The Covid 19 crisis has presented immense challenges for everyone. The gym industry has certainly not been spared. Many gyms have gone out of business after being forced to close for extended periods. Those that re-opened have been met with challenges on almost every level including new government mandates and rules which must be followed. Members reluctant to return present yet another challenge.
The wearing of face masks is now required at gyms in most jurisdictions. Although members are generally not required to wear masks while working out on the gym floor, masks are still required. Commonly, they need to be worn when members, enter, leave, or go to the change room. Rules differ yet again for staff and visitors to the gym and are generally more restrictive.
Since shortly after this crisis began, we began to notice the proliferation of a different kind or category of face masks available. That is the so-called “sport” or “fitness” face masks designed specifically for those engaging in physical activity.
For anyone who had worn a face mask, disposable or otherwise, hearing about these masks brings hope of relief from the sometimes suffocating, hot and uncomfortable feelings that face masks generally create. Just breathing in your own carbon dioxide while on public transit or shopping at a store, one can only imagine the feeling of freedom that such a specially designed “athletic mask” would deliver. The very idea that actual exercise may be possible without choking on one’s own spent air is far more intriguing.
Indeed, perusing through fitness apparel websites or Amazon.com and discovering these masks, one will quickly find promises including the following:
- Excellent “breathability”, even if you were to run a marathon
- Special “cool to the touch” materials
- Stay dry fabrics which “whisk away” moisture
- Extreme comfort and great fit
- Anti-germ and virus fabrics
Many of these masks are described as being designed for cardiorespiratory exercises like running and cycling. This provides great promise and seems even more promising for activities such as resistance training or bodybuilding, since the cardiorespiratory demands wave more between repetitions and sets and are generally not as demanding on the cardiorespiratory system as a sprint or hard run.
We were both intrigued and excited to try some of these masks, specifically for strength training, to see how they really performed in a gym setting. So, we began reading multiple reviews for many of the top-rated athletic masks available.
We definitely chose masks that kept coming up as the highest rated, but we also chose some inexpensive, more generic ones to try. We also made sure that we included various styles of mask in our trial. We considered up to 15 different masks for this trial, but we soon learned that there was a ton of redundancy and private labeling going on. Essentially, we were looking at the same masks, with different branding. So, we honed it down to 10 masks.
We did not include the plastic barriers or face shields you see some people wearing in restaurants and in other service industries settings. Obviously, there is no screening here and we wanted to test only actual masks which are meant to provide some kind of filter.
We gave the masks to a small group of ardent and experienced gym members. The group is comprised of experienced men and women who train with heavy resistance, primarily for strength sports such as weightlifting and power lifting. Their training definitely included some bodybuilding but generally involved higher intensity resistance training.
Our criteria in judging these masks included the following:
- Breathability
- Fit
- Comfort
- Convenience
- Price
- Durability
These trials took place over 3 months. We asked each participant to rate each mask from 1 to 10 – with 10 being the best/highest score – on each of these criteria. Results were then tallied. A verbal opinion and explanation were also provided from each participant, for each mask. The conclusions were surprising to say the least, especially to our participants. The reasons for these conclusions are perhaps more interesting.
Again, these trails were primarily for resistance training at a strength gym.
Here are the masks we tested along with the prices paid:
Adidas – $14.99 |
Under Armor – $25.00 |
BOA – $16.99 |
Koral Athletic – $20.00 |
Champion – $7.00 |
Eliel – $12.00 |
Pipitree – $19.86 |
Yun-Tuo (Windtop) – $6.99 |
Golov-Ejoy – $17.98 |
3M – $4.99 |
Here are the results, from the best to least performing mask:
#1 – Golov-Ejoy
#2 – Yun-Tuo (Windtop)
#3 – Adidas
#4 – Under Armor
#5 – BOA
#6 – 3M
#7 – Pipetree
#8 – Eliel
#9 – Champion
#10 – Koral Athletic Infinity
Summarizing our findings – apparently, the 4 most important realities of wearing a mask at your gym to successfully resistance train include the following:
- Like shaker cups, wraps and other accessories you bring to the gym, chances are very high that you will invariably lose your mask at some point. You will leave it in a change room or somewhere on the gym floor. As such, price is a concern since you will likely need to by more than one. Spending more than $20.00 on a mask is probably not a great idea.
- Going off of the first point, chances of “not losing” your mask are greatly increased with the simple idea of wearing it around your neck. The simple act of connecting your mask around your neck makes all the difference in the world. Obviously, masks which are designed to act as necklaces take preference here. Masks that only loop around your ears, not so much.
- Further to point #2, we found that being able to elegantly and simply take your mask on and off between sets, or when moving around the gym, being considerate to others, etc. is absolutely vital. This is a close second to breathability and comfort. As such, the “neck gaiter” or “bandana/scarf” style of mask is highly preferable.
- Further to point #3, the “neck gaiter” or “bandana/scarf” style of mask is highly preferable for breathability and overall comfort as well.
The 3 styles of mask that rated highest were of “bandana/scarf” design. The surprise here is that they are all on the less $ expensive side and none of these are well known brands by any means. Further, they were almost impossible to lose and exceedingly simple to remove from covering one’s mouth and nose, because of their design. You simply slip the fabric up or down, over your mouth and nose.
The 3 masks with this style resoundingly came out on top in terms of comfort and breathability.
So, there you have it. We have presented our humble findings herein in the hope that this information will help you to train at our local gym, under more optimal conditions, even if in less than perfect circumstances.