Is wearing jewelry and working out mutually exclusive? I often get asked about this topic from women who have made exercising an important part of their routine. The most important consideration is always your health and safety, as you can be hurt by your jewelry while working out, but it also extends to your jewelry’s health and safety. Jewelry can be damaged while working out, which can cause a little damage to your wallet too!
In order to get a complete picture, I interviewed a local fitness expert and business owner, Melissa Barton. Melissa graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in Kinesiology and owns North County Pilates in Atascadero. She has been practicing Pilates for 15 years, teaching for 9 years, and has owned North County Pilates for 5 years. She also loves jewelry!
What kinds of jewelry do you see your clients wearing during a workout?
I see my clients wearing all kinds of jewelry! Rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, anklets, watches! Pilates is more of a low impact type of exercise so jewelry doesn’t tend to get in
your way as much.
What kinds of hazards can occur with jewelry while working out? Not just with Pilates, but any other types of exercise as well.
Rings can get in the way when you are gripping something, like the footbar (Pilates equipment) or if you are lifting weights, and you can get your skin pinched between it and the item you are gripping. Earrings can get stuck in your hair as you are moving, I’ve seen that a few times! Necklaces can choke you…
Do you have any recommendations of types of jewelry that is okay to wear while working out?
I love my sparkly jewelry, so I tend to not take it off! I wear my rings and earrings at all times. Whether I am doing Pilates, out for a hike, or lifting weights I have to have it on! If you are like me, I’d suggest rings that lay flat to your body that don’t have too much projection and small earrings so they don’t get caught in your hair or your clothes, and so they don’t hit you in the face if you are running:)
Any other thoughts or input?
To me jewelry is so personal. Whatever it is you like, you should wear! I love looking down and seeing my rings, a couple I got from my mom and a few I bought for myself. They just simply make me happy!
Moral of the story? Jewelry can be okay to wear while you are exercising, but you need to be aware of how the type of exercise you are doing coupled with the jewelry you are wearing can cause damage to yourself and to the actual jewelry. I had a client who wore a ring while learning to box. The constant impact broke her gemstones in a very short time. Thankfully, she hadn’t also damaged her hand, as the swelling of a hand while wearing a ring can be very uncomfortable and potentially dangerous. My personal guideline is that the more intense a workout or exercise, the less, if any, jewelry should be worn. As Melissa said, something low and flat to your body for a low impact type of exercise. And Crossfitters (or Crossfit type exercisers), just leave it all in your jewelry box, yes, including your wedding ring!
(If you’d like to learn more about Pilates or what North County Pilates has to offer, please visit their website www.nc-pilates.com. I work out at this studio, and I LOVE IT!!!)