Awesome Active Wear, Clever Backpacks, and Sneaky Bloggers

Yep, this is a product review post: some Kuhl active wear, (the shorts pictured above), as well as a Kuhl top and pair of pants, plus an Airbac Journey backpack.

And yes, it's a bit annoying when a blogger devotes a post to a bunch of pictures of herself wearing stuff she got for free and telling you what's good about them and what's not, but on the other hand...

Um, on the other hand....

Well shoot, at some point I'll figure out why it's not as annoying as it sounds.

 So, what's the "sneaky"part?

Plus Size Workout Wear Giveaway Winner!

Talk about an unfair election.

No.
No, no, no. Not that. I was talking about the Random Number Generator!

I mean, I never win things, ever. It's a rule engraved in stone somewhere in some dusty vault: Merry Shalt Not Win. Especially when she's helping run the blog that's hosting the giveaway.

So I go and I run the RNG, and whose entry does it land on?

Exactly.

That is just so unfair.

Okay, enough whining. The (legitimate) winner is...

Linda! Of Fat Don't Wrinkle fame.

Linda, please email us with your name, email address and mailing address to claim the prize. (Email: crabby mcslacker @ gmail dot com) by Friday, November 7th.

Congratulations!

And thank you, everyone who left a comment. I think you've caught the attention of the people who make active wear: people who wear larger sizes also want to work out!

Trick or Treat: Plus-Size Workout Wear Giveaway

A Not-Very-Scary Giveaway

I suppose this post really should have more of a Halloween theme. True, I threw the words "trick or treat" in the title, 'cause we're giving something away like you do when trick-or-treaters come to the door. But that's kind of a lame comparison, isn't it? If you were to dress up in a costume tonight and go door-to-door shouting "trick-or-treat," what are the chances someone would hand you a $100 gift certificate for Plus Sized workout wear?


Not bloody likely.

But true Halloween-themed giveaways are hard to come by, unless they're candy. And as you may have discovered, if someone offers me candy, I tend to Eat It Myself.

Maybe next year we'll try harder to stick with the holiday theme.

Wicking Washable Witch Workout Wear?

Okay, maybe not.

Women Come in All Sizes

So workout clothes should too, right?

I'm a fairly averaged sized person, and I've noticed that the majority of workout clothes on display at a typical sporting goods store are Too Damn Small for me. I couldn't imagine what it would be like for Plus Sized women shopping for athletic clothes.

So I went to the awesome Big Fat Deal to find out. And sure enough, they led me to an interesting post by Harmony at Pair Up, Pare Down, describing a trip to REI.

Harmony wrote:

"I don’t feel actively discriminated against, but I do feel out of place, and really visible. The truth is that there is not a single item of clothing in that store that would fit me. And, while it is also true that I am not the world’s most outdoorsy person, I still think it’s weird that even if I wanted to, I couldn’t buy a pair of running shorts or a sports bra at one of the world’s best outdoors/sports stores. It’s like fat people don’t even exist in the outdoors world. Admittedly, I am a short fat woman. But I wear the same sizes that a very tall broadly built woman might wear, and I guess those women don’t want to work out either? Or if they do, they apparently do not want state of the art wicking material to wear while they do it."

Now I love REI, because I like to prowl around all the sporty and outdoorsy stuff, but I'd never seen it from the eyes of a bigger customer. And I also couldn't help but notice that the last time we gave away athletic wear here at Cranky Fitness, it seemed quite a few of you were looking for stylish and functional workout clothes in larger sizes, and were having trouble finding some.

Junonia To The Rescue!

But guess what? It turns out there's a company called Junonia that has a nice selection of workout and active wear for women sized 14 and up. And they've very kindly offered to donate a $100 gift certificate to the winner of our random giveaway.

And Good news: You Do Not Need to Be a U.S. Resident to win!!!

Just leave a comment on this post with the word "active" in it by Tuesday night, November 4th. (Also, remember to VOTE too!). Crabby or Merry will announce the winner sometime Wednesday the 5th; and the winner should be sure to email us by Friday the 7th with their name, email address and mailing address to claim the prize. (Email: crabby mcslacker @ gmail dot com)

Want Discounts?

It's not required for entry, but if you're interested in getting discounts and updates on Junonia active, swim and casual wear, you can sign up at the Junonia sign up list.

They will of course keep your information private.

(Plus, if you sign up, not only might you receive a nice discount, you'll help give the impression that Cranky Fitness is the kind of blog that can actually motivate people to do things! We'd love for giveaway donors and sponsors to think we're Influential and not just Cranky.)

More Treats!

I keep meaning to mention these three very entertaining fitness blogs, but haven't found a good occasion to work them into a particular post. So rather than risk forgetting while waiting for the perfect opportunity, I'll just say "the heck with it" and put the links out there even though the have absolutely nothing to do with Plus Size clothes or Halloween.

