I once read about a restaurateur who chooses cutlery for his establishment wearing a blindfold. Which sounds crazy, but is sort of brilliant. The logic being that no one looks at their knife and fork while they are eating, but the feel and function of cutlery in your hand – the weight, the balance, the sharpness – are what matter. To pick cutlery that will most enhance your dinner, it is best not to be distracted by what it looks like.
The knife-and-fork method is also the best way to choose your fitness clothes. How leggings, a sports bra or a pair of trainers feel is a more useful metric than how nice they look on some pert, ponytailed influencer. While you are exercising (whether that means pilates or parkour or pickleball) you are hyperaware of your physical self, so clothes are central to your experience.
An itchy inside leg seam, badly fitting shorts that wriggle up your backside, fabric that is too warm or not warm enough, sport socks that disappear into trainers: these can make the difference between fitness that feels like a positive habit and fitness that feels like a dreaded chore.
