Workout Pants That Burn Calories? Yes, Please

As if you needed another reason to wear yoga pants to class, a team of medical students at NYU are developing a line of exercise clothes that burn calories called Skinesiology. I repeat, exercise clothes that BURN CALORIES.

If I had this product, I'm confident that I would feel so much better about just putting on workout pants to lounge around. I wouldn't be one step closer to a workout — I'd be there.

Well, kind of. Franklin Yao, the leader of the startup project, told LiveScience, "We're not creating [the clothing] as a replacement for exercise." Dang. But, it is something: "If we got just a little bit more caloric burn — not an overwhelming amount — we might get more exercise," team member Ryan Grattan told the site.

The pants apparently create some motion resistance, which makes muscles work harder, meaning you burn more calories. To test them, the group used a prototype that restricted hip movement and had subjects walk on a treadmill, measuring their heart rate. The students said that the subjects torched about 20 percent more calories when they were wearing the pants than when they were using their go-to workout gear.

If you haven't caught on yet, there is a catch. Yes, the pants help increase calorie burn, but you do have to work for it.

I do have one major concern with this product, though: you know when you're having a bad dream and you're being chased, and whoever or whatever is following you can move ridiculously fast but it feels like you're trying to run underwater? (No, just me?) That's my fear with this. What if that actually happened? If I'm being chased, I definitely want my trusty resistance-free Nike crops on.

Still, what a concept. It's not on the market yet, but you can sign up on the Skinesiology website for updates on the products. You'd better watch your back, Lululemon.

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