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Find Your Style in Men's Athletic Underwear!
Men's Active wear & Sport Underwear
If ever comfort and support were important, it's in the choice of activewear and
sports underwear. Many of today's manufacturers offer athletic underwear lines
that are attractive enough for everyday wear and can often be an alternative to
an athletic supporter. HisRoom carries many lines of athletic underwear,
including Champion, Calvin Klein, C-in2 and RIPS.
You're not confined (no pun intended) to the blah styles of yesterday when
selecting athletic underwear. Brands like Calvin Klein and RIPS, for example
offer styles that include athletic boxers, stretch briefs and boxer briefs,
stretch cycle shorts, and jock straps that are, really, pretty high-style.
HisRoom carries a wide range of men's athletic underwear from brands known for
both performance and style.
Jock or Jockstrap?
Formally known as an athletic supporter, the jock or jockstrap used to be SOP
for boys and men when participating in sports. Consisting of a rather wide
elastic waistband, jockstraps also have leg straps that connect at the bottom of
the jock's pouch, go through a guys legs, and attach at the sides of the
waistband. From behind, a jock could be construed as a derriere supporter for
the uninitiated. The jock strap is to a guys balls as a sports bra is to a girls
breasts.
The name of jock or jockstrap has a curious history. In Scotland, the nickname
for John is Jock. And like the nickname Dick is also slang for penis, so the
nickname Jock too became slang for penis as well. So, this is part of the story
for the name.
The original athletic supporter was invented back in 1874 as a solution to
cyclists who were riding on the cobblestone streets of Boston. Back then, the
term "Jockey" meant "rider." So the fist name given to this garment was the Bike
Jockey Strap. With its wider appeal for other sports, the name was eventually
shorted to today's jock and jockstrap terms.
Jocks come in a variety of performance fabrics. No longer just available in
cotton, a jock can now come in micro modal, coolmax and bamboo. All these
fabrics absorb or wick away moisture to prevent the dreaded jock itch. However,
it is not the jock itself that causes this condition. Any guy can get jock itch
regardless of wearing a jock strap or not.
In recent years, since the 1980's, there has been a decline in the use of jocks.
Since the basic objective of jockstraps is to eliminate the flopping around of
men's genitalia, men have found other alternatives that look more mainstream and
have a less scary and embarrassing aesthetic.
The best reason today for wearing an athletic supporter is so you can also wear
a protective cup. Yes, jocks can have an accessory. A cup is inserted inside the
pouch and is made of a rigid material. In the awful event that a guy could be
hit in this area, the cup protects his package from injury. Without a cup, not
only is such a blow debilitating, it can destroy a testicle.
Most guys can get along without wearing a jock strap, but a lot more ought to be
wearing jocks with cups. Though the cup may be annoying and a little
uncomfortable, in possible injury should far outweigh the nuisance. Buy the most
narrow style cup you can find and fit into - it will be less bothersome.
Compression Shorts
Most players in the NFL have foregone the jockstrap in favor of compression
shorts. With all their required padding, they would just as soon minimize what
they can - especially below the waist - in order to maximize their speed and
movement. Therefore, compression shorts have become a staple in football and
most other sports.
Even though compression shorts are far more expensive than the basic jock,
amateur and professional athletes seem to prefer them. The compression short
looks like a spandex biker short. It provides groin support and steady uniform
pressure across the abdomen, hamstrings and quadriceps muscles. It's the same
thinking as post surgery. If you compress the tissue, you will prevent swelling
and vascular pooling.
Compression shorts are comfortable to wear and are less embarrassing to be seen
in. They have become a kind of status symbol to be seen peeking out below your
gym shorts. They come in great performance fabrics like coolmax, mesh, micro
modal, and cotton with spandex. Bike, Calvin Klein, DKNY and Champion Athletic
Wear are some of the brands to look at.
Jock Strap Styles
Wide band jock with a cup. This is a jockstrap with a pouch for inserting a cup.
These types of jocks are generally worn by players of full-contact sports such
as baseball, football, lacrosse and rugby.
Wide band jock without a cup
Of all the jock strap styles, this is the most common. Also known as a "gym
jockstrap," this is your back jock with a wide band, pouch and straps. It is
generally worn when playing tennis, soccer, and track and field events. This
athletic supporter is also a good idea when lifting weights. It is felt that
doing so will prevent testicle torsion.
Narrow waistband jock
Also known as swimming/running jocks, this jock is worn underneath skimpy
athletic clothing like a bathing suit or running shorts. The narrower waistband
allows the wearer to more easily hide his athletic supporter under his active
wear garments.
Fashion jock is a variety of variations to the jockstrap on the market.
These jocks do not actually function to provide testicle support. Rather, they
are designed to make a fashion statement. Other names for these fashion jocks
include micro pouches, micro jocks, padded jocks, missle pouches and floppers.
They would be considered the male version of a g-string.
Activewear Underwear to be worn with activewear is more than jocks and
compression shorts. There are other athletic wear items as well. For example,
men need to have a collection of sports t-shirts made in performance fabrics.
Cotton t-shirts are traditional, but now with coolmax and micro modal, athletic
t-shirts can actually move the moisture away from your body while working out or
training. The same is true with sports socks. Tommy Hilfiger, for example, makes
a line of men's athletic underwear reminiscent of the old wrestler clothes. Made
in 100% combed cotton knit, this line has classic lines as well as comfort and
can be worn as athletic underwear.
Along the same lines, 2xist has a line of athletic wear called Varsity. Again,
the colors and style are reminiscent of college varsity sports active wear. This
sporty athletic wear is a combination of cotton and modal with some lycra for
easy stretch. Of course, players like Bike, Champion and Hanes have been in the
athletic underwear category for years. New players in this market include Helly
Hansen, Nike and Under Armour.
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