So if you haven't discovered Fit Bottomed Girls, or Gazelles on Crack, or Grounded Fitness yet, you should definitely check 'em out!

And have a great Halloween!

Workout Wear Winner

Wow, we got a LOT of entries for our Fit Couture workout wear contest, and a lot of hilarious and sometimes even sad comments. It makes me really, really wish we could give something to everyone.

The weirdest thing? Given the hundreds of possible Random Numbers that could have been generated by the Random Number Generator, it spat out a freakishly low one. So our winner is our second commenter, CrazyLady.

Crazylady, please email us by Friday night to claim your gift certificate!

[Note: for those who notice such things, this post was NOT written at 3:30 in the morning; I was sound asleep then. I just adjusted the time so that Merry's Crock Pot post would appear on top of the home page today. Unless you are CrazyLady it is more fun to read about healthy easy ways to cook than it is about someone else winning your workout clothes.]

Workout Wear Giveaway

Time to Update Your Gym Outfit?

Has a fair amount of time passed since you've bought new exercise clothes? It happens to the best of us.

Photo credit: No idea. Hollywood, please don't sue us!

Where are the Weird Workout Wear War Stories?

Many of you have written amusing blog posts about the less-than-optimal state of your own workout togs. Or you've talked about "creative" outfits you've worn under duress, or hideous things you've seen other folks sporting at the gym or on the trail. And I fully intended to send readers to some of these hilarious posts! But unfortunately, despite my amazing memory, I've mostly forgotten who posted what and when.

I did at least remember that Charlotte had a great post on what not to wear at the gym. However, the always amusing Nitmos at Feet Meet Street is going to be perplexed/alarmed if he checks his stats to see someone rummaging around his blog looking for "golden shorts" -- I could swear he had a funny post, including a picture, about said shorts but I couldn't find it. [UPDATE: Turns out this because I had the wrong amusing guy running blogger and the wrong color. It wasn't Nitmos. (And no, it wasn't Vanilla either; he's more likely to wear a skirt). It was Steve wearing yellow shorts! Thanks, Xenia, for your assistance in the comments).

Anyway, faced with my inability to locate examples of amusing workout wear to entertain you with, I naturally thought: Describe some of your own hideous gym outfits! Make the readers supply the funny examples!

Share Your Sad Story and Win $150 Towards Cool Gym Clothes at Fit Couture. International Readers Too!

So as part of this week's giveaway, we want to hear why you might want some new workout clothes. This could also be a chance to tell us about weird, decrepit, or otherwise appalling workout clothing you've seen on other people--you don't have to humiliate yourself personally. We'll take your word for it that you need/want new stuff.

(Not feeling clever or amusing? You can still win with any kind of comment. It's just that the funny ones have a better chance.)

What Kind of Items You Could Win

Part of the $150 gift certificate at Fit Couture goes to shipping; that's how we're including international readers. But the balance can go towards nifty items in their catalog like:

Sports Bras and Crop Tops

Or you might be interested in some tank tops or camis,

Or some yoga pants!

Or heck, some other popular item in the Fit Couture line of workout clothes. It's up to you.

How the Contest Works

Leave a comment below telling us why you'd like new workout clothes. Or share an unfortunate gym fashion faux pas you've witnessed. Or explain why you don't wear any clothes at all while working out. It's all good. You can leave more than one comment if you're feeling chatty, but only the first one counts.

All entries are automatically assigned one number; entries I find particularly funny or compelling get 2 additional numbers. Winner is chosen by random number generator.

Contest deadline is Tuesday Oct 14 at midnight EST; winner announced Wednesday Oct 15th; winner must contact us by Friday Oct 17 to claim the prize.

Please Stand By For Some Blatant Sponsor Worship:

Can you tell I'm really excited to have the Fit Couture folks on board here? Their stuff looks really cool and practical, and they're offering a 10% discount on $100 or larger orders to Cranky Fitness readers. We even have a CRANKY promo code, how cool is that? Plus, as an additional bonus, their ads don't blink, sparkle, float, spin, play tunes, or promote empty-calorie processed snack foods or miracle weight loss cures!

So we're hoping even if you don't win the giveaway contest, that you might consider checking out their stuff in the coming months. (The sidebar ad takes you to their catalog) and perhaps keep them in mind if you find you need/want workout clothes.

More Free Stuff at Healthbolt!

If you're not grossed out enough by the prospect of old nasty sweaty smelly gym clothes that need replacing, Healthbolt has what it promises is a disgusting video (I decided I wasn't brave enough) as well as a Halloween Candy Giveaway! Check it out if you do the Halloween candy thang, it's a Harry Potter Cauldron of some sort. And have a great weekend!