What's It Like to Work Out With Leather Pants On?

Earlier this year, Lenny Kravitz turned heads when he uploaded footage of himself working out to social media. That Kravitz is in stellar shape isn’t what was noteworthy about the video; instead, it was that Kravitz was working out while wearing leather pants. There’s plenty of attire that could be deemed “athleisure,” but leather pants, by and large, aren’t generally filed in that category. When you’re an ageless rock star, though, turns out it’s an easier look to pull off.

What is it actually like to work out in leather pants, though? If you don’t own leather pants yourself, that can be a challenging experience to research. Thankfully, Slate’s Luke Winkie has given it a go — both trying out Kravitz’s workout and doing so in attire similar to what Kravitz wore in the video that started it all. “The man is 60 years old with the physique of a Roman centurion,” Wikie wrote — and then explored precisely what it was like to walk a mile in his shoes. Or, in this case, his pants.

Winkie sought to emulate a particular weightlifting move that Kravitz demonstrated in a video — but first he wanted to make sure that it wasn’t, as he phrased it, “[Kravitz’s] own bespoke weightlifting motions that shouldn’t be replicated by others, under any circumstances.” Winkie did something very wise before trying this at home, which is to say that he checked in with an expert — in this case, Ian Douglass — to see if it was safe.

Douglass verified that Kravitz’s technique was legit, and that he was doing “a barbell pullover decline situp, with an overhead press at the end.”

As he tried out the workout for himself, Winkie found that some parts of Kravitz’s attire worked better for him than others. He wrote that he plans to continue using the mesh top he bought, but that the leather pants were less forgiving. “Leather pants are oppressively cinched in any context, and they’re made even more uncomfortable when you’re completing an outrageously precise exercise circuit,” he wrote.

Unconventional Workout Clothes Might Be Poised for a Comeback

Turn out leather pants can be athleisure

Winkie’s experience left him impressed with Kravitz’s feats of strength. “That man might be the strongest human being on the planet,” Winkie wrote. “I’m not sure if anyone comes close.” But if there is a way to follow Kravitz’s lead in terms of getting fit, you might want to opt for more comfortable pants.