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On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m sharing my struggles and experiences with finding the best pants for fit men who don’t skip leg day.
I’ll also share my review of shopping in store for dress and casual pants at Lululemon and Vuori, as well as my online shopping experience at BYLT.
If you’re watching this, I’m assuming you’re suffering from one of the most dreaded problems known to fit men.
No, I’m not referring to struggling to fit that meat lovers pizza into your macros.
I’m also not talking about the agony of making 18 trips to the urinal before 11am.
The most dreaded problem known to fit men is when you appreciate style, but you can never find dress pants or casual pants that fit.
In other words, pants for guys who don’t skip leg day.
Nod your head if you know what I’m saying.
Trust me, I feel your pain.
Before I share my story, let me just say this.
Fist bump to you for not skipping leg day bro.
Or if you are skipping leg day, go join our workout app free for 7 days.
Now back to my story.
I started working out in 2003, the same year I entered the corporate marketing world.
After graduating, I remember buying a bunch of new work clothes, including dress pants.
At the time, I was pretty skinny, so I fit into a 30 inch waist dress pant.
Since I didn’t have a lot of muscle in my lower body, the pants fit my waist, they fit my quadriceps, and they showed off my butt.
You could say life was good, until I fell in love with the squat rack.
Yes, I fell in love with the cool steel, big time.
The way the barbell felt on my shoulders, the way it increased my happy hormones, and let’s be real, the way it changed my appearance.
I was in love.
However, here was the problem.
I’m sure people who lost a lot of weight suffer from this similar fitness problem.
They lose so much fat, none of their XXXL clothes fit anymore.
My fitness problem was similar, but slightly different.
My dress clothes were not fitting anymore, not because I was losing fat, but because I was gaining muscle in my legs and upper body.
Even though my waist was still 30 inches, my glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves didn’t fit into the legs of my dress pants anymore.
I remember one time I crossed my legs while sitting in the boardroom.
The seam in my pants ripped all the way from my butt to the zipper.
Talk about embarrassing.
I wish I had a photo of me wearing those pants that day.
Let’s just say for the rest of the day, I stood for all my meetings.
When I got home that night, I knew it was time to buy some new dress clothes to accommodate my growing physique.
I thought it was going to be easy, but damn, was I wrong.
After visiting numerous clothing stores, I couldn’t find one pair of 30 inch waist dress pants that I could fit into.
I remember saying the following to the sales associate.
So you’re telling me, since I workout, I eat healthy, I have a low body fat percentage, and a solid foundation of muscle, that clothes are not designed to fit me because having an athletic build is not “normal”?
Really?
I’m also not built like a freakishly hulk-a-fied bodybuilder.
I’m 5’11” and 180 lbs.
Anyway, during the next 8 years of life while working in the corporate marketing world, I had to buy pants that were too big for my waist, in order for them to fit my legs.
In other words, I wore a belt, extra tight, to keep the pants from falling off my hips.
Talk about frustrating.
In 2011, I eventually fired my boss and exited the corporate world to become a fitness entrepreneur.
This meant for the next 12 years, I didn’t have to wear dress pants everyday that were 2 sizes too big for my waist.
Nice.
However, the times, they are a changing.
Fast forward to today.
People are taking better care of themselves, so the world is becoming a healthier place.
Thankfully the clothing industry has evolved to meet this need.
Today’s dress clothes have also become more casual, thus allowing you to wear them around the clock.
I recently went on a shopping trip to refresh my casual and dress pants rotation, with new and innovative fabrics made for men with fit and athletic builds.
A few of my favorite brands for dress and casual pants for fit men include:
Thankfully these smart companies are filling the void in the market by creating the ideal solution for professional and athletic men, like me, who require clothing that can flex to met the needs of our active lifestyles.
I now have 3 new pairs of pants designed for fit men.
My first stop was at Lululemon.
When it comes to dress and casual pants for fit men, Lululemon always delivers.
While I was in the store I tried on a few different pairs including the:
After trying on 5 different styles of Lululemon pants, I decided to go with the City Sweat Jogger.
When it comes to dress and casual pants for fit men, Vuori is quickly rising as one of the fashion industry’s leaders in performance, comfort, and innovation.
While I was in the store I tried on a few different pairs including the:
After trying on 4 different styles of Vuori pants, I decided to go with the Cascade Tech Chino Jogger.
Even though I also really liked the Ponto Performance Jogger, since I just purchased a casual jogger from Lululemon, I decided to go with a no iron, grab-and-go pair of dress pants instead.
However, I’m having a slight buyer remorse.
If I could go back, I probably would have purchased Vuori’s Ponto Performance Jogger over the City Sweat Jogger from Lululemon, especially since it was $20 cheaper, as well.
BYLT Basics doesn’t have a physical store, so I had to take a leap of faith and order the pants online without trying them on.
After looking at a few reviews, I decided to go with their best selling Everyday Pant 2.0 in the storm color.
Even though I have a 31 inch waist, I heard they fit a little snug on the thighs, so I decided to go with a 32 inch waist.
The Everyday Pant 2.0 is priced at $120, however since I bought them during a 25% off sale, I got them for $90.
Within 5 days, the pants arrived at my doorstep, just in time for my daddy daughter date with Kyla.
Once I tried them on, I was super excited.
They fit my athletic fit very well and were very comfortable, breathable, and stretchy.
The stretchy fabric allows for all kinds of movement, just in case you feel the need to bust out a set of squats, while taking your daughter on a date.
The comfort-flex waistband also contracts and expands in case you do decide to have that XL pizza.
They also have a low profile side zippered pocket to store your iPhone so it doesn’t fall out of your damn pocket all the time.
Can you tell this has happened to me before.
Lastly, the butter soft micro-knit fabric keeps you cool because we all know you can’t make business deals when you’re dripping in sweat.
All in all, these BYLT Everyday Pant 2.0’s were on point.
As you know, achieving a fit and athletic physique is hard work.
If you’re looking to expand your style, thankfully we now have options for stylish pants that fit athletic physiques.
Keep Living Lean.
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Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.