If you’re looking to increase the intensity of your workout, it may be as simple as changing your pants. I recently traded in my usual leggings for Agogie Resistance Pants ($130), and whew, do they make you work. The pants come with four resistance bands built into each leg, making every movement more taxing on the muscles.
The brand makes pants in two different resistance levels, which affects how often and how long it’s recommended that you wear them, what types of exercises you can do, and how challenging those movements will feel. Being the competitive person I am, I couldn’t resist (get it?) leveling up to the +40 pants. I wore them while doing my normal workout, but there was nothing normal about it. Every move that involved my lower body was noticeably more difficult.
The cardio movements I can usually tackle without much trouble — high knees, mountain climbers, ice skaters — became much more challenging with resistance. Jump squats and duck walks were quickly unbearable. Heck, toward the end of my workout, I even struggled to keep my legs up in the air for crunches!
As I expected, my legs were sore for the next couple days. But it wasn’t the usual suspects — my large muscle groups — that felt tender. It was all the smaller muscles that are often overlooked that were firing throughout the day.
I tried the pants with a more intense workout, but depending on your fitness level and the amount of resistance you choose, you could wear them for just about any activity. I personally think they’d be great for yoga or even just a long walk. Either way, I now have my go-to pants for days when I want to stretch my limits. Oh, and bonus: there are no special washing instructions. I washed them with all my other workout clothes, laid them out to air dry, and they were good to go for my next sweat session.
