polyester/tencel/elastane blend that is super flexible and breathable.

Not only does the Stealth Performance Hoodie kind of look like super hero armor, it king of performs like it too. Mackweldon used body mapping technology to assemble this hoody out of panels designed to provide specific benefits to specific areas of your upper-body. Its breathable in the right spots, stretchy in the right spots, and tough in the right spots. The whole thing is put together without seams so there are no friction points to cause irritation.

Under Armour made their bones by selling compression shirts to keep you warm in the cold and cool in the heat. They did that so well that they became one of the biggest sporting goods brands in the world within a decade. Their Infrared hoodie is essentially the long sleeve insulated compression shirt that helped establish the brand, with a hood added. It works as a base layer for outdoors cardio or sports, or even the only layer. It it a great gym shirt for colder gyms or when you're trying to maximize your sweat.

Russell has equal claim with Champion for inventing the hoodie, they've been making the original athleisure shirt for a century now. So they've got more experience than anyone else on this list. What they did with their Dri Power hoodie is so simple it's brilliant. Take the hoodie design they everyone knows and loves but make it out of moisture and body heat controlling performance fabric. You get that essential hoodie look with modern age athletic performance. It looks as good styled up with your steer clothes as it performs at the gym.

As the name suggest, this workout hoodie from Free Fly is designed to shade you from the sun and the fabric is 68% bamboo viscose. It is great for any exercise that will keep you outdoors, in the sun for long periods of time. Running, hiking, fishing, biking, etc. It works equally well for lounging int he sun, like a day the beach after a some morning fishing or a relaxing picnic after a long hike.

There are plenty of exercises that benefit from cut off sleeves as well as the warmth and protection of a hood. Thanks to Gym Shark, you don't have to take a pair of scissors to your favorite old hoodie.

Along with being made from insulating fabric, this workout hoodie form Adidas is designed to seal in your body heat at the waist, wrists, and neck. It also has reflective details for night time visibility.

This ultralight windbreaker from Vuori is the perfect top layer to protect you from the elements during your outdoors workout routines. A zip breast pocket will keep your stuff secure and prevent it from bouncing around too much.

This no-frills hoodie is built with maximum stretch to provide fully flexible movement. Rhone designed it for the gym but it works just as well with cardio and sports.

If your routine is going to have to sweating.. a lot.. then this is the hoodie to wear. Lululemon designed the fabric for cutting edge body heat and moisture control.

This hoodie is for more relaxed workout routines like yoga and light calisthetics. It is super soft and comfortable but provides excellent range of motion.

This hooded tank top from Nobull is a slim fit super soft poly/tencel/spandex fabric. It has a high neck and vented side pockets that won't get in the way.

This classic look full zip hoodie from Tenthousand is made from a 4-way stretch fabric that is treated with 3M Easy Care stain guard. It features a mini zip pocket to secure small objects and has silver ion anti-oder treatment.

This full zip hoodie is made from a stretchy and moisture-wicking polyblend fabric. It has a high neck 4-panel hood to provide extra warmth and protection.

Following Uniqlo's signature minimalist design, this workout hoodie is more than it appears. Along with UV protection, it has body heat and moisture regulation, two side zip pockets, and elastic cuffs and waist.

The price of this Amazon Essentials sleeveless hoodie is enough of a draw. On top of that, it is super light weight, stretchy, and soft. Perfect for weight training in hot conditions.

Yeah, this Performance Pullover Hoodie from Old Navy has moisture wicking and body heat regulation. But the inside is so soft and cozy you'll probably want to save it for your off days.

Built from a light weight 4-way stretch jersey fabric, this workout hoodie from VRST is designed to feel like its not even there while providing all the benefits of an old school full-zip hoodie.

For those "It's so cold I don't even want to go outside, much less exercise out there" days, this is the hoodie to go with. You've got all the warmth and protection of a North Face jacket in a light and mobile hoodie.

Brad is a contributing style commerce editor. After a decade working for menswear brands including J.Crew and Ralph Lauren, Brad switched from selling fashion to writing about it. His words have appeared in Huckberry, Heddels, and The Manual.

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