The best activewear brands for the best workouts of your life (2024)

• Brand established: 2012, Solihull, UK
• Hero product: Crest Joggers
• Best for: Affordable basics and base layers

From online high street upstart to Regent Street stalwart, Gymshark needed just over a decade to find its way into almost every gym wardrobe in the UK. Yet with every passing celebrity endorsem*nt, pricing at this Midlands-born Goliath remains as competitive as you’ll be in its clothes. We love its core ‘Crest’ collections of tees and tanks, the £35 pair of joggers everyone needs a pair of, plus pretty much everything else it's ever put out.

• Brand established: 2013, Connecticut, USA
• Hero product: Reign T-Shirt
• Best for: Building a strong, long-lasting capsule collection

A unique aspect of the high-quality label Rhone? It puts commuting alongside golf, training and running as category of activewear. Truly, commuting is a sport all itself, but it’s the original ‘Pursuit’ and ‘Reign’ collections of long-lasting gymwear that has us going back again and again. Designed to a fault in the hope your new clothes will last you for scores of years and hundreds of wears, Rhone is the activewear brand you told your other gym clothes not to worry about.

• Brand established: 1998, Vancouver, Canada
• Hero product: Metal Vent Tech T-Shirt
• Best for: Long-lasting rest day basics

What was once the spiritual home of pilates princesses in North America’s most exclusive gyms has come full circle. Now Lululemon is one of our most-trusted shops for fitnesswear foraging, particularly in the category of simple, hard-working sweatpants and tee. Yoga royalty, gym expert, and even a golf brand of considerable repute, Lululemon has outfits for almost all of your sweat day needs, and one of the most comprehensive rest day selections out there.

• Brand established: 1996, Washington DC, USA
• Hero product: HeatGear Mock Long Sleeve Top
• Best for: Weightlifting and flexing

One of the popular kids in iron jungles up and down the country, you’d be hard pressed to find a gym chain without at least one guy kitted out in all Under Armour. Why? Well, its garms look great obviously, with toughness and masculinity always high on its mood board, but its results are also hard to argue with. Moisture-wicking, ventilating, fast-drying and streamlined, these are creations that are so effective they’ve even got The Rock on board.

• Brand established: 1964, Oregon, USA
• Hero product: Nike Pegasus Running Trainer
• Best for: Those who put their faith in heritage

After 60 years, Nike remains one of the first activewear destinations we visit when we need a fitness wardrobe overhaul. Unsurprisingly, its shoes are our number one purchase, with functional running and training models such as its crowd-pleasing Pegasus as dynamic as its fashion sneakers are covetable. An expert in football, golf, tennis, basketball et al., we’ve never gone to Nike with an activewear-related problem and come away empty-handed.

• Brand established: 2015, Paris, France
• Hero product: Tech Silk Shorts
• Best for: Runners who cross-train in the gym

Though it is first and foremost a running brand, Satisfy’s goods are so damn special that you’ll find yourself wearing them in situations far beyond the parameters of just track and trail. The Emperors Clothes of activewear, these separates are carefully designed to light and uninhibited specifications, with UV protection added for summer pieces and thermal for winter. There’s no scrimping on style either: these are pieces you could wear out and about with pride.

• Brand established: 1949, Herzogenaurach, Germany
• Hero product: Powerlift Weightlifting Shoes
• Best for: Sportswear with streetwear clout

Three little stripes are all a product needs to show you that it’s going to: a) function well, and b) look fly in any cardiovascular situation you put yourself in. Whether you find them on staples like gym trainers, tees and shorts, or on more niche propositions like hiking sandals and snow goggles, Adidas' trio of stripes acts as a badge of honour and a stamp of quality.

• Brand established: 2013, California, USA
• Hero product: The One Short Lined
• Best for: Adding a new name into your rotation

A recent entry to the UK activewear market, Fabletics comes out of the USA with an army of women at its beck and call thanks to the flattering magic it works with lycra. You’ll be pleased to know that there’s a tonne of menswear to be had too, with its breathable tank tops and lined does-everything shorts topping our lists. Have a try: we reckon you'll be a convert.

• Brand established: 1948, Herzogenaurach, Germany
• Hero product: Essentials Big Logo Hoodie
• Best for: Everyday picks with a retro tinge

The Dassler brother feud saw one sports brand split into two in the post-war years of the 20th century. One would become Adidas, the other: Puma. To this day, the similarities in the two brands are evident, and so is the quality: whether you’re an Adidas Gazelle or a Puma Palermo kind of guy, you know you’re going to get a hell of a lot of wear out of your new shoe. It’s no different, of course, in the activewear department, having clothed athletes as successful and diverse as Usain Bolt and Rickie Fowler.

• Brand established: 1977, Kobe, Japan
• Hero product: Gel Nimbus Running Shoes
• Best for: Runners and tennis players who over or under-pronate.

The second running brand to make its way onto our list. Asics may specialise in trainers, but its remit goes far beyond that, touching on joggers, hoodies, tees and all the other good stuff you’d expect from a one-stop shop. Still, shoes are its bread and butter, with specialist treads on offer for tennis, volleyball and handball as well as running and walking. Overpronators and supinators are healthily provided for too, with far more choice in corrective footwear here than you’re likely to find anywhere else